Albatros D.XI

Albatros D.XI

Role: Fighter
Manufacturer: Albatros Flugzeugwerke
Primary user: Germany

The Albatros D.XI was a German single-seat fighter biplane first flown in February 1918. It was the first Albatros design to use a rotary engine, in the form of the 120 kW (160 hp) Siemens-Halske Sh.III, and also featured a new wing construction with diagonal struts from the fuselage replacing traditional wire bracing.

The wings had unequal spans with the upper planes having greater span than the lower ones, and were braced by I-struts with an aerofoil cross-section, additional rigidity being provided by twinned diagonal struts from the base of these to the top of the fuselage, located where the "landing wires" of a normal wire-braced biplane would be. The use of a rotary engine necessitated a large-diameter propeller and a correspondingly tall undercarriage.

The D.XI was armed with the same twin 7.92 mm (.312 in) Spandau LMG 08/15 machine guns employed on other Albatros fighters. Two prototypes were built, the first having balanced, parallel-chord ailerons and a four-blade propeller; and the second with inversely tapered, unbalanced ailerons and a two-blade propeller. The D.XI was not put into production.

Specifications (D.XI)

General characteristics

Crew: one pilot
Length: 5.58 m (18 ft 4 in)
Wingspan: 8.00 m (26 ft 3 in)
Wing area: 18.5 m² (199 ft²)
Empty weight: 494 kg (1,089 lb)
Gross weight: 723 kg (1,594 lb)
Powerplant: 1 x— Siemens-Halske Sh.III, 120 kW (160 hp)

Performance

Maximum speed: 190 km/h (120 mph)
Endurance: 2 hours

Armament

2 x— forward-firing 7.92 mm (.312 in) LMG 08/15 machine guns

Green, W.; Swanborough, G. (1994). The Complete Book of Fighters. London: Salamander Books. ISBN 1-85833-777-1.
Das Virtuelle Luftfahrtmuseum

Albatros D.XI Pictures and Albatros D.XI for Sale.

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Source: WikiPedia