Samoloty Albatros: książki - historia i technika

Albatros Aircraft of WW I (Volume 1) - Early Two-Seaters

This book describes and illustrates the development of early Albatros two-seaters of WWI through the C.IV with text, 444 photos, 56 color profiles, production quantities and serial numbers of aircraft, and aircraft dimensions and performance specifications.
In addition, three aircraft are illustrated in scale drawings to 1/72 scale.

Albatros Aircraft of WW I (Volume 2) - Late Two-Seaters

This book describes and illustrates the development of later Albatros two-seaters of WWI with text, 359 photos, 48 color profiles, production quantities and serial numbers of aircraft, and aircraft dimensions and performance specifications.
In addition, five aircraft are illustrated in scale drawings to 1/48 scale done for this book.

Albatros Aircraft of WW I (Volume 3) - Bombers, Seaplanes, J-Types

This book describes and illustrates the development of Albatros bombers, seaplanes, and J-Types, of WWI with text, 188 photos, 34 color profiles, production quantities and serial numbers of aircraft, and aircraft dimensions and performance specifications.
In addition, 6 aircraft are illustrated in scale drawings.

Albatros Aircraft of WW I (Volume 4) - Fighters

This book describes and illustrates the development of Albatros fighters of WWI with text, 316 photos, 125 color profiles, 22 color plan views, production quantities and serial numbers of aircraft, and aircraft dimensions and performance specifications.
In addition, 10 aircraft are illustrated in 1/48 scale drawings.

Albatros D.I-D.II

In 1916 German aerial domination had been lost to the French and British fighters. German fighter pilots requested an aircraft that was more powerful and more heavily armed, and the Albatros design bureau set to work on what was to become an iconic aircraft design. By April 1916, they had developed the Albatros D.I, that featured the usual Albatros semi-monocoque wooden construction with a 160hp Mercedes engine and two forward-firing machine guns.
Alongside the development of the D.I, Albatros had also designed and built a second machine that was similar to the D.I - the Albatros D.II. Although there were several external differences between the two aircraft, it is important to note that these machines evolved simultaneously and that the D.II was not the result of post-combat feedback from D.I pilots.
With the inclusion of these aircraft into their reorganized air force, Germany was able to regain control of the skies by autumn 1916. Along with the later designs they inspired, the Albatros D.I and D.II were instrumental in allowing the Germans to prosecute their domination through 'Bloody April' and well into the summer months that followed.

Contents: Introduction - Design and Development - Technical Specifications and Variants - Operational History - Conclusion - Bibliography and Further Reading.

Albatros D-II - Germany's Legendary World War I Fighter

Describes the history and use of the Albatros D-II, Germany's legendary World War I fighter plane.

DH 2 vs Albatros D I/D II - Western Front, 1916

Flown by Victoria Cross recipient Lanoe Hawker and the members of No 24 Sqn, the ungainly yet nimble DH 2 helped the Allies attain air superiority over the Somme in early 1916 and hold it through the summer. With its rotary engine 'pusher' configuration affording excellent visibility and eliminating the need for a synchronized machine gun, the DH 2 was more than a match for anything the Germans could put in the air.
That is, until the arrival of the Albatros D II, a sleek inline-engined machine built for speed and with twin-gun firepower. Thus, the later part of 1916 saw an epic struggle in the skies above the Somme pitting the manoeuvrable yet under-gunned DH 2s against the less nimble yet better armed and faster Albatros D IIs.
In the end the Germans would regain air superiority, three squadron commanders - two of whom were considered pinnacles of their respective air forces - would lose their lives, and an up-and-coming pilot (Manfred von Richthofen) would triumph in a legendary dogfight and attain unimagined heights fighting with tactics learned from a fallen mentor.

Contents: Introduction - Chronology - Design and development - Strategic situation - Technical specifications - The combatants - Combat - Statistics and analysis - Aftermath - Bibliography - Glossary.

Albatros D.III - Johannisthal, OAW, and Oeffag Variants

In 1916 German aerial domination, once held sway by rotary-engined Fokker and Pfalz E-type wing-warping monoplanes, had been lost to the more nimble French Nieuports and British DH 2s which not only out-flew the German fighters but were present in greater numbers.
Born-from-experience calls from German fighter pilots requested that, rather than compete with the maneuverability of these adversaries, new single-engine machines should be equipped with higher horsepower engines and armed with two rather than the then-standard single machine gun.
The Robert Thelen-led Albatros design bureau set to work on what became the Albatros D.I and D.II and by April 1916, they had developed a sleek yet rugged machine that featured the usual Albatros semi-monocoque wooden construction and employed a 160hp Mercedes D.III engine with power enough to equip the aeroplane with two forward-firing machine guns. In all, 500 D.IIIs and 840 D.III(OAW)s were produced and saw heavy service throughout 1917.

