The Albatros G.I, (post-war company designation L.4), was a four-engined
German
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* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
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 ...
bomber
A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...
of
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 ...
.
Development
Founded on 27 April 1914 the Ostdeutsche Albatroswerke G.m.b.H. at
Schneidemühl by
Otto Wiener and Dr. Walter Huth, the OAW maintained close ties with Albatros, remaining an independent
company until October 1917. The majority of OAWs work involved licence manufacture of products from the parent Albatros company.
Given the company designation L4, one of the few homegrown designs was the Albatros G.I a four-engined heavy bomber inspired by the
Sikorsky Ilya Muromets
The Sikorsky ''Ilya Muromets'' (russian: Сикорский Илья Муромец) (Sikorsky S-22, S-23, S-24, S-25, S-26 and S-27) were a class of Russian pre-World War I large four-engine commercial airliners and military heavy bombers used ...
. The G.I was of typical construction for 1915, with wooden structure, wire-braced and covered with fabric and four engines mounted in nacelles on the lower wing upper surface.
First flown on 31 January 1916 by
Alexander Hipleh
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
, flight trials revealed not only poor flying qualities, but also poor performance, which resulted in further development being abandoned. The later G.II and G.III were not directly related to the G.I, being twin-engined, a lot lighter and having completely different wing designs.
Specifications (G.I)
See also
References
{{Idflieg G-class designations
G.I
GI or Gi may refer to:
Military
* G.I., a nickname (from galvanized iron) for U.S. Army soldiers
Arts and entertainment
* ''GI'' (album), an album by the Germs
* Gi (Captain Planet character)
* ''Game Informer'', a magazine
* Global Icon (band ...
1910s German bomber aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1916