page_title: Albatros D.III
section_title: Austro-Hungarian variants
hierarchical_section_title: Albatros D.III / Austro-Hungarian variants
caption_attribution_description: English: An Oeffag built Albatros DIII flown by Godwin Brumowski; The left man in front is Godwin von Brumowski - Austria-Hungarys ace of the aces - with Frank Linke-Crawford, another flying ace. Picture taken at Flik 41J's airfield Torresella at the italian front Deutsch: Godwin von Brumowskis Albatros D III (von Oeffag in Lizenz gefertig); Vorne links steht Godwin von Brumowski - der erfolgreichste Jagdflieger Österreich-Ungarns - neben Frank Linke-Crawford, einem weiteren Fliegerass. Foto aufgenommen am Flugfeld Torresella der Fliegerkompanie 41J an der italienischen Front
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: In the autumn of 1916, Oesterreichische Flugzeugfabrik AG (Oeffag) obtained a licence to build the D.III at Wiener-Neustadt. Deliveries commenced in May 1917. The aircraft were officially designated as Albatros D.III (Oeffag), but were known as Oeffag Albatros D.III in Austro-Hungary, and just Oeffag D.III in Poland.
  The Oeffag aircraft were built in three main versions (series 53.2, 153, 253) using the 138, 149, or 168 kW (185, 200, or 225 hp) Austro-Daimler engines respectively. The Austro-Daimlers provided improved performance over the Mercedes D.IIIa engine. For cold weather operations, Oeffag aircraft featured a winter cowling which fully enclosed the cylinder heads.
  Austrian pilots often removed the propeller spinner from early production aircraft, since it was prone to falling off in flight. Beginning with aircraft 112 of the series 153 production run, Oeffag introduced a new rounded nose that eliminated the spinner. Remarkably, German wind-tunnel tests showed that the simple rounded nose improved propeller efficiency and raised the top speed by 14 km/h (9 mph).
  All Oeffag variants were armed with two 8 mm (.315 in) Schwarzlose machine guns. In most aircraft, the guns were buried in the fuselage, where they were inaccessible to the pilot. In service, the Schwarzlose proved to be somewhat less reliable than the 7.92 mm (.312 in) LMG 08/15, mainly due to problems with the synchronization gear. The Schwarzlose also had a poor rate of fire until the 1916 model was provided with a modification developed by Ludwig Kral. At the request of pilots, the guns were relocated to the upper fuselage decking late in the series 253 production run.  It helped to warm up the guns on high altitude. This created a new problem; the Schwarzlose operated via blowback and the weapon contained a cartridge oiler to prevent cases from sticking in the chamber while the extractor ripped their rims off.  With guns mounted directly in front of the pilot, oil released during firing interfered with aim.
  Oeffag engineers noted the wing failures of the D.III and modified the lower wing to use thicker ribs and spar flanges. These changes, as well as other detail improvements, largely resolved the structural problems that had plagued German versions of the D.III. In service, the Oeffag aircraft proved to be popular, robust, and effective. Oeffag built approximately 526 D.III aircraft between May 1917 and the Armistice (586 in total according to other publications).
caption: Albatros D.III (Oeffag) series 153, with spinner removed
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