The pace of technology in WWI was greater than probably any time in history before it. This was very obvious when it came to aviation. An aircraft type would reach ascendency and within a very short period of time, that would be gone, replaced by even better types from the other side.

One of the more graceful WWI fighters was the German Albatros. When the D.I was first introduced, it was hands above what the British and French were flying. Thanks to the greater power and reliability of their in-line, water cooled engines, the Germans were able to pretty much initiate and then break away from combat. The D.I was superceded only a few months by a revised version, the D.II, which learned from the earlier design and subsequently corrected some of the deficiencies in it. This was just as quickly replaced by the D.III, and aircraft that ruled the sky in very late 1916 and into early 1917.

The D.III differed from the earlier versions by having a sesquiplane configuration, where the lower wing was smaller than the upper. This resulted in improved lower vision for the pilot, but also resulted in several lower wing failures during high stress maneuvers. The Albatross D.III was built by three companies; Johannisthal, OAW and Oeffag. Only Oeffag built planes were constructed a bit more robustly to circumvent this issue, while the other manufacturers simply added strengthening plates, something that helped but never eliminated the issue.

The D.III allowed the German air service to dominate the air war over the front. The British and French were able to shoot some down, but it was not easy. Many of the Germany's top aces flew the Albatros D.III at one time or another during their careers. These sleek planes were vividly painted in different colors and designs in an effort to allow pilots to identify their own aircraft in the heat of battle. It made for some of the most colorful wartime combat planes every flown.

Unfortunately for the Germans, by the summer of 1917, the D.III was itself being eclipsed by the British SE.5, Putp and others including the French SPAD VII. The D.V was developed to combat that, but unfortunately, it was little better than the D.III. It wasn't until the Fokker D.VII appeared in 1918 that the Germans had a top quality aircraft, but by that time things were going down hill. Interestingly, the Oeffag plane in Austria continued to improve the D.III with upgraded engines, and never built the D.V, allowing the Austrians to maintain, if not ascendency, then at least parity with the planes they faced.

This book by James Miller looks into the background and the development of the Albatros D.III as well as the aircraft that came before it and after it. It looks at the differences between the aircraft built by the various factories. This includes the camouflage schemes put on the planes and the factory painting that was done. There are a goodly number of combat reports as well as comparisons between the different aircraft, especially the different series produced by Oeffag, who continued to develop the type.

Chock full of excellent period photos as well as full color art work and profiles, it is a superb book for any WWI fan or those who want to know more about this important German aircraft. A great read and highly recommended.

May 2014

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