Albatros W.3
| W.3 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Rear oblique photo of an Albatros W.III torpedo bomber with axles beneath its floats | |
| Role | Float planetorpedo bomber |
| National origin | Germany |
| Manufacturer | Albatros Flugzeugwerke |
| First flight | Before July 1916 |
| Number built | 1 |
| Developed into | Albatros W.5 |
TheAlbatros W.3,company designationVT,was abiplanetorpedo bomberfloatplaneprototype, built for theImperial German Navyduring the First World War. Only one was built.
Design and development
[edit]The W.3 was designed from the outset as a torpedo bomber, a largetwo bay biplanepowered by two 150 hp (112 kW)Benz Bz.IIIengines inpusher configurationmounted on top of the lower wing; these drove two bladepropellers,The wings had straightleading edges,squared tips and almost constantchord,though the uppertrailing edgewas complicated by cut-outs for the propellers and byailerons,fitted only to this wing, which increased in chord outwards. There was nostagger,so each pair ofinterplane strutswas perpendicular to the wing; the forward member of each pair was at the leading edge and the other at mid-chord.[1]
Thefuselagewas flat sided, with two open,tandemcockpitsin the nose ahead of the leading edge and deepest between nose and trailing edge, forming a belly which housed the torpedo. Aft, it became quite slender, with a broad chord, triangularfinand rounded,balanced rudder.Twin floats, only about half as long as the fuselage, were mounted on individual sets of struts to allow torpedo release between them.[1]
One Albatros W.3 was built and supplied to the Imperial German Navy in July 1916. The design was developed into theW.5,five of which were built for the Navy in 1917.[1]
Specifications
[edit]Data fromGerman Aircraft of World War I[1]
General characteristics
- Crew:Two
- Length:13.1 m (43 ft 0 in)
- Wingspan:22.7 m (74 ft 6 in)
- Powerplant:2 ×Benz Bz.III6-cylinder water-cooled inline inpusher configuration,110 kW (150 hp) each
- Propellers:2-bladed
Performance
- Maximum speed:133 km/h (83 mph, 72 kn)
Armament
- Guns:2 × 7.92 mm (0.312 in)machine guns
- Bombs:1 × Torpedo
References
[edit]- ^abcdGray, Peter; Thetford, Owen (1970).German Aircraft of the First World War.London: Putnam. pp.275.ISBN0-85177-809-7.
Bibliography
[edit]- Herris, Jack (2017).Albatros Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes: Volume 3: Bombers, Seaplanes, J-Types.Great War Aviation Centennial Series. Vol. 26. Charleston, South Carolina: Aeronaut Books.ISBN978-1-935881-49-0.
- Nowarra, Heinz J (May 1980). "Les Premiers Torpilleurs Allemande" [The First German Torpedo Aircraft].Le Fanatique de l'Aviation(in French) (126): 52–58.
- Schmeelke, Michael (2020)."Torpedo Los!": The German Imperial Torpedo-Flieger.n.p.: Aeronaut Books.ISBN978-1-953201-17-1.