Albatros D.V

In April 1917, Albatros received an order from () for an improved version of the D.III. The design process was headed by the aeronautical engineer Robert Thelen, the company's chief designer at Johannisthal. Development proceeded at a rapid pace, the resulting D.V prototype performed its maiden flight late in April 1917. This prototype retained the standard rudder of the Johannisthal-built D.III; subsequent production aircraft used the enlarged rudder featured on D.IIIs built by the (OAW), in what was known as the independent city of Schneidemühl. The D.V had a larger spinner and ventral fin and closely resembled the D.III with the same 127 kW (170 hp) Mercedes D.IIIa engine. The most notable difference was a new, elliptical cross-section fuselage which was lighter than the partially flat-sided fuselage of the earlier D.I to D.III designs. The new elliptical cross-section required an additional longeron on each side of the fuselage and the fin, rudder and tailplane initially remained unchanged from the D.III. Early examples of the D.V featured a large headrest but it was usually removed in service as it interfered with the pilot's field of view. Aircraft deployed in Palestine had a pair of wing radiators, better to cope with the warmer climate. issued production contracts for 200 D.V aircraft in April 1917, followed by additional orders of 400 in May and 300 in July. Initial production of the D.V was undertaken by the Johannisthal factory, while the Schneidemühl factory produced the D.III for the rest of 1917. ==Operational history==

The D.V entered service with the German Air Force in May 1917 but losses attributed to structural failures of the lower wing occurred. The outboard sections of the D.V upper wing also suffered failures, requiring additional wire bracing and the fuselage sometimes cracked during rough landings. Albatros responded with the D.Va, which featured stronger wing spars, heavier wing ribs and a reinforced fuselage. The modified D.Va was heavier than the D.III but the structural problems were not entirely cured. Use of the high-compression Mercedes D.IIIaü engine offset the increased weight of the D.Va. The D.Va also reverted to the D.III aileron cable linkage, running outwards through the lower wing, then upwards to the ailerons, much the same as the earlier Albatros B.I unarmed two-seater had used before 1914, providing a more positive control response. The wings of the D.III and D.Va were interchangeable. In May 1918, 131 D.V and 928 D.Va aircraft were in service on the Western Front; the numbers declined as the Fokker D.VII and other types replaced the Albatros in the final months of the war. By 31 August, fewer than 400 Albatros fighters of all types remained at the front but they continued in service until the Armistice of 11 November 1918 that ended the conflict. ==Surviving aircraft and reproductions==

Two D.Va aircraft survive in museums. • It is believed serial D.7161/17 served with Jasta 46 before being captured sometime in April or May 1918. In 1919, the aircraft was presented to the De Young Museum in San Francisco, California. The National Air and Space Museum acquired the aircraft in 1949. It was placed in storage until restoration began in 1977. Since 1979, D.7161/17 has been on display at the Air and Space Museum, in Washington D.C. This aircraft carries the distinctive personal marking of "Stropp" on the fuselage sides. • Serial D.5390/17 was shot down during a fight with an Australian Flying Corps R.E.8 on 17 December 1917. It landed intact behind the lines of the 21st Infantry Battalion of the Second Australian Division, AIF. The unit recovered the aircraft and took the pilot, Rudolf Clausz of 29, prisoner. In February 1918, the War Office ceded D.5390/17 to the AFC as a war trophy. It was eventually put on display at the Australian War Memorial. In 2008, D.5390/17 returned to public display at the AWM's ANZAC Hall in Canberra. Cole Palen built a flying replica for his Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome (in Bavarian ace Hans Böhning's colour scheme for its rear fuselage.) A Ranger-powered replica, built in Canada, now flies with the New Zealand Warbirds Association at Ardmore, Auckland. A number of authentically constructed airworthy Albatros D.Va reproductions have been built in New Zealand with original and new-build engines. One example is on display at the Royal Air Force Museum in Colindale, London, another is owned by Kermit Weeks in Florida, USA, while two others remain flying with TVAL in NZ. A reproduction Albatros D.Va is on display at the San Diego Air and Space Museum. It has a rare Hall-Scott L-6 engine of 1917, which was based on the original Mercedes. ==Operators==

in his D.V (serial D.2034/17) '''''' • • '''''' • Polish Air Force (postwar) '''''' • Ottoman Air Force ==Specifications (D.V)==