The Albatros series of single-seat fighters produced between 1916 and 1918 were among the most numerous and distinctive aircraft of the First World War. Early in the war, the firm focused on two-seat observation types. In 1916, in response to the fading superiority of the Fokker monoplane to the French Nieuport 11 and the British de Havilland D.H.2, the German government requested the nation’s aircraft companies to produce a suitable replacement for the Fokker.
Albatros Werke offered a remarkably advanced design. The Albatros D.Va featured a streamlined semi-monocoque fuselage, with an almost fully-enclosed in-line Mercedes engine. The propeller spinner was neatly contoured into the nose of the fuselage. The Albatros D.Va entered front-line service in the fall of 1916 and immediately demonstrated strong advantages over their Allied counterparts. Powered by a 160-horsepower Mercedes engine and armed with two machine guns, the Albatros fighters used speed and firepower to overwhelm the lighter, more maneuverable Nieuports and D.H. 2s.
Approximately 4,800 Albatros fighters of all types were built during World War I. They were used extensively by the German Air Service throughout 1918 and remained in action in considerable numbers until the end of the war. Many of the highest-scoring German aces achieved the majority of their victories while flying Albatros fighters. The famed Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen, won three-quarters of his 80 combat victories in an Albatros D. Va fighter. He is most closely associated with the Fokker Dr.I Triplane. The plane he was flying when he was shot down and killed.
• 184 basswood, birch and plywood parts, most laser cut
• Over 100 Britannia metal parts for building the 180 HP six cylinder Mercedes-Benz motor
• Over 200 copper, aluminum, steel, rubber and Britannia metal parts used as turnbuckles for guy wires, suppression bars, pulleys, wire support brackets, ailerons, stabilizers, struts, flight instruments, wheels, tires and more
• Two 30 calibre machine guns cast in Britannia metal
• Four actual size plan sheets with supplementary illustrations of all laser cut wooden parts
• 48-page step-by-step photo instruction manual to assist novice and expert modellers to the completion of a museum quality model.