Albatros C.V
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Albatros C.V was a military
reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...
aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer
Albatros Flugzeugwerke Albatros Flugzeugwerke GmbH was a German aircraft manufacturer best known for supplying the German Luftstreitkräfte during World War I. The company was based in Adlershof, Johannisthal, Berlin, where it was founded by Walter Huth and Otto Wiene ...
. It was developed to make use of the newly-available Mercedes D.IV eight-cylinder
engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...
. While the C.V drew greatly upon the company's previous aircraft, it featured greater use of balanced flight control surfaces and a new tail design. These changes also resulted in a heavier aircraft than its predecessors. Initially internally designated ''C.V/16'', initial flight testing found that the aircraft's performance was lacking, particularly in terms of the flight controls being cumbersome and demanding, thus redesign work commenced. The resulting aircraft, which was designated ''C.V/17'' by the company, showed improved handling and thus proceeded into quantity production. The ''
Luftstreitkräfte The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Combat Forces)known before October 1916 as (The Imperial German Air Service, lit. "The flying troops of the German Kaiser’s Reich")was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-langu ...
'' promptly accepted delivery of the type, using it active combat during the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. However, the unreliable Mercedes D.IV engine hurt aircraft availability and its manufacturer was unable to resolve the engine issues. Instead, production of the power plant stopped, leaving the C.V without an engine, thus forcing an early end of production of the type. It was replaced by the Albatros C.VII while existing C.Vs were quickly withdrawn from service due to the engine issues.


Design and development

The availability of a powerful new eight-cylinder
engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...
in the form of the Mercedes D.IV was a major impetus for the development of the C.V. Albatros Flugzeugwerke had quickly determined that the increased weight and length of the engine made it unpractical to install upon its existing airframes without a redesign. Numerous changes from its immediate predecessors were enacted by the design team, such as the decision to almost entirely enclose the engine with removable panels; further aerodynamic improvements were achieved via the addition of a sizable blunt
spinner Spinner may refer to: Technology * Spinner (aeronautics), the aerodynamic cone at the hub of an aircraft propeller * Spinner (cell culture), laboratory equipment for cultivating plant or mammalian cells * Spinner (computing), a graphical widget in ...
.Grey and Thetford 1962, p. 27. The fuselage of the C.V was largely reminiscent of the Albatros C.III and various other prior aircraft by the company, consisting of slab-sided
plywood Plywood is a composite material manufactured from thin layers, or "plies", of wood veneer that have been stacked and glued together. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards, which include plywood, medium-density fibreboa ...
construction; deviations included the somewhat more spacious arrangement and the use of an integral vertical
fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. F ...
, which was also covered with plywood. For the first time on an operational Albatros-designed twin-seat aircraft, a balanced
rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...
was used, which had a
steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
tube structure and
fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...
covering. The
elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...
, while remaining unbalanced, was redesigned to use a one-piece control system without any division. Armament comprised a forward-firing machine gun that was aligned with a gun synchronizer in addition to the single 7.92 mm (0.312 in)
Parabellum MG14 The Parabellum MG 14 was a 7.92 mm caliber World War I machine gun built by Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken. It was a redesign of the Maschinengewehr 08 machine gun (itself an adaptation of the Maxim gun) system intended for use on aircr ...
machine gun on a rotating mounting that was operated by the
observer An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment. Observer may also refer to: Fiction * ''Observer'' (novel), a 2023 science fiction novel by Robert Lanza and Nancy Kress * ''Observer'' (video game), a cyberpunk horr ...
; it could also carry
bombs A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-tra ...
and be furnished with a
radio set An antique radio is a radio receiving set that is collectible because of its age and rarity. Types of antique radio Morse receivers The first radio receivers used a coherer and sounding board, and were only able to receive continuous wave (CW) ...
dependent upon mission role. The wings had a greater span than that of the C.III while the chord of the lower wing was increased to match the upper wing, but otherwise followed the same general configuration. The
undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...
of the C.V was of a conventional design, its structure largely comprising steel tubing, in conjunction with an externally-spring tailskid mounted on inverted pyramidal struts. Engine cooling was originally achieved via
radiators A radiator is a heat exchanger used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...
fitted to the sides of the forward fuselage just above the
leading edge The leading edge is the part of the wing that first contacts the air;Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. alternatively it is the foremost edge of an airfoil sectio ...
of the lower wing; their presence somewhat detracted from the overall cleanliness of the airframe.Grey and Thetford 1962, p. 28. Primarily due to the increased weight and size of the C.V, early flight testing found that the aircraft was demanding and somewhat cumbersome to fly, to the extent that the design team opted to make numerous changes to the design, the original configuration being referred to as the ''C.V/16''. Albatros elected to reorientate the exhaust manifold from a horizontal to a sideways position, while a new
aerofoil An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is a streamlined body that is capable of generating significantly more lift than drag. Wings, sails and propeller blades are examples of airfoils. Foils of similar function designed ...
-shaped radiator arrangement installed within the center-section of the upper wing. Perhaps the most substantial element of the redesign was the adoption of an entirely new lower wing, which had an elliptical tip profile; the
aileron An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement aroun ...
s of the upper wing were also altered, adopting large rectangular balanced sections.Grey and Thetford 1962, pp. 28-29. Balanced
elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...
s were also adopted along with an internally-sprung tailskid.Grey and Thetford 1962, p. 29. The redesigned aircraft, which had the factory designation of ''C.V/17'', possessed improved performance and superior handling characteristics. The C.V was Albatros' first revision of their B- and C-type reconnaissance aircraft since
Ernst Heinkel Dr. Ernst Heinkel (24 January 1888 – 30 January 1958) was a German aircraft designer, manufacturer, '' Wehrwirtschaftsführer'' in Nazi Germany, and member of the Nazi Party. His company Heinkel Flugzeugwerke produced the Heinkel He 178, th ...
's departure from the firm to join rival aircraft manufacturer
Hansa-Brandenburg Hansa und Brandenburgische Flugzeugwerke (more usually just Hansa-Brandenburg) was a German aircraft manufacturing company that operated during World War I. It was created in May 1914 by the purchase of ''Brandenburgische Flugzeugwerke'' by Cam ...
.


