Albatros B.III
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
| name=B.III | image=Albatros B.III.jpg | caption= }}{{Infobox aircraft type | type=reconnaissance | national origin=Germany | manufacturer=Albatros Flugzeugwerke, Oeffag, OAW | designer=Ernst Heinkel | first flight= | introduced= | retired= | status= | primary user= | number built= | developed from= Albatros B.II | variants with their own articles= }} |
The Albatros B.III, (post-war company designation L.5), was a German World War I reconnaissance biplane, built by Albatros Flugzeugwerke as the Albatros LDD.
Development and design
The Albatros B.III was the last of the company's unarmed reconnaissance two-seaters and was a precursor to the most important of their armed reconnaissance biplanes, the C.III.
The changes from the previous versions were fairly minor. It introduced what would become the typical Albatros tail when the rudder was rounded off. It was otherwise similar to the B.II. The B.III was produced in small numbers during 1915, but it was already clear that reconnaissance aircraft needed to be armed. Albatros then produced the C.I, which was based on the earlier B.II, and then moved onto the C.III. With some additional detail changes the Albatros C.III was basically an armed version of the B.III, although few parts remained interchangeable between the two aircraft.
Variants
- Albatros L.5 - post-war manufacturers' retroactive designation
Operators
;{{flag|German Empire}}
;{{flag|Austria-Hungary}}
=Units using this aircraft=
FEA 6
Specifications
{{Aircraft specs
|prime units? = met
|crew=2
|length m=7.8
|length ft=25
|length in=7
|span m=11
|span ft=36
|span in=1
|height m=3.15
|height ft=10
|height in=4
|wing area sqm=40.12
|wing area sqft=432
|empty weight kg=723
|empty weight lb=1,594
|gross weight kg=1,071
|gross weight lb=2,361
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Mercedes D.II inline piston or 1 Daimler D I, D II, Argus As II or Bz III
|eng1 kw=90
|eng1 hp=120
|max speed kmh=120
|max speed mph=75
|endurance=4 hours|ceiling m=3,000
|ceiling ft=9,840
|armament = *None
}}
See also
{{aircontent
|related=
|similar aircraft=
- AEG B.I
- AEG B.II
- AEG B.III
- Aviatik B.I
- Aviatik B.II
- Aviatik B.III
- DFW B.I & II
- LVG B.I, II & III
- Rumpler B.I
|lists=
- Idflieg aircraft designation system
- List of military aircraft of the Central Powers in World War I
- List of military aircraft of Germany by manufacturer
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
{{commons category}}
- {{cite book|last1=Gray|first1=Peter|last2=Thetford|first2=Owen|title=German Aircraft of the First World War|publisher=Putman|location=London|year=1962}}
- {{cite book |last1=Herris |first1=Jack |title=Albatros Aircraft of WWI: Volume 1: Early Two-Seaters: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes |date=2016 |publisher=Aeronaut Books |location=n.p. |isbn=978-1-935881-47-6|series=Great War Aviation Centennial Series|volume=24}}
- {{cite journal |last1=Klaauw|first1=Bart van der|title=Unexpected Windfalls: Accidentally or Deliberately, More than 100 Aircraft 'arrived' in Dutch Territory During the Great War |journal=Air Enthusiast |date=March–April 1999 |issue=80 |pages=54–59 |issn=0143-5450}}
- {{cite book |last= Taylor |first= Michael J. H. |title=Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War I |year=1990 |publisher=Studio Editions |location=London |pages=141}}
{{Albatros aircraft}}
{{Idflieg B-class designations}}
Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft
Category:1910s German military reconnaissance aircraft
Category:Aircraft first flown in 1915