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Страна: Германия

Год: 1917

Единственный экземпляр

Fighter

O.Thetford, P.Gray German Aircraft of the First World War (Putnam)

Albatros D IV
   The Albatros D IV was something of a hybrid, having a partial D II wing cellule and a D Va fuselage. It was powered with an experimental, specially geared, version of the standard 160 h.p. Mercedes D III, which enabled the engine to be completely buried in the nose. No guns were fitted and as there was no significant increase in performance the D IV remained no more than a prototype mainly due to difficulties with the motor. Span, 9.05 m. (29 ft. 8 3/4 in.). Length, 7.33 m. (24 ft. 0 5/8 in.). Speed, 165 km.hr. (103.12 m.p.h.). Climb, 5,000 m. (16,400 ft.) in 32 min. Range, 350 km.

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Описание:

  • O.Thetford, P.Gray German Aircraft of the First World War (Putnam)
  • W.Green, G.Swanborough The Complete Book of Fighters
  • J.Herris Albatros Aircraft of WWI. Vol.4: Fighters (A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes 27)
  • plane photo
    J.Herris - Albatros Aircraft of WWI. Volume 4: Fighters /Centennial Perspective/ (27)

    The Albatros D.IV was never intended as a production fighter. Instead, it was designed solely as a flying testbed for the 160 hp Mercedes D.III engine with experimental reduction gear. The completely enclosed engine made the aircraft very streamlined for its time. However, the experimental reduction gear was a constant source of problems. Vibration with the large diameter, two-blade propeller shown here was so extreme the aircraft could not be flown. Fitting experimental 3-blade and 4-blade propellers enabled the aircraft to be flown, but vibration was still excessive and performance was worse than production Albatros fighters with the standard engine.

  • plane photo
    J.Herris - Albatros Aircraft of WWI. Volume 4: Fighters /Centennial Perspective/ (27)

    The story of the Albatros D IV is a tale of the one that got away. Following upon the operational success of their D II and D III fighters, Albatros came up with the extremely logical idea of using the robust wing of the D II, married to a new elliptical sectioned fuselage, later to be adopted for their D V. This hybrid machine was the Albatros D IV of which only one was built. Up to now, Albatros's thinking had been flawless, particularly as the reversion to the D II's wing promised to prevent the occasional catastrophic high speed wing shedding being experienced with their 'V' strutted D III sesquiplanes. Where Albatros's thinking went awry was in choosing to fit the prototype with an experimental geared variant of the 160hp Mercedes D III. This engine, which appears never to have worked satisfactorily, managed to delay D IV flight testing to the point where officialdom simply lost interest. With another engine, the D IV might have helped bridge the gap between the Albatros D III and the Fokker DVII, something the Albatros D V never quite did.