Albatros D.III
(Oeffag)
NOTE:
This aircraft is built for Microsoft Flight
Simulator X.
Brief History
The history of the Albatros begins in
Spring 1916 when the German Air Force (Luftstreitkräfte) HQ ordered
several factories to design a new single seater biplane capable to compete with
the new Entente scouts such as Nieuport 11.c1, Nieuport 17.c1 and the D.H.2. The
new Allied designs combined with the new tactics managed to completely wipe
from the air the monoplane-type Fokker E.III and to create air superiority over
the Western Front. New planes were desperately needed and the Fokker,
Halberstadt and Albatros soon presented new scout planes such as Fokker D.II,
Halberstadt D.II and Albatros D.I. The last one was especially well designed. Powered
by the 160HP Mercedes D.III inline engine and heavily armed with the twin Spandau machine guns, the Albatros quickly earned the reputation of a very good scout. The
HQ quickly ordered a series of 50 D.I’s which were pushed into newly created
Jastas (Jagdstaffelns) in September 1916. The Albatros Werke soon released
another version, the Albatros D.II which had a smaller gap between the upper
and lower wing and few other improvements. This version gave the German
Air Force some breathing room and their squadrons started to become very
effective.
The successful Albatros D.II was quickly
noted in the allied Austro-Hungary. In the Fall of 1916, Austrian company
Österreichische Flugzeugfabrik AG (Oeffag) in Wiener Neustadt purchased a
license from the Albatros Werke and managed to introduce the own version in
January 1917. The prototype, marked 50.01, differed from the original design.
First of all, it was powered by the more powerful, 185HP Austro-Daimler Dm 185
inline engine. The cylinders were covered and the wing chord was enlarged from
1,60 meter to 1,70 meter. The armament was also different. Apart from the twin
7,92mm Spandau machine guns, one 8mm Schwarzlose machine gun was mounted inside
of the fuselage, much lower than in the German Albatros. It improved forward
visibility, but made reloading the gun problematic.
The Austro-Hungarian Army ordered 50 Oeffag
D.II’s, but after completing 15 planes (numbers from 53.02 to 53.16), the
factory cancelled production and switched to the new design, marked as D.III.
This version was inspired by the new design from the German Albatros Werke –
the Albatros D.III which was introduced in December 1916 and became a deadly
adversary to the Entente planes in the Spring 1917. The plane received a
completely new wing, inspired by the French Nieuport 17.c1 sesquiplane design. This
improved the climb and turn ratio over the older D.I and D.II versions.
The licensed-built Albatros D.III
prototype, marked as 53.20, was constructed in February 1917. Again, the design
differed from the original model from the Albatros Werke. The engine was
covered, and the fin under the fuselage was enlarged. The gravity tank was
fitted into the upper wing along with the radiator which was in the
center position, while the tank was moved to the left. The armament was
redesigned, too. A second 8mm Schwarzlose machine gun was installed, which gave
the plane much better firepower. The upper wing could be regulated and the
incidence could be adjusted.
The Oeffag D.II’s and D.III’s appeared on
the Italian Front in June 1917 after being certified by the Fliegerarsenal a
month before. At the beginning, they served in the general – purpose
Fliegerkompanie (Flik) units which were responsible for various tasks. But very
soon the new scout units, marked as Flik/J, were introduced because the front
needed specialized fighter units. The Oeffag scouts received a good input from
their pilots. The planes were easy to fly, well armed and durable. There were
no accidents of losing a lower wing, just like in the German Albatros D.III,
because the Oeffag engineers strengthened the construction by using thicker
wing spars and wing ribs. The root wing was mounted to the fuselage using an
additional metal brace.
While German engineers at Albatros Werke
wanted to decrease the weight of their next scout, their Austrian colleagues at
Oeffag did the opposite thing. Their next designs known as Bauart 153 and 253
(series 153 and 253) were heavier and powered by the stronger engines. The
production of the 153 series was launched in July 1917. Apart from the new
200HP Austro-Daimler Dm 200 six-cylinder inline engine, the upper wing was
slightly moved forward. The planes after 153.111 had redesigned forward
fuselage, because the propeller cowling was removed. The Austro-Hungarian Army
ordered 280 Oeffag 153’s. The model had much better parameters than the earlier
Oeffag series, and the new German Albatros D.V which had appeared on the
Western Front in the late Spring 1917.
After the new Austro-Daimler Dm 225 was
designed by Ferdinand Porsche, the engineers at Oeffag started to adjust the
existing design to the new engine. The new version, known as Bauart 253 (Series
253) was introduced in May 1918. There were 230 planes ordered, but only 201
were delivered until the Armistice. The production was however continued after
World War I.
The Oeffag Ba.253 was the final version of
the successful series. It was said to be the best Austro-Hungarian fighter
plane, which possessed reasonable level speed close to 200 kph (120mph) and a
very good climb ratio. The plane could reach 5000 meters in 20 minutes, while
the 153 series did the same in 13 minutes more. Because of the more powerful
(and heavier) engine, the construction was again strengthened. The fuselage and
outer wings received additional plywood bracing. The wing's trailing edge was
made of wire rather than a steel tubes. Some planes (253.31, 253.64,
253.116-120) had machine guns moved up, so the pilot had full access to them.
The Oeffag scouts were popular among the
Austro-Hungarian Aces, including Godwin Brumowski, Frank Linke-Crawford, Benno
Fiala or Franz Rudorfer.
After the war the Oeffag planes were used
by the Air forces of Poland and Czechoslovakia. One was used in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes as a trainer. Some were used in civil aviation.
Sadly, no Oeffag-built Albatros survived to the present times, however two
Oeffag Ba.253 replicas have been constructed by Mr. Koloman Mayrhofer, one of
which is on display in the Aviaticum Museum in Wiener Neustadt near Vienna, Austria. Both planes use many original parts, such as gauges and Austro-Daimler
engines.
Features
- High resolution textures
- High quality, naturally animated pilot
figure
- 3d gauges
- Six historical paint schemes
- Paintkit (to be released a bit later) as
a separate download
- Detailed manual
- All the cockpit instruments are clickable
- Separate pop-up panel which enables wheel
chocks and engine cover which keeps the engine from overcooling in cold weather
SCREENSHOTS
(high resolution, unedited)
MANUAL
DOWNLOAD (PDF)
