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The Albatros B.II, (post-war company designation L.2) was an unarmed two-seat
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 ...
biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
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 the aircraft that brought Albatros Flugzeugwerke to the world's attention. The design of the B.II, which included an unusually strong fuselage and an atypically flexible
trailing edge The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ...
, drew heavily upon the preceding
Albatros B.I The Albatros B.I, (post-war company designation L.1) was a German military reconnaissance aircraft designed in 1913 in aviation, 1913 and which saw service during World War I. Design and development The B.I was a two-seat biplane of conventiona ...
. Various measures were incorporated to elevate its usefulness as a reconnaissance aircraft, such as the presence of large square cutouts in the lower wing
spars SPARS was the authorized nickname for the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Women's Reserve. The nickname was derived from the USCG's motto, "—"Always Ready" (''SPAR''). The Women's Reserve was established by law in November 1942 during Wor ...
to increase downwards visibility from the observer's position. The pilot was seated behind the observer, rather than in front as later convention would dictate. In terms of flying performance, the B.II was inherently stabile and relatively docile, characteristics that naturally lent itself to the trainer role for which a dedicated variant, the ''B.IIA'', would be developed. Further developments, including a
floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...
and the Albatros B.III, would also be produced. The B.II was active from the onset of 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 ...
, being operated by 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 ...
'' during the opening year of the conflict primarily to perform aerial reconnaissance. It was displaced from frontline service due to the arrival of more capable armed reconnaissance types, and was then used as a primary trainer. The B.II proved to be an export success, being adopted by multiple countries, both inside and outside of the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...
. Some of these overseas operators, such as the
Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( or just ) is the air force Military branch, branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the escalatin ...
in 1919 and the
Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force () is the aerial warfare Military branch, branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 26,000 military personnel an ...
, continued to operate the type even after the
Armistice of 11 November 1918 The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed in a railroad car, in the Compiègne Forest near the town of Compiègne, that ended fighting on land, at sea, and in the air in World War I between the Entente and their las ...
that ended the conflict.


Design and development

There is some dispute over the origins of this B.II; the aeronautical engineer
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 ...
claimed to have designed the aircraft, however this claim is widely considered untrue by many aviation historians.Grosz 1996, pp. 5, 10. It is commonly accepted that the aircraft's actual designer was
Robert Thelen Robert Thelen (23 March 1884, Nürnberg – 23 February 1968, Berlin) was a German aviation pioneer and designer. He was a chief designer of Albatros Flugzeugwerke Albatros Flugzeugwerke GmbH was a German aircraft manufacturer best known for ...
. Irrespective of this controversy, the design process commended during peacetime and drew extensively upon the preceding
Albatros B.I The Albatros B.I, (post-war company designation L.1) was a German military reconnaissance aircraft designed in 1913 in aviation, 1913 and which saw service during World War I. Design and development The B.I was a two-seat biplane of conventiona ...
.Grey and Thetford 1962, p. 17. One of the most clear visual distinctions between the B.I and the B.II was a noticeably shorter
wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...
of the latter. The fuselage of the B.II, which was atypically strong for the era, was primarily composed of
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 ...
. The primary structural members of this fuselage comprised four
longeron In engineering, a longeron or stringer is a load-bearing component of a framework. The term is commonly used in connection with aircraft fuselages and automobile chassis. Longerons are used in conjunction with stringers to form structural fram ...
s of mixed construction, comprising ash forward of the cockpit and
spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...
to the aft, that tapered sharply towards the rear. The design of the fuselage was commonplace amongst the company's twin-seat aircraft. The nose of the aircraft features a rounded metal panel along with the aircraft's engine; various engines would be used to power the type, such as the
Mercedes D.II The Mercedes D.II was a six-cylinder, SOHC valvetrain liquid-cooled inline aircraft engine built by Daimler during the early stages of World War I. Producing about 110 to 120 hp, it was at the low-end of the power range of contemporary en ...
, which was capable of up to 89 kW (120 hp). The majority of the engine block was uncovered. Cooling was 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 alongside the cockpit. The B.II was operated by a crew of two; as was commonplace at the time, the pilot was seated in the rear
cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, on the front part of an aircraft, spacecraft, or submersible, from which a pilot controls the vehicle. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls th ...
while the observer was seated in the forward position. The field of view from observer's position was partially obstructed downwards by the center-section trestle while the forward view was negatively impacted by the protruding engine block. To improve the downward field of view, large square cutouts were present in the lower wing
spars SPARS was the authorized nickname for the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Women's Reserve. The nickname was derived from the USCG's motto, "—"Always Ready" (''SPAR''). The Women's Reserve was established by law in November 1942 during Wor ...
; the lower wing also had a shorter span than its upper counterpart.Grey and Thetford 1962, pp. 17-18. The structure of the wing followed the company's established practices, comprising a pair of spars, the rearward of which being roughly in the middle of the wing, making the
trailing edge The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ...
atypically flexible and thus gave the B.II a level of inherent stability. It had
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 with an inverse taper while the operating cables ran externally over the surface of the lower wing.Grey and Thetford 1962, p. 18. The B.II was furnished with a large triangular tail, akin to the B.I; it had an unbalanced
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 ...
and
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 ...
control surfaces. Both the tailplane and
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 ...
were braced via a
streamlined Streamlines, streaklines and pathlines are field lines in a fluid flow. They differ only when the flow changes with time, that is, when the flow is not steady flow, steady. Considering a velocity vector field in three-dimensional space in the f ...
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 ...
strut A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension. A stay is sometimes used as a synonym for ...
. The structure was mainly composed of lightweight steel tubing, while the exterior covering was
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 ...
. The undercarriage used a traditional V-shaped chassis and was also composed of steel tubing; a claw-type break was fitted to the center of the axel. The tailskid, which was made of ash, featured an elastic shock chord and was installed upon an inverted pylon structure. Various improvements and modifications were made to the B.II following its entry to service. Many aircraft would receive strengthening, particularly around the tail unit, while the radiators were also relocated from the fuselage sides to the center of the wing's
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 ...
. A
floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...
variant of the B.II was developed, known as the ''W.1'' or ''B.II-W'', as was a purpose-built trainer with increased wingspan, dual flying controls, and different engines, designated the ''B.IIa''. Further developments of the design led to the Albatros B.III, which was produced in small numbers. Across multiple variants, large numbers of the B.II were built both on behalf of 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 ...
'' and various other military air services, typically those amongst the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...
.


