Germany - 1916 Albatros G.III

Piecing Together a Rare Bomber

Albatros G.III - 1916

I started making my own aircraft profiles around 16 months ago. My goal was to develop all original graphic content for my aviation history site. After drawing over 400 profiles, I am getting closer to my goal. Making the profiles has become my favorite part of the process. It is very satisfying and challenging. Part of the challenge of working up a profile of rare aircraft is the difficulty in finding the source material to get the project finished. It is a puzzle where you have to go on a treasure hunt to find the pieces. This profile was developed from the few photographs I could find. I'm still working on a drawing of the G.II which was the basis for the G.III. I'll post the profile when I have finished it.

The Albatros Flugzeugwerke began experiments for developing a Großkampfflugzeug or large battle aircraft with the construction of the unsuccessful and underpowered Albatros G.I. The next stage of development was the prototype Albatros G.II, which was fitted with more powerful engines. Performance was still judged to be inadequate and development continued as the Albatros G.III

The Albatros G.III was a German medium bomber aircraft developed during World War I. It was a large, single-bay biplane of unequal span and unstaggered wings. Power was provided by two Benz Bz.IVa 220 hp (164 kW) pusher engines installed in nacelles carried between the wings. An unusual feature of the design was that the lower wing was provided with cutouts for the large propellers, allowing the engine nacelles to be mounted further forward than would have been otherwise possible.

References

1. Albatros G.II. (2010, August 1). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 12:22, March 18, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Albatros_G.II&oldid=376610297
2. Albatros G.III. (2011, February 20). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 12:30, March 18, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Albatros_G.III&oldid=414942204
3. Albatros G III 1916 the Virtual Aircraft Museum Retrieved 12:22, March 18, 2011, from http://www.aviastar.org/air/germany/albatros_g3.php
4. Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. pp. 53-59.
5. Chant, Chris (2000). The World's Great Bombers: 1914 to the Present Day. Rochester: Grange Books.