Albatros D.XI

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The Albatros D.XI was a single-seat fighter biplane first flown in February 1918. It was the first Albatros design to use a rotary engine, in the form of the 160 hp Siemens-Halske Sh III, and also featured a new wing construction with diagonal struts from the fuselage replacing traditional wire bracing.

The wings had unequal spans with the upper planes having greater span than the lower ones, and were braced by I-struts with an aerofoil cross-section, additional rigidity being provided by diagonal struts from the base of these to the top of the fuselage. The use of a rotary engine necessitated a large-diameter propellor and a correspondingly tall undercarriage.

The D.XI was armed with the same twin 7.92 mm machine guns employed on other Albatros fighters. Two prototypes were built, the first having balanced, parallel-chord ailerons and a four-blade propellor; and the second with inversely tapered, unbalanced ailerons and a two-blade propellor. The design was not put into full-scale production.

[edit] References

  • Green, W. & Swanborough, G. (1994). The Complete Book of Fighters. London: Salamander Books. ISBN 1-85833-777-1


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