Albatros B.I Explained

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.

Design and development

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

B.I: German production aircraft for the Luftstreitkräfte

Phönix 20.01:First prototype for Austrian production.

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

The B.Is were withdrawn from front line service in 1915 but some examples served as trainers for the remainder of the war.

Operators

• Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops

• Bulgarian Air Force

• Luftstreitkräfte
• Kaiserliche Marine

• Royal Netherlands Air Force

• The Polish Air Force operated this type postwar.

• Romanian Air Corps - One Albatros purchased from Germany in 1913^[1]

• Ottoman Air Force

Surviving aircraft

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

Bibliography

• Book: Herris . Jack . Albatros Aircraft of WWI: Volume 1: Early Two-Seaters: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Seaplanes . 2016 . Aeronaut Books . n.p. . 978-1-935881-47-6. Great War Aviation Centennial Series. 24.
• Klaauw. Bart van der. Unexpected Windfalls: Accidentally or Deliberately, More than 100 Aircraft 'arrived' in Dutch Territory During the Great War . Air Enthusiast . March–April 1999 . 80 . 54–59 . 0143-5450.

Notes and References

1. Din Istoria Aripilor Românești 1910-1916. Buletinul Arhivelor Militare Române. Valeriu Avram. ro. 61/2013. 2013. 2–17. 1454-0924.