Operational history

The ''
Luftstreitkräfte The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Combat Forces)known before October 1916 as (The Imperial German Air Service, lit. "The flying troops of the German Kaiser’s Reich")was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-langu ...
'' introduced the revised C.V, but quickly became dissatisfied with its performance, being unable to match the reliability of the
Albatros D.III The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service () during World War I. A modified licensed version was built by Oeffag for the Austro-Hungarian Air Service (''Luftfahrtruppen''). The D.III was flown ...
. This was largely attributable to the continuous and serious issues of its Mercedes D.IV engine, which frequently suffered from
crankshaft A crankshaft is a mechanical component used in a reciprocating engine, piston engine to convert the reciprocating motion into rotational motion. The crankshaft is a rotating Shaft (mechanical engineering), shaft containing one or more crankpins, ...
failures amongst other troubles. Unable to overcome this pitfall, production of the engine was terminated, which also forced production of the C.V to be ended after the completion of no more than 424 aircraft. It was promptly replaced in production by the Albatros C.VII.Grey and Thetford 1962, p. 31.


Variants

;C.V/16 :Original design with radiators on fuselage sides. ;C.V/17 :Revised aircraft with radiator on upper wing, and redesigned lower wing.


Operators

; * ''
Luftstreitkräfte The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Combat Forces)known before October 1916 as (The Imperial German Air Service, lit. "The flying troops of the German Kaiser’s Reich")was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-langu ...
''


Specifications (C.V)


See also


Footnotes


Bibliography

*


Further reading

* * {{Authority control Single-engined tractor aircraft Biplanes 1910s German military reconnaissance aircraft C.05 Aircraft first flown in 1916 Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear Single-engined piston aircraft