Operational history


Germany

First flown in 1914, the B.II was already operationally active by the outbreak of the First World War during July 1914. It was heavily used through the first 12 months of the conflict in the aerial reconnaissance role; however, as the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...
fielded increasing numbers of armed military aircraft, the B.II was relatively defenseless due to its lack of armament. Thus, following the introduction of the armed C-type two-seaters that took over the reconnaissance role, the B.II was relegated from frontline duties. However, largely due to its relatively docile flight characteristics and economic engine, the B.II found a new life, remaining in use as a trainer, and thus remained active with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' throughout the conflict. During 1914, the B.II established a world altitude record of 4,500 m (14,800 ft). A B.II from
Feldflieger Abteilung Feldflieger Abteilung (''FFA'', Field Flying Detachment) was the title of the pioneering field aviation units of (The Air Forces of the German Empire) formed in 1912, which became the ( German air service) on 8 October 1916, during the First World ...
41 was one of the first landplanes (as opposed to
Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155â ...
) to drop bombs on England that caused some damage;Cole and Cheeseman 1984, p. 50. on 16 April 1915, ten bombs were dropped by hand in the area of
Sittingbourne Sittingbourne is an industrial town in the Swale district of Kent, southeast England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons. The town stands next to th ...
and
Faversham Faversham () is a market town in Kent, England, from Sittingbourne, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2 road (Great ...
. No significant damage or casualties resulted.


Sweden

During 1914, Albatros Flugzeugwerke toured several countries across northern Europe, performing displays of the then-new B.II. It was considered one of the best primary trainer aircraft available at that time. However, both the landing gear and propeller of the demonstrator aircraft were damaged upon its arrival in Sweden. Due to the outbreak of the First World War, no spares could be sent and the aircraft was interned. It was subsequently repaired and operated in the trainer role by the
Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( or just ) is the air force Military branch, branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the escalatin ...
. This aircraft was later copied and manufactured in Sweden by six different aircraft companies: ''Svenska Aeroplanfabriken'' (SAF), ''Södertelge Werkstäder'' (SW), ''Marinens Flygväsende'' (MFV), ''Nordiska Aviatikbolaget'' (NAB),
AB Thulinverken AB Thulinverken was a company in Landskrona, Sweden, founded in 1914 as Enoch Thulins Aeroplanfabrik by the airman and aircraft designer Dr. Enoch Thulin. The company became Sweden's first aircraft manufacturer. In 1920, Thulin also started ma ...
as the Thulin C and ''Flygkompaniets Verkstäder Malmen'' (FVM). It was the first military trainer aircraft in Sweden and received the designation Sk 1 and Ö2 in the Swedish Air Force (the two types differed slightly, mainly by choice of engine). An FVM-built Sk 1 Albatros is on public display in the
Swedish Air Force Museum The Swedish Air Force Museum () is located at Malmen Airbase in Malmslätt, just outside Linköping, Sweden. Malmen is where Baron Carl Cederström, nicknamed the "Flyer Baron" founded his flying school in 1912. Malmen Airbase is home to the Roy ...
near
Linköping Linköping ( , ) is a city in southern Sweden, with around 167,000 inhabitants as of 2024. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Chu ...
. The type was used until 1935. One aircraft was later sold to Finland.


