Albatros D.

III
The Albatros D.III was a biplane ghter aircraft used by
the Imperial German Army Air Service (Luftstreitkrfte)
and the Austro-Hungarian Air Service (Luftfahrtruppen)
during World War I. The D.III was own by many top
German aces, including Wilhelm Frankl, Erich Lwenhardt, Manfred von Richthofen, Karl Emil Schfer, Ernst
Udet, and Kurt Wol. It was the preeminent ghter during the period of German aerial dominance known as
"Bloody April" 1917.

or early September.[1] Following the successful Albatros

D.I and D.II series, the D.III utilized the same semimonocoque, plywood-skinned fuselage. However, at the
request of the Idieg (Inspectorate of Flying Troops), the
D.III adopted a sesquiplane wing arrangement broadly
similar to the French Nieuport 11. The upper wingspan
was extended, while the lower wing was redesigned with
reduced chord and a single main spar. V shaped
interplane struts replaced the previous parallel struts. For
this reason, British aircrews commonly referred to the
D.III as the V-strutter.

After a Typenprfung (ocial type test) on 26 September

1916, Albatros received an order for 400 D.III aircraft,
the largest German production contract to date.[2] Idieg
placed additional orders for 50 aircraft in February and
March 1917.[3]

Design and development

2 Operational history
The D.III entered squadron service in December 1916,
and was immediately acclaimed by German aircrews for
its maneuverability and rate of climb.[3] Two faults with
the new aircraft were soon identied. Like the D.II, early
D.IIIs featured a Teves und Braun airfoil-shaped radiator
in the center of the upper wing, where it tended to scald
the pilot if punctured. From the 290th D.III onward, the
radiator was oset to the right on production machines
while others were soon moved to the right as a eld modication. Aircraft deployed in Palestine used two wing
radiators, to cope with the warmer climate.

Ernst Udet in front of his Albatros D.III (serial D.1941/16)

More seriously, the new aircraft immediately began experiencing failures of the lower wing ribs and leading
edge,[3] a defect shared with the Nieuport 17. On 23
January 1917, a Jasta 6 pilot suered a failure of the
lower right wing spar.[3] On the following day, Manfred
von Richthofen suered a crack in the lower wing of
his new D.III.[3] On 27 January, the Kogenluft (Kommandierenden General der Luftstreitkrfte) issued an order grounding all D.IIIs pending resolution of the wing
failure problem.[4] On 19 February, after Albatros introduced a reinforced lower wing, the Kogenluft reAlbatros D.III ghters of Jasta 11 at Douai, France. The sec- scinded the grounding order.[5] New production D.IIIs
ond closest aircraft was one of several own by Manfred von
were completed with the strengthened wing while opRichthofen
erational D.IIIs were withdrawn to Armee-Flugparks for
modications,
forcing Jastas to use the Albatros D.II and
Development of the prototype D.III started in late July
Halberstadt
D.II
during the interim.[6][7]
[1]
or early August 1916. The date of the maiden ight is
unknown, but is believed to have occurred in late August At the time, the continued wing failures were attributed
1

POSTWAR

to poor workmanship and materials at the Johannisthal

factory. In fact, the cause of the wing failures lay in the
sesquiplane arrangement taken from the Nieuport. While
the lower wing had sucient strength in static tests, it was
subsequently determined that the main spar was located
too far aft, causing the wing to twist under aerodynamic
loads. Pilots were therefore advised not to perform steep
or prolonged dives in the D.III. This design aw persisted
despite attempts to rectify the problem in the D.III and
succeeding D.V.
Apart from its structural deciencies, the D.III was considered pleasant and easy to y, if somewhat heavy on
the controls. The sesquiplane arrangement oered improved climb, maneuverability, and downward visibility
compared to the preceding D.II. Like most contemporary
aircraft, the D.III was prone to spinning, but recovery was
straightforward.
Albatros built approximately 500 D.III aircraft at its
Johannisthal factory. In the spring of 1917, D.III production shifted to Albatros subsidiary, Ostdeutsche Albatros Werke (OAW), to permit Albatros to concentrate
on development and production of the D.V.[8] Between
April and August 1917, Idieg issued ve separate orders
for a total of 840 D.IIIs. The OAW variant underwent its
Typenprfung in June 1917.[9] Production commenced at
the Schneidemhl factory in June and continued through
December 1917. OAW aircraft were distinguishable by
their larger, rounded rudders.[10]
Peak service was in November 1917, with 446 aircraft
on the Western Front. The D.III did not disappear with
the end of production, however. It remained in frontline
service well into 1918. As of 31 August 1918, 54 D.III
aircraft remained on the Western Front.

Austro-Hungarian variants

Albatros D.III (Oeag) series 253, with later production rounded

nose

The Austro-Daimlers provided improved performance

over the Mercedes D.IIIa engine. For cold weather operations, Oeag aircraft featured a winter cowling which
fully enclosed the cylinder heads.
Austrian pilots often removed the propeller spinner from
early production aircraft, since it was prone to falling o
in ight.[11] Beginning with aircraft 112 of the series 153
production run, Oeag introduced a new rounded nose
that eliminated the spinner. Remarkably, German windtunnel tests showed that the simple rounded nose improved propeller eciency and raised the top speed by
14 km/h (9 mph).[11]
All Oeag variants were armed with two 8 mm (.315 in)
Schwarzlose machine guns. In most aircraft, the guns
were buried in the fuselage, where they were inaccessible to the pilot. In service, the Schwarzlose proved to be
somewhat less reliable than the 7.92 mm (.312 in) LMG
08/15, mainly due to problems with the synchronization
gear.[11] The Schwarzlose also had a poor rate of re until the 1916 model was provided with a modication developed by Ludwig Kral.[11] At the request of pilots, the
guns were relocated to the upper fuselage decking late
in the series 253 production run.[11] This created a new
problem; the Schwarzlose operated via blowback and the
weapon contained a cartridge oiler to prevent cases from
sticking in the chamber while the extractor ripped their
rims o. With guns mounted directly in front of the pilot,
oil released during ring interfered with aim.

