Albatros B.I

B.I
	Albatros B.I
Role	Reconnaissance aircraft
Manufacturer	Albatros Flugzeugwerke
Primary user	Luftstreitkräfte

The Albatros B.I, (post-war company designation L.1) was a German military reconnaissance aircraft designed in 1913 and which saw service during World War I.^[1]

Design and development[edit]

The B.I was a two-seat biplane of conventional configuration that seated the observer and the pilot in separate cockpits in tandem. The wings were originally of three-bay design, but were later changed to a two-bay, unstaggered configuration; featuring a typical aileron control cable system for German aircraft of the time, that allowed for a horizontal control horn that fitted into a structural pocket in the wing structure at neutral. A floatplane version was developed as the Albatros W.I.

Variants[edit]

B.I: German production aircraft for the Luftstreitkräfte
Phönix 20.01: First prototype for Austrian production.^[2]
Phönix 20.02: second prototype for Austrian production.
B.I(Ph) series 21: Production by Phönix Flugzeug-Werke AG at Vienna for the Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops.
B.I(Ph) series 24: Production by Phönix Flugzeug-Werke AG at Vienna for the Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops.
B.I(Ph) series 25: Production by Phönix Flugzeug-Werke AG at Vienna, with the KNV (Knoller Verspannung) for the Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops; 48 ordered, reduced to 16 due to delays and persistent problems.

Operational history[edit]

The B.Is were withdrawn from front line service in 1915 but some examples served as trainers for the remainder of the war.

Operators[edit]

Austria-Hungary

Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops

Bulgaria

Bulgarian Air Force

German Empire

Netherlands

Royal Netherlands Air Force

Poland

The Polish Air Force operated this type postwar.

Romania

Romanian Air Corps - One Albatros purchased from Germany in 1913^[3]

Turkey

Ottoman Air Force

Surviving aircraft[edit]

The Phönix 20.01, prototype for Austrian production of the Albatros B.I(Ph), is preserved at the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum in Vienna.

Specifications (B.I)[edit]

Data from German aircraft of the First World War ^[4]

General characteristics

Crew: 2
Length: 8.57 m (28 ft 1 in)
Wingspan: 14.48 m (47 ft 6 in)
Height: 3.15 m (10 ft 4 in)
Empty weight: 747 kg (1,647 lb)
Gross weight: 1,080 kg (2,381 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Mercedes D.I 6-cylinder water-cooled in-line piston engine, 75 kW (100 hp)
Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch wooden propeller

Performance

Maximum speed: 105 km/h (65 mph, 57 kn)
Range: 650 km (400 mi, 350 nmi)
Endurance: ca 4 hours
Time to altitude: 800 m (2,600 ft) in 10 minutes

References[edit]

^ Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 51.
^ Treadwell, Terry C. (2010). German & Austro-Hungarian aircraft manufacturers 1908–1918. Stroud: Amberley Publishing. pp. 236–244. ISBN 978-1-4456-0102-1.
^ Valeriu Avram (2013). "Din Istoria Aripilor Românești 1910-1916" (PDF). Buletinul Arhivelor Militare Române (in Romanian). No. 61/2013. pp. 2–17. ISSN 1454-0924.
^ Gray, Peter; Owen Thetford (1970). German aircraft of the First World War (2nd ed.). London: Putnam. p. 252. ISBN 0-370-00103-6.

Bibliography[edit]

Klaauw, Bart van der (March–April 1999). "Unexpected Windfalls: Accidentally or Deliberately, More than 100 Aircraft 'arrived' in Dutch Territory During the Great War". Air Enthusiast (80): 54–59. ISSN 0143-5450.

[taylor-1] Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 51.

[Treadwell-2] Treadwell, Terry C. (2010). German & Austro-Hungarian aircraft manufacturers 1908–1918. Stroud: Amberley Publishing. pp. 236–244. ISBN 978-1-4456-0102-1.

[3] Valeriu Avram (2013). "Din Istoria Aripilor Românești 1910-1916" (PDF). Buletinul Arhivelor Militare Române (in Romanian). No. 61/2013. pp. 2–17. ISSN 1454-0924.

[Gray-4] Gray, Peter; Owen Thetford (1970). German aircraft of the First World War (2nd ed.). London: Putnam. p. 252. ISBN 0-370-00103-6.

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v t e World War I aircraft of the Central Powers
Fighters	AEG D.I AEG Dr.I Albatros D.I Albatros D.II Albatros D.III Albatros D.V Aviatik D.I Aviatik C.VI Daimler L.6 Euler D.I Euler D.II Fokker D.I Fokker D.II Fokker D.III Fokker D.IV Fokker D.V Fokker D.VI Fokker D.VII Fokker D.VIII Fokker Dr.I Fokker E.I Fokker E.II Fokker E.III Fokker E.IV Fokker E.V Halberstadt D.II Hannover CL.II Hannover CL.III Hannover CL.IV Hannover CL.V Hansa-Brandenburg W.12 Hansa-Brandenburg W.29 Junkers D.I Kondor D.6 Kondor E.III Naglo D.II Pfalz D.III Pfalz D.XII Pfalz Dr.I Pfalz E.I Pfalz E.II Phönix D.I LFG Roland D.II LFG Roland D.VI Siemens-Schuckert D.I Siemens-Schuckert D.II Siemens-Schuckert D.III Siemens-Schuckert D.IV Zeppelin-Lindau D.I
Bombers and ground attack	AEG DJ.I AEG G.I AEG G.II AEG G.III AEG G.IV AEG G.V AEG J.I AEG J.II AEG R.I Friedrichshafen G.II Friedrichshafen G.III Gotha G.I Gotha G.II Gotha G.III Gotha G.IV Gotha G.V Gotha GL.VII Gotha G.IX Hannover CL.II Junkers CL.I Junkers J.I Rumpler G.I Rumpler G.II Rumpler G.III Siemens-Schuckert L.I Zeppelin-Lindau Rs.II Zeppelin-Lindau Rs.III Zeppelin-Lindau Rs.IV Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI
Reconnaissance	AEG B.I AEG B.II AEG B.III AEG C.I AEG C.II AEG C.III AEG C.IV AEG C.V AEG C.VI AEG C.VII AEG C.VIII AGO C.I AGO C.II AGO C.III AGO C.IV AGO C.VII AGO C.VIII Albatros B.I Albatros B.II Albatros C.I Albatros C.III Albatros C.V Albatros C.VII Albatros C.IX Albatros C.X Albatros C.XII Aviatik B.I Aviatik B.II Aviatik C.I Aviatik C.VI DFW C.V LFG Roland C.II LVG B.I LVG C.II Rumpler C.I Rumpler C.IV Rumpler Taube
Trainers	Euler D.I
Prototypes	Albatros C.II Fokker V.1 Fokker V.2 Junkers J 1 Junkers J 2 Zeppelin-Lindau Rs.I

v t e Idflieg B-class aircraft designations
AEG	B.I B.II B.III
Albatros	B.I B.II B.III
Aviatik	B.I B.II B.III
DFW	B.I B.II
Euler	B.I B.II B.III
Germania	B.I
Gotha	B.I B.II
Halberstadt	B.I B.II B.III
Kondor	B.I
LVG	B.I B.II B.III
NFW	B.I
Otto	B.I
Rumpler	B.I
Sablatnig	B.I
Siemens-Schuckert	B.I