Albatros D . II The Albatros D . II was a German fighter aircraft used during World War I . After a successful combat career in the early " Jagdstaffeln " , it was gradually superseded by the Albatros D . III . Design and development . Albatros designers Thelen , Schubert and Gnädig produced the D . II in response to pilot complaints about poor upward vision in the Albatros D . I . The solution was to reposition the upper wing 36 cm ( 14 in ) closer to the fuselage and stagger it forward slightly . Rearrangement of the cabane struts also improved forward view . The D . II otherwise retained the same fuselage , engine installation and armament as the D . I . Basic performance was unchanged . The " Idflieg " ( " Inspektion der Fliegertruppen " - Inspectorate of Flying Troops ) , ordered an initial batch of 100 D . II aircraft in August 1916 . In November 1916 , " Idflieg " banned Windhoff " ear " radiators in operational aircraft because they were at a lower level than the crankcase of the engine they were cooling , and a shot into either radiator was likely to drain the cooling system . Late production D . IIs switched to using a Teves und Braun " airfoil shape " radiator ( the Teves company still exists in the 21st century ) , in the center section of the upper wing . This also proved to be a problematic as a leaking or battle damaged radiator could scald the pilot ' s face . On later Albatros fighters ( late models of the D . III , and the D . V ) the radiator was moved to the right of the centre section to alleviate this problem . Operational history . D . IIs formed part of the early equipment of " Jagdstaffel ( " Jasta ) " 2 " , the first specialized fighter squadron in the German air service . Famous pilots included " Hauptmann . Oswald Boelcke ( " Jasta 2s first commander ) and Manfred von Richthofen . With its high speed and heavy armament , the D . II won back air superiority from Allied fighter types such as the Airco DH . 2 and Nieuport 11 . Albatros built 200 D . II aircraft . LVG ( Luft - Verkehrs - Gesellschaft ) produced another 75 under license . Service numbers peaked in January 1917 , when 214 machines were in service . The D . II operated well into 1917 . As late as 30 June 1917 , 72 aircraft were in the frontline inventory , and even in November 11 D . IIs and 9 D . Is were still in service , alongside the by now far more numerous D . IIIs and D . Vs . " Oeffag " ( Oesterreichische Flugzeugfabrik AG ) also built the D . II under license , as the Oeffag Va . 53 / Oeffag series 53 , for the " Luftfahrtruppen " . The Austrian machines used a 138 kW ( 185 hp ) Austro - Daimler engine , and were fitted with a Teves und Braun - style wing mounted radiator . " Oeffag " produced only 16 examples before production shifted to the Albatros D . III . Manfred von Richthofen was flying an Albatros DII on 23 November 1916 when he was engaged in a prolonged dogfight with the RFC ' s Lanoe Hawker VC . Hawker ' s DH . 2 pusher engined fighter had a better turning circle but the Albatros DII had twin guns , was faster and could maintain height in a turn better . After firing some 900 rounds von Richthofen shot Hawker in the head and killed him . Hawker ' s machine crashed and von Richthofen claimed Hawker ' s Lewis gun for his growing collection of trophies .