Roden #012 1/72 Albatros D.III WWI German Fighter

The appearance of the Albatros D.III was closely influenced by the latest French designs, in particular Nieuport. Of course, Nieuport fighters were not true biplanes but "sesquiplanes" (ie. 1 ½ wings). The lower wing was built around a single spar, and the chord of the lower wing was narrower in comparison with the upper wing. Robert Thelen and the Albatros designers completely rebuilt the wing cellule; all others elements of the Albatros D.II (fuselage, tail unit, undercarriage) were still in place. Only the interplane struts received a new configuration: parallel struts were replaced by V-struts. Some aspects of performance, like maneuverability and climb, increased, but speed was unchanged. The power of the Mercedes D.IIIa engine was now rated at 160 h.p., but this was not enough. Teeves & Braun replaced Windhoff side radiators, retained on many D.IIs, with an installation on the wing. The first mass-production aircraft reached the Front in December 1916, and were greeted with enthusiasm by many pilots. But very soon many of the aircraft crashed: the lower wing had a tendency to collapse in excessive maneuvers. Even Manfred von Richthofen almost fell victim to this fault on January 24th 1917, but he was fortunate enough to effect a hurried forced landing. He changed his Albatros for a Halberstadt D.II, but one month later he again returned to the cockpit of the Albatros. Despite the problem with the lower wing, the Albatros D.III was still the best German fighter in the first half of 1917 and superior to any Allied fighter. "Bloody April" of 1917, when Great Britain lost 151 aircraft on Western Front (Germany lost 30), led the Allies to seek an adequate answer to the Albatros D.III. Production of the Albatros D.III increased from month to month: in March 1917 137 were in service at the Front, 327 in May, and 446 in November of the same year. The parent plant of Albatros Flugzeugwerke, situated in Johannistahl, built 500 fighters of this type, and the branch factory OAW in Schneidemuhl built an additional 840 aircraft. The OAW fighter was distinguished from the original D.III by the rounded edge of the rudder. Even when the more modern Albatros D.V appeared, production of the D.III was not stopped; many D.IIIs were still in service until the last days of the war. The Albatros D.III did not only serve on the Western Front. Many fighters were sent to the Italian Front and Palestine. The warmer climate of Palestine required better engine cooling, and as a result, one more radiator was installed on the wing. But the Albatros D.III was not as successful in this theater as in France. The first half of 1917 was the "star time" for the Albatros D.III. The introduction of the British S.E.5 and French Spad S.7 immediately made it obsolete. But at the end of 1918, when the Fokker D.VII dominated in the sky, many Albatros D.IIIs were still defending the air space of Germany.

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The Gotha G.I, Gotha G.II, Gotha G.III Bombers, were built in 1915-1916 by Gothaer Waggonfabric AG, they were principally a new type of fighting machine (bomber). Nevertheless they were not able to carry out the "Strategic Missions"; this phrase being used by German High command to designate air raids over England. But the situation had changed radically after the successful testing of a new modification by Gotha on the G.IV. The Gotha G.IV differed from its predecessors in the size of its ailerons on both wings and the so-called 'Gotha tunnel' - a special cut-out in the aft bottom part of its fuselage which allowed its gunner to defend the aircraft in both the upper and lower hemispheres. Moreover, additional fuel tanks were installed which increased its range. After Inspection by the Air Force, 52 aircraft were immediately ordered from the Gotha Company and another 180 machines were to be built under license from Luft Verkehrs-Gesselschaft (LWG) and Siemens Schuckert Werke (SSW) until the end of 1916. In March and April of 1917, Kagohl 3, a new military unit (unofficially called as Englanheschwaders) had obtained the first batch of serially manufactured 'fours'. The staging area of Kagohl 3 was at New Manchester situated on the Belgian coastline, in close proximity to Great Britain. The first raid was made by Kagohl 3 on May 25 1917; it was aimed at Folkestone, Shorncliffe and Cheriton. The results were terrible: 95 people were killed, and 192 wounded, although with respect to the number of victims, the raid outdid the best raids of the airships. Up to and including September 1917, Kagohl 3 had bombed the British Isles seven more times (London was bombed three times). On June 13th 1917, fourteen Gotha G.IVs attacked the territory near the Liverpool Street Station, dropping 72 bombs in total. 162 people were killed and 432 more were wounded. This raid went down in the history of the First World War as the most powerful raid, taking into account the number of its victims. The general public of Great Britain were aghast at this, while the press accused the government of being paralyzed, the British were forced to change the whole system of air defense radically; they formed the so-called "Home Defense Network". Germany, to the contrary, triumphed over the "Defeated Enemy". Hauptmann Ernst Brandenburg, squadron commander of Kagohl 3, was decorated with the highest war decoration for airmen - the Pour le Merite ('Blue Max'). Only fighter pilots were honored with the "Blue Max" before this time. Starting in September of 1917, Kagohl 3 switched to night raids only, caused by the high losses among the strategically important Gotha G.IVs during the raids (the British home defense network was found to be very efficient). At the same time, Kagohl 3 had received a new modification of the G.IV aircraft - the Gotha G.V- - which gradually relegated the 'fours' to the background. The last five Gotha G.IVs were written off in the autumn of 1918.

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