Contents: Introduction - Design and Development - Technical Specifications and Variants - Operational History - Conclusion.

FE 2b/d vs Albatros Scouts - Western Front, 1916-17

In the spring of 1916 the deployment of the RFC's FE 2 - with its rotary engine 'pusher' configuration affording excellent visibility for its pilot and observer, and removing the need for synchronized machine guns - helped wrest aerial dominance from Imperial Germany's Fokker Eindecker monoplanes, and then contributed to retaining it throughout the Somme battles of that fateful summer.
However, by autumn German reorganization saw the birth of the Jagdstaffeln (specialised fighter squadrons) and the arrival of the new Albatros D scout, a sleek inline-engined machine built for speed and twin-gun firepower. Thus, for the remainder of 1916 and well into the next year an epic struggle for aerial superiority raged above the horrors of the Somme and Passchendaele battlefields, pitting the FE 2 against the better-armed and faster Albatros scouts that were focused on attacking and destroying their two-seater opponents.
In the end the Germans would regain air superiority, and hold it into the following summer with the employment of their new Jagdgeschwader (larger fighter groupings), but the FE 2 remained a tenacious foe that inflicted many casualties - some of whom were Germany's best aces (including 'The Red Baron').

Contents: Introduction - Chronology - Design and Development - Technical Specifications - The Strategic Situation - The Combatants - Combat - Statistics and Analysis - Aftermath - Bibliography - Index.

Spad VII vs Albatros D III - 1917-18

When originally conceived, the French SPAD VII and German Albatros D II represented steps away from an emphasis on manoeuvre in aerial combat in favour of speed and durability. At the end of 1916, however, Albatros tried to have the best of both worlds. The result combined the better downward view and manoeuvrability of the Nieuport with the power and twin machine guns of the Albatros D II.
At the same time, the French worked to improve the SPAD VII with more power and a more reliable cooling system before moving on to the twin-gunned SPAD XIII. While all that was going on, the Albatros D III became a mainstay of the German and Austro-Hungarian air services in frequent encounters with SPAD VIIs flown by French, Belgian, British, Italian and American airmen.

This book examines the technology and strategy that defined the outcome of the battles between the Spad VII and the Albatros D III.

Albatross Aces of World War 1

The Albatros family of fighters were amongst the most effective aircraft employed by the Idlfieg (Imperial German Air Service) for much of World War 1, with the D.III and D.Va being flown by most of the 363 pilots who qualified as aces at some point in their often brief careers.
The Albatros was the scourge of the RFC on the Western Front in 1916-17, with pilots of the calibre of von Richthofen, Boelke and Schleich cutting swathes through their opponents. Well over 4000 Albatros scouts were built between 1916 and 1918, and they were also extensively used by the Austro-Hungarians against Russian, Italian and British aircraft until war's end.

Contents: Western Front - Albatros D V and D Va - The Fighert Groups - Appendices.

Albatros Aces of World War 1 (Part 2)

From September 1916 until late 1918, biplanes from the Albatros firm formed the primary equipment of Germany's fighter forces. Starting with the D I of 1916, these aircraft underwent a continuous programme of development and production to the D Va of late 1917.
Albatros fighters reached their zenith of deadly efficiency in the spring of 1917, when the Albatros D III took a heavy toll of Allied aircraft. Nearly every one of the 81 Jagdstaffeln, or fighter squadrons, operated one or more types of highly decorated Albatros aircraft at some point in their history.

This book is a follow-up to Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 32 World War 1 - Albatros Aces, and provides a look at the design and production of the Albatros series. It also details the careers of some of the war's best known and lesser-known aces. The exploits of such luminaries as Ernst Udet, Max Müller, Karl-Emil Schäfer and Julius Buckler are recounted through their own first-hand accounts, rare archival photography and superb colour artwork.

Contents: The Biplane Takes Over (Debut of the Albatros D I, D II and introduction of the Jagdstaffeln) - Bloody April (the supremacy of the Albatros D III in April 1917 and beyond) - Maximum Effort (the summer - autumn of 1917 saw the maximum percentage of Albatros D V and D Va at the front) - Kaiserschlacht and beyond (aces who flew Albatros fighters in the March 1918 Offensive and afterwards).