Albatros D - Model Airways MA1001

A 160 HP fighter biplane. It was produced at Albatros Werke GmbH in Piła in the years 1916-1918. Wingspan approx. 9 m, length approx. 7 m. Own / take-off weight: 660/900 kg. Hull: wooden truss covered with plywood. The speed of the fighter was up to 175 km / h, the ceiling was 5500 m. The flight time was about 2 hours. The armament of the Albatros D is 2 MG 08/15 machine guns, caliber 7.92 mm. Apart from the German Empire, these fighters were also used by Austria-Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Lithuania. They had a higher rate of climb and had an overall advantage over the older Entente fighters. It was the Albatrosses that contributed to the heavy losses of the British in April 1917. This advantage was eliminated in the second half of 1917 after the introduction of new fighters, incl. Nieuport 28. The Albatros DIII was the machine of air ace, Baron Manfred von Richthofen (known as the Red Baron), who died over Soma in a duel with Canadian pilot Arthur Roy Brown.