Albatros D . V The Albatros D . V was a fighter aircraft used by the " Luftstreitkräfte " ( Imperial German Air Service ) during World War I . The D . V was the final development of the Albatros D . I family , and the last Albatros fighter to see operational service . Despite its well - known shortcomings and general obsolescence , approximately 900 D . V and 1 , 612 D . Va aircraft were built before production halted in early 1918 . The D . Va continued in operational service until the end of the war . Design and development . In April 1917 , Albatros received an order from the " Idflieg " ( " Inspektion der Fliegertruppen " ) for an improved version of the D . III . The resulting D . V prototype flew later that month . The D . V closely resembled the D . III and used the same 127 kW ( 170 hp ) Mercedes D . III a engine . The most notable difference was a new fuselage which was 32 kg ( 70 lb ) lighter than that of the D . III . The elliptical cross - section required an additional longeron on each side of the fuselage . The vertical fin and tailplane remained unchanged from the D . III . The prototype D . V retained the standard rudder of the Johannisthal - built D . III , but production examples used the enlarged rudder featured on D . IIIs built by Ostdeutsche Albatros Werke ( OAW ) . The D . V also featured a larger spinner and ventral fin . The upper wing of the D . V was repositioned 4 . 75 inches closer to the fuselage , while the lower wings attached to the fuselage without a fairing . The wings themselves were almost identical to those of the standard D . III , except for a revised linkage of the aileron cables , which were contained entirely in the upper wing . " Idflieg " therefore conducted structural tests on the fuselage , but not the wings , of the new aircraft . Early examples of the D . V featured a large headrest , which was usually removed in service because it interfered with the pilot ' s field of view . The headrest was eventually deleted from production . Aircraft deployed in Palestine used two wing radiators to cope with the warmer climate . " Idflieg " issued production contracts for 200 D . V aircraft in April 1917 , followed by additional orders of 400 in May and 300 in July . Initial production of the D . V was exclusively undertaken by the Johannisthal factory , while the Schneidemühl factory produced the D . III through the remainder of 1917 . Operational history . The D . V entered service in May 1917 and , like the D . III before it , immediately began experiencing structural failures of the lower wing . Indeed , anecdotal evidence suggests that the D . V was even more prone to wing failures than the D . III . The outboard sections of the upper wing also suffered failures , requiring additional wire bracing . Furthermore , the D . V offered very little improvement in performance . This caused considerable dismay among frontline pilots , many of whom preferred the older D . III . Manfred von Richthofen was particularly critical of the new aircraft . In a July 1917 letter , he described the D . V as " so obsolete and so ridiculously inferior to the English that one can ' t do anything with this aircraft . " British tests of a captured D . V revealed that the aircraft was slow to maneuver , heavy on the controls , and tiring to fly . Albatros responded with the D . Va , which featured stronger wing spars , heavier wing ribs , and a reinforced fuselage . These modifications made the D . Va 23 kg ( 50 lb ) heavier than the D . III , while failing to cure entirely the structural problems of the type . Use of the high - compression 130 kW ( 180 hp ) Mercedes D . IIIaü engine offset the increased weight of the D . Va . The D . Va also reverted to the D . III ' s aileron cable linkage , running outwards through the lower wing , then upwards to the ailerons , to provide a more positive control response . The wings of the D . III and D . Va were in fact interchangeable . The D . Va was also fitted with a small diagonal brace connecting the lower section of the forward interplane strut to the leading edge of the lower wing . This brace was retrofitted to some D . V aircraft . " Idflieg " placed orders for 262 D . Va aircraft in August 1917 , followed by additional orders for 250 in September and 550 in October . Ostdeutsche Albatros Werke , which had been engaged in production of the D . III , received orders for 600 D . Va aircraft in October . Deliveries of the D . Va commenced in October 1917 . The structural problems of the Fokker Dr . I and the mediocre performance of the Pfalz D . III left the " Luftstreitkräfte " with no viable alternative to the D . Va until the Fokker D . VII entered service in the summer of 1918 . Production ceased in April 1918 . As of May 1918 , 131 D . V and 928 D . Va aircraft were in service on the Western Front . This number declined as the Albatros was replaced by Fokker D . VIIs and other types during the final months of the war , but the D . Va remained in use until the Armistice ( 11 November 1918 ) . Survivors . Today , two D . Va aircraft survive in museums .