The Albatros C.III was a German two-seat general-purpose

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, built by

Albatros Flugzeugwerke Albatros Flugzeugwerke GmbH was a German aircraft manufacturer best known for supplying the German airforces during World War I. The company was based in Johannisthal, Berlin, where it was founded by Walter Huth and Otto Wiener on December 20, 1 ...

. The C.III was a refined version of the successful

Albatros C.I The Albatros C.I, (post-war company designations L.6 & L.7), was the first of the successful C-series of two-seat general-purpose biplanes built by Albatros Flugzeugwerke during World War I. Based on the unarmed Albatros B.II, the C.I reversed ...

and was eventually produced in greater numbers than any other C-type Albatros.

Use

The C.III was used in a wide variety of roles including observation,

photo-reconnaissance Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including artillery spotting, the collection of imag ...

, light bombing and bomber escort. First twelve aircraft went to the front in December 1915.Grosz (1989), p.3 The biggest number was available on the front in August 1916 – 354.Grosz (1989), p.28 They were mostly withdrawn from frontline service by mid-1917, although the production continued for training. Orders for 2271 aircraft in total are known. Eighteen C.IIIs were delivered in August 1916 to Bulgaria. They were destroyed in 1920 in accordance with the

Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine (french: Traité de Neuilly-sur-Seine) required Bulgaria to cede various territories, after Bulgaria had been one of the Central Powers defeated in World War I. The treaty was signed on 27 November 1919 at Neuilly ...

. According to other sources, 26 Albatros C.III were delivered to Bulgaria, including eight trainers.

Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force ( pl, Siły Powietrzne, , Air Forces) is the aerial warfare branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 16,425 mil ...

operated 15 Albatros C.III in 1918-1920 during Polish-Soviet War.

Construction

Like the

, the C.III was a popular aircraft with rugged construction and viceless handling. The most prominent difference between the two was the revised

vertical stabilizer A vertical stabilizer or tail fin is the static part of the vertical tail of an aircraft. The term is commonly applied to the assembly of both this fixed surface and one or more movable rudders hinged to it. Their role is to provide control, sta ...

. The C.III had a lower, rounded tail compared to the large, triangular tail of the C.I, which, combined with smaller weight, gave the C.III greater agility. The power plant was either a 110 kW (150 hp) Benz Bz. III or a 120 kW (160 hp)

Mercedes Mercedes may refer to: People * Mercedes (name), a Spanish feminine name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or last name Automobile-related * Mercedes (marque), the pre-1926 brand name of German automobile m ...

D.III inline engine and, like numerous other two-seaters used during the war (such as the British

Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 The Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 was a British two-seat biplane reconnaissance and bomber aircraft of the First World War designed and produced at the Royal Aircraft Factory. It was also built under contract by Austin Motors, Daimler, Standar ...

) the

cylinder head In an internal combustion engine, the cylinder head (often abbreviated to simply "head") sits above the cylinders and forms the roof of the combustion chamber. In sidevalve engines, the head is a simple sheet of metal; whereas in more modern ov ...

and

exhaust manifold In automotive engineering, an exhaust manifold collects the exhaust gases from multiple cylinders into one pipe. The word ''manifold'' comes from the Old English word ''manigfeald'' (from the Anglo-Saxon ''manig'' anyand ''feald'' old and refe ...

protruded above the front

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

, limiting the pilot's forward visibility. The

observer An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment. Observer may also refer to: Computer science and information theory * In information theory, any system which receives information from an object * State observer in con ...

, who occupied the rear

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...

, was armed with a single 7.92 mm (0.312 in)

Parabellum MG14 The Parabellum MG 14 was a 7.92 mm caliber World War I machine gun built by Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken. It was a redesign of the Maschinengewehr 08 machine gun (itself an adaptation of the Maxim gun) system intended for use on airc ...

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

. C.III aircraft were typically fitted with a gun synchronizer and a single forward-firing 7.92 mm (0.312 in)

LMG 08/15 The ''Maschinengewehr'' 08, or MG 08, was the German Army's standard machine gun in World War I and is an adaptation of Hiram S. Maxim's original 1884 Maxim gun. It was produced in a number of variants during the war. The MG 08 served during Wo ...

machine gun. The C.III could also carry a bomb load of up to 90 kg (200 lb) in four vertical tubes in the fuselage or external racks. Between 1926 and 1927, two Mercedes D.III engined copies were built from saved parts and components of the destroyed aircraft by Bulgarian state aircraft workshops DAR as the DAR 2 for use as trainers.Bernád 2001, pp. 24–25. According to D. Nedialkov, twelve DAR-2 were built (at least nine are confirmed by a photograph). Three C.III's were built in 1927-1928 at Lithuanian Karo Aviacijos dirbtuvės (Military Aviation Workshop) in Kaunas.

Operators

; *

Bulgarian Air Force The Bulgarian Air Force ( bg, Военновъздушни сили, Voennovazdushni sili) is one of the three branches of the Military of Bulgaria, the other two being the Bulgarian Navy and Bulgarian land forces. Its mission is to guard and p ...

(including DAR-2) ; *

Finnish Air Force The Finnish Air Force (FAF or FiAF; fi, Ilmavoimat, , Air forces; sv, Flygvapnet, , Air weapon) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of Finnis ...

; *

Luftstreitkräfte The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Force)—known before October 1916 as (Flyer Troops)—was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-language sources it is usually referred to as the Imperial German Air Service, alt ...

* Marine Flieger-Abteilung ; *

Latvian Air Force Latvian Air Force ( lv, Latvijas Gaisa spēki) is the aviation branch of the National Armed Forces. The first air force (AF) units were established 1992. It has no air combat capability, thus the defense of Latvian air space is maintained by NATO ...

; *

Lithuanian Air Force The Lithuanian Air Force or LAF ( lt, Lietuvos karinės oro pajėgos, abbreviated as ''LK KOP'') is the military aviation branch of the Lithuanian armed forces. It is formed from professional military servicemen and non-military personnel. Units ...

(12 bought and 3 built) ; *

(15 used) ; *

Ottoman Air Force The Aviation Squadrons of the Ottoman Empire were military aviation units of the Ottoman Army and Navy.Edward J. Erickson, ''Ordered To Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War'', "Appendix D The Ottoman Aviation Inspectorate an ...

(No AK 8 to AK 41)Grosz (1989), p.29 ; *

Austro-Hungarian Air Force The Austro-Hungarian Aviation Troops or Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops (german: Kaiserliche und Königliche Luftfahrtruppen or , hu, Császári és Királyi Légjárócsapatok) were the air force of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the e ...

Variants

''Data from'' ;C.VI: (L 16) about shorter and , with strengthened engine bearers to take a

Argus As III The Argus As III was a six-cylinder, in-line, water-cooled, aircraft engine produced in Germany by Argus Motoren during World War I. The Argus As III produced at 1,400 rpm.Huth, 1920, pp. 232-233 Design and development Argus Motoren alre ...

six-cylinder inline. Some 4% faster. Limited production. Albatros W

;W.2: Seaplane variant with twin floats, modified Mercedes D.II installation, revised

cabane strut In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...

and a much larger

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

in observer's cockpit. One only, delivered June 1916.

Specifications (C.III)

References

Bibliography

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Use