Finland

NAB Albatros Type 9 (and SW 20 Albatros), Type 12 and Type 17 were among the first aircraft of the
Finnish Air Force The Finnish Air Force (FAF or FiAF; ; ) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of readiness formations for wartime conditions. The Finnish Air ...
. It was in use between 1918 and 1923. There were two Type 9s, and one each of the Type 12 and 17. There was also one SW 20 Albatros, which was similar to the Type 9. The Type 12 aircraft was destroyed in the ferry flight to Finland; the remains of the aircraft were found near
Eckerö Eckerö is a municipality of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Swedish an ...
,
Ã…land Ã…land ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...
. Type 12 was actually a modified
Curtiss Twin JN The Curtiss Twin JN (retrospectively called the Model 1B and also known as the JN-5) was an experimental aircraft built by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company for the United States Army Air Service. It was a biplane, designed for observatio ...
with floats made by NAB.


Austro-Hungary

The Albatros B.II was widely used by the K.u.K; somewhat confusingly, it was assigned the designation ''Albatros B.I (series 21)''.


Variants

;B.II :Developed from the B.I, the B.II entered production in 1914; (Company post-war designation L.2). ;B.IIa :Strengthened airframe, particularly the tail section and Mercedes D.II or Argus As III engines with radiators moved to the leading edge of the upper centre section; (Company post-war designation L.30). ;B.II (Ph) series 23: Production of the B.I in Vienna by Phönix Flugzeug-Werke AG, for the
Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops The Austro-Hungarian Aviation Troops or Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops ( or , ) were the air force of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the empire's dissolution in 1918; it saw combat on both the Eastern Front and Italian Front dur ...
.Treadwell 2010, pp. 236–244. ;B.II (Ph) series 24: Production of the B.I in Vienna by Phönix Flugzeug-Werke AG, for the Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops. ;W.1 :Seaplane with twin floats and a Benz Bz.III engine. ;Thulin C: Licence built version by
AB Thulinverken AB Thulinverken was a company in Landskrona, Sweden, founded in 1914 as Enoch Thulins Aeroplanfabrik by the airman and aircraft designer Dr. Enoch Thulin. The company became Sweden's first aircraft manufacturer. In 1920, Thulin also started ma ...


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 ...
'' * ''
Kaiserliche Marine The adjective ''kaiserlich'' means "imperial" and was used in the German-speaking countries to refer to those institutions and establishments over which the ''Kaiser'' ("emperor") had immediate personal power of control. The term was used partic ...
'' ; *
Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops The Austro-Hungarian Aviation Troops or Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops ( or , ) were the air force of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the empire's dissolution in 1918; it saw combat on both the Eastern Front and Italian Front dur ...
; *
Bulgarian Air Force The Bulgarian Air Force () is one of the three branches of the Military of Bulgaria, the other two being the Bulgarian Navy and Bulgarian land forces. Its mission is to guard and protect the sovereignty of Bulgarian airspace, and jointly with ...
operated this type to 1918 ; *
Finnish Air Force The Finnish Air Force (FAF or FiAF; ; ) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of readiness formations for wartime conditions. The Finnish Air ...
operated three aircraft (two NAB 9, one SW 20) in 1918-20 ; *
Latvian Air Force Latvian Air Force () is the aviation branch of the Military of Latvia, National Armed Forces. The first air force (AF) units were established in 1919 and re-established in 1992. It has no air combat capability, thus the defense of Latvian air spa ...
; *
Lithuanian Air Force The Lithuanian Air Force or LAF (, abbreviated as ''LK KOP'') is the military aviation branch of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. It is formed from professional military servicemen and non-military personnel. Units are located at Zokniai Air Base ne ...
operated six aircraft postwar * Air Club of Lithuania from 1929 until late 1930s used one ex-military Albatros B.II ; *
Ottoman Air Force The Aviation Squadrons of the Ottoman Empire were military aviation units of the Ottoman Army and Navy.Edward J. Erickson, ''Ordered To Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War'', "Appendix D The Ottoman Aviation Inspectorate ...
; *
Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force () is the aerial warfare Military branch, branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 26,000 military personnel an ...
operated 116 B.IIs and B.IIas between 1918 and 1927. A dozen or so remained within civil aviation until 1937. ; *
Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( or just ) is the air force Military branch, branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the escalatin ...
operated 47 aircraft (locally designated ''Sk 1/Ö2''). *
Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...
operated five aircraft between 1920 and 1929. ; *
Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British ...
,
Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...
,
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
operated one aircraft from August 1914 - February 1918.


Specifications (B.II with Mercedes D.II engine)


See also


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{Authority control Biplanes Single-engined tractor aircraft 1910s German military reconnaissance aircraft 1910s German military trainer aircraft B.II Aircraft first flown in 1914 Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear Single-engined piston aircraft