Albatros D.III (Oeag) series 153, with spinner removed

Oeag engineers noted the wing failures of the D.III

and modied the lower wing to use thicker ribs and spar
anges. These changes, as well as other detail improvements, largely resolved the structural problems that had
plagued German versions of the D.III.[12] In service, the
Oeag aircraft proved to be popular, robust, and eective. Oeag built approximately 526 D.III aircraft between May 1917 and the Armistice.

In the autumn of 1916, Oesterreichische Flugzeugfabrik AG (Oeag) obtained a licence to build the D.III at
Wiener-Neustadt. Deliveries commenced in May 1917.

4 Postwar

The Oeag aircraft were built in three main versions (series 53.2, 153, 253) using the 138, 149, or 168 kW (185, After the Armistice, Poland acquired 38 series 253 air200, or 225 hp) Austro-Daimler engines respectively. craft, as well as several OAW machines, and operated

3
Luftstreitkrfte
Kaiserliche Marine
Lithuania
(postwar)
Poland
Polish Air Force (postwar)
Ottoman Empire
A captured Albatros D.III paraded through London, November
1918

them in the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-20. They were

primarily employed in ground-attack duties. The Poles
thought so highly of the D.III that they sent a letter of
commendation to the Oeag factory. The newly formed
Czechoslovakian air force also obtained and operated several Oeag machines after the war.

Modern reproductions

An Austrian aviation enthusiast, Koloman Mayrhofer, has

constructed a pair of Albatros D.III (Oeag) series 253
reproductions. Both are equipped with vintage AustroDaimler engines. One aircraft will be own and operated
by a non-prot organization. The second aircraft is slated
for static display at the Flugmuseum AVIATICUM, near
Wiener-Neustadt, Austria.

Operators
Austria-Hungary
Luftfahrtruppen
Austro-Hungarian Navy
Bulgaria

Ottoman Air Force and Turkish Air Force (postwar)

Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Yugoslav Royal Air Force (postwar)

7 Specications (D.III)
General characteristics
Crew: one
Length: 7.33 m (24 ft 0 in)
Wingspan: 9.00 m (29 ft 6 in)
Height: 2.90 m (9 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 23.6 m (254 ft)
Empty weight: 695 kg (1,532 lb)
Loaded weight: 886 kg (1,949 lb)
Max. takeo weight: 955 kg (2,105 lb)
Powerplant: 1 Mercedes D.IIIa inline watercooled engine, 127 kW (170 hp)
Performance
Maximum speed: 175 km/h (94 kn, 109 mph) at
sea level
Range: 480 km (261 nmi, 300 mi)
Service ceiling: 5,500 m (18,044 ft)

Bulgarian Air Force

Czechoslovakia

Rate of climb: 4.5 m/s (886ft/min)

Wing loading: 37.5 kg/m (7.67 lb/ft)
Power/mass: 0.13 kW/kg (0.081 hp/lb)

(postwar)
German Empire

Armament
2 7.92 mm (.312 in) LMG 08/15 machine guns

10

See also

Related development
D.I - D.II - D.IV - D.V

References

9.1

Notes

[1] Grosz 2003, p. 6.

[2] Grosz 2003, p. 8.
[3] VanWyngarden 2007, p. 19.
[4] Grosz 2003, p. 11.
[5] Grosz 2003, p. 13.
[6] Grosz 2003, pp. 11, 13.
[7] Franks, Giblin, McCrery 1998, p. 59.
[8] Grosz 2003, p. 18.
[9] Grosz 2003, p. 19.
[10] Grosz 2003, pp. 21-22.
[11] Grosz, Haddow, Schiemer 2002, p. 251.
[12] Grosz, Haddow, Schiemer 2002, p. 249.

9.2

Bibliography

Connors, John F. Albatros Fighters In Action (Aircraft No. 46). Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal
Publications, Inc., 1981. ISBN 0-89747-115-6.
Franks, Norman, Hal Giblin and Nigel McCrery.
Under the Guns of the Red Baron: Complete Record
of Von Richthofens Victories and Victims. London:
Grub Street, 1998. ISBN 1-84067-145-9.
Grosz, Peter M. Albatros D.III (Windsock Datale
Special). Berkhamsted, Herts, UK: Albatros Publications, 2003. ISBN 1-902207-62-9.
Grosz, Peter M., George Haddow and Peter
Schiemer. Austro-Hungarian Army Aircraft of
World War I. Boulder, CO: Flying Machines Press,
2002. ISBN 1-891268-05-8.
Mikesh, Robert C. Albatros D.Va: German Fighter
of World War I. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1980. ISBN 0-87474-633-7
Miller, James F. Albatros D.III: Johannisthal, OAW,
and Oeag Variants (Air Vanguard 13). Oxford:
Osprey Publishing, 2014. ISBN 978-1-78200-3717
VanWyngarden, Greg. Albatros Aces of World War
I Part 2 (Aircraft of the Aces No. 77). Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2007. ISBN 1-84603-179-6.

EXTERNAL LINKS

10 External links
YouTube video of Koloman Mayrhofer and his two
Albatros D.III reproductions
Photobucket video of Mayrhofers
Oeag/Albatros D.III ight test

Austrian

Vintage 1916/17 silent lm of Albatros D.III aircraft construction (German intertitles)

11
11.1

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

Text

Albatros D.III Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_D.III?oldid=668345299 Contributors: Gsl, Maury Markowitz, IZAK,

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