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Albatros C.IV

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Albatros C.IV
Albatros C.IV
Role Reconnaissance aircraft
National origin Germany
Manufacturer Albatros
First flight 1916
Status Prototype only
Number built 1
Developed from Albatros C.III

The Albatros C.IV, (Company post-war designation L.12). was a German military reconnaissance aircraft built in the autumn of 1915 by Albatros Flugzeugwerke.[1] It was a single-engined biplane, and was based on the Albatros C.III, with which it shared many parts. It was eventually abandoned, in favour of the C.V.

Design and development

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The C.IV shared the same fuselage, landing gear, and tail section with the C.III, but Albatros changed the design of the wings and cockpit; the pilot was located in the rear cockpit.[2] When it was tested in 1916, the expected results of the changes did not occur, and the project was abandoned in favour of a more promising prototype, which became the Albatros C.V.[3]

The C.IV was armed with a forward-firing LMG 08/15 machine gun, and a rear-firing, Parabellum MG14 machine gun.

Specifications

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General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Length: 8 m (26 ft 3 in)
  • Wingspan: 12.4 m (40 ft 8 in)
  • Height: 3.1 m (10 ft 2 in)
  • Wing area: 41.2 m2 (443 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 798 kg (1,759 lb)
  • Gross weight: 1,240 kg (2,734 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Mercedes D.III Inline piston engine, 118 kW (158 hp)160PS

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 140 km/h (87 mph, 76 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 125 km/h (78 mph, 67 kn)
  • Endurance: 4h
  • Service ceiling: 3,200 m (10,500 ft)

Armament

Notes

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  1. ^ Lamberton, William Melville (1962). Reconnaissance & bomber aircraft of the 1914-1918 war. Aero Publishers. p. 122.
  2. ^ Peter Laurence Gray; Owen Gordon Thetford (1962). German aircraft of the First World War. Putnam. p. 254.
  3. ^ "Albatros C.IV" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 22 December 2010. Retrieved December 28, 2010.

References

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  • Cowin, H.W. German and Austrian Aviation of World War I. Osprey Publishing Ltd, 2000 ISBN 1-84176-069-2
  • Herris, Jack (2016). Albatros Aircraft of WWI: Volume 1: Early Two-Seaters: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes. Great War Aviation Centennial Series. Vol. 24. n.p.: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-935881-47-6.