World War 1 Fighter - Albatros D.Va [1917]

Albatros D.Va reproduction World War One aircraft.

In 1916 most German aircraft manufacturers were directed to look at what made the Allied Nieuport fighters so effective, and to incorporate those elements into their new aircraft designs.

Albatros redesigned their D.II model as a sesquiplane, like the Nieuports, with a lower wing with a narrower chord width than the upper wing. The resulting D.III was a great new aircraft and established itself as a formidable fighter throughout 1917.

In mid-1917 the D.V/Va was an attempt to improve on the D.III to keep up with newly deployed Allied aircraft such as the R.A.F. S.E.5a and Sopwith Camel. The D.Va was strengthened and had a streamlined oval fuselage instead of the flat sided one of the D.III. However, these and other minor changes were not enough to keep the D.Va at the forefront of fighter technology.

By early 1918 the D.III and D.Va were being replaced at the front by new Fokker Dr.1s and then D.VIIs. Despite this the aircraft remained in active service through until the Armistice in November 1918.

This aircraft is an authentic reproduction built by The Vintage Aviator Ltd (TVAL) in New Zealand -- http://www.thevintageaviator.com. The flying sequence shown here was part of the aircraft's display routine at the TVAL flying day held at Hood Aerodrome (Masterton, NZ) in April 2010.

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