abyss 1 Posted December 11, 2011 Be glad that the oldest Albatros in OFF is the D II. This is from further back the B II Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
carrick58 23 Posted December 11, 2011 I wonder if there was an Albatros A-2 ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shredward 12 Posted December 11, 2011 I wonder if there was an Albatros A-2 ? Older than that, and you'd have a Wright Flyer! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted December 11, 2011 I wonder if there was an Albatros A-2 ? According to German Wikipedia, the were Albatros A 101, 102 and 103 - but there were no pics. http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_B.I Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
themightysrc 5 Posted December 12, 2011 A lovely looking bird - what's not to like? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
abyss 1 Posted December 13, 2011 Well for one thing it's a 2 seater or it's unarmed in a Shooting War, because it was obviously prior to the interrupter gear The Pilot appears to have severely limited forward vision, it's all engine. It looks so restricted he'd need to look out the side into the wind all the time What appears to be RADIATORS on the side of the fusilage, look solid which would make then expansion tanks, so there's no water pump. It would move it's coolent by convection. With that type of cooling, your flights couldn't be to long, or the pilot gets cooked <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I heard an interesting story on another forum which makes sense After the Germans captured Roland Garos's aircraft before he could burn it. They tried the Steel Wedge idea on their own with an EIII, which resulted in one shot off propellor. There was another part of the equation they didn't have. Unknown to them, Roland Garos used reduced velocity ammo with non-jacketed bullets.....They only needed to be deadly for 100yards . . after that who cared When the German Generals were all gathered for the Demonstration, and they shot full jacketed, high velocity ammo they shot off their propellor The High Command then gave Anthony Fokker two weeks to build a working system, there was no Russian Front THEN, But Firing Squads were rather popular The rest is HISTORY That's why the interrupter gear was used on a wing warper Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
carrick58 23 Posted December 13, 2011 Be glad that the oldest Albatros in OFF is the D II. This is from further back the B II MMMMMMMMMMMMM SE 5 and Sopwith Food. What I like about the B II it doesn't turn too tight What I like about the B II it burns so bright :yes: That is what I like Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
abyss 1 Posted December 14, 2011 They're all Albatros, one's a B1, the others are before that, how far before ? . . . . Got me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OvS 8 Posted December 14, 2011 Well for one thing it's a 2 seater or it's unarmed in a Shooting War, because it was obviously prior to the interrupter gear The Pilot appears to have severely limited forward vision, it's all engine. It looks so restricted he'd need to look out the side into the wind all the time What appears to be RADIATORS on the side of the fusilage, look solid which would make then expansion tanks, so there's no water pump. It would move it's coolent by convection. With that type of cooling, your flights couldn't be to long, or the pilot gets cooked The B.II was a very well designed and liked plane for it's purpose and time-frame. In that early era, pilots did not fly for combat, they flew for information. It was not until Garros attached the rife that it became for combat. Before then, the observer carried a rife, and tried to shoot at other observation planes with little success. There were no aerial combat tactics, no MG's mounted, no sense of fear other than the plane falling apart. The side grates are radiators as you have pointed out. Again, no need to worry as no one was shooting at them... until the interrupter gear and Lewis gun game into play for the Entente... but by then the Huns were flying the C.III, Aviatiks, Rumplers, DFW's and other better machines than this one. I wish we could have the Alb B.I and B.II, even though it did not last long, it would be a lot of fun to just do observation flights with no combat to worry about. Just flying. Knock the B.II, but I'd take it any day over that death trap Cauldron G.III/G.IV any day of the week. ;) All the best, OvS Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JFM 18 Posted December 15, 2011 Garros' steel wedges were in fact backups for the interrupter gear that Morane-Saulnier had developed. Gunnery tests had revealed hang fires and an irregular firing rate of the open-bolt machine guns they used caused bullets to strike the prop, hence the backup wedges. The gear was still on the plane when it went down. That Fokker designed syncro gear in two weeks is a myth propagated by Fokker himself, via his autobiography. He was given contract to come up with syncro gear but he had already been working on it for months, believed based on a 1913 patent held by Franz Schneider, a Swiss with Luftverkehrsgesellschaft (LVG). To back up what OVS said, the Albatros B.II was one of the war's great planes. The pilot sat in the rear cockpit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hasse Wind 46 Posted December 15, 2011 The High Command then gave Anthony Fokker two weeks to build a working system, there was no Russian Front THEN http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Front_%28World_War_I%29 It took several months to design the interrupter gear. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites