page_title: Albatros D.III
section_title: Design and development
hierarchical_section_title: Albatros D.III / Design and development
caption_attribution_description: English: Wreck of a German Albatros D.III fighter at Flanders (Belgium) in 1917. "O.A.W. D.3." is written on the tailplane, identifying this plane as one produced at the "Ostdeutsche Albatros-Werke" at Schneidemühl, Posen, Germany (today Pila in Poland). Deutsch: Wrack einer abgestürzten deutschen Kampfflugzeugs Albatros D.III bei Flandern (Belgien) im Jahr 1917. "O.A.W. D.3." ist als Typenkennung auf dem Höhenleitwerk geschrieben. Diese Abkürzung steht für "Ostdeutsche Albatros-Werke" in Schneidemühl, Posen, Deutschland (heute Pila in Polen).
context_page_description: The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service during World War I. A modified licence model was built by Oeffag for the Austro-Hungarian Air Service. The D.III was flown by many top German aces, including Wilhelm Frankl, Erich Löwenhardt, Manfred von Richthofen, Karl Emil Schäfer, Ernst Udet, and Kurt Wolff, and Austro-Hungarian ones, like Godwin von Brumowski. It was the preeminent fighter during the period of German aerial dominance known as "Bloody April" 1917.
context_section_description: Development of the prototype D.III started in late July or early August 1916. The date of the maiden flight is unknown, but is believed to have occurred in late August or early September. Following the successful Albatros D.I and D.II series, the D.III utilized the same semi-monocoque, plywood-skinned fuselage. However, at the request of  the Idflieg (Inspectorate of Flying Troops), the D.III adopted a sesquiplane wing arrangement broadly similar to the French Nieuport 11. The upper wingspan was extended, while the lower wing was redesigned with reduced chord and a single main spar. "V" shaped interplane struts replaced the previous parallel struts. For this reason, British aircrews commonly referred to the D.III as the "V-strutter."
  After a Typenprüfung (official type test) on 26 September 1916, Albatros received an order for 400 D.III aircraft, the largest German production contract to date. Idflieg placed additional orders for 50 aircraft in February and March 1917.
caption: An Albatros D.III wreck in Flanders, 1917
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