Albatros B.I

{{Short description|Type of aircraft}}  {{Infobox aircraft | name= B.I | image= File:Albatros B.I geïnterneerd op 13 april 1915 157-010-002.jpg | caption= Albatros B.I | type=Reconnaissance aircraft | manufacturer=[[Albatros Flugzeugwerke]] | designer= | first_flight= | introduction= | retired= | status= | primary_user= ''[[Luftstreitkräfte]]'' | more_users= | produced= | number_built= | variants= }}

The '''Albatros B.I''', (post-war company designation '''L.1''') was a German military [[reconnaissance]] aircraft designed in [[1913 in aviation|1913]] and which saw service during [[World War I]].<ref name="taylor" />

==Design and development== The B.I was a two-seat biplane of conventional configuration that seated the observer and the pilot in separate cockpits in tandem. The wings were originally of three-bay design, but were later changed to a two-bay, unstaggered configuration; featuring a typical aileron control cable system for German aircraft of the time, that allowed for a horizontal control horn that fitted into a structural pocket in the wing structure at neutral. A floatplane version was developed as the '''Albatros W.I'''.

==Variants== [[File:Albatros B.I geïnterneerd op 13 april 1915 2157-010-003.jpg|thumb|right|German Albatros B.I interned by the Dutch in April 1915.]]

;B.I: German production aircraft for the ''[[Luftstreitkräfte]]'' ;Phönix 20.01:First prototype for Austrian production.<ref name=Treadwell/> ;Phönix 20.02:second prototype for Austrian production. ;B.I(Ph) series 21:Production by [[Phönix Flugzeug-Werke AG]] at Vienna for the [[Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops]]. ;B.I(Ph) series 24:Production by Phönix Flugzeug-Werke AG at Vienna for the Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops. ;B.I(Ph) series 25:Production by Phönix Flugzeug-Werke AG at Vienna, with the KNV (Knoller Verspannung) for the Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops; 48 ordered, reduced to 16 due to delays and persistent problems.

==Operational history== The B.Is were withdrawn from front line service in [[1915 in aviation|1915]] but some examples served as trainers for the remainder of the war.

==Operators== [[File:Noodlanding van een LVG B.I met registratie LA 25 2157 130-026.jpg|thumb|right|The apparent crash landing of an Albatros B.I of the Dutch Luchtvaartafdeeling (air force).]]

;{{flag|Austria-Hungary}} * [[Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops]] ;{{BUL}} * [[Bulgarian Air Force]] ;{{flag|German Empire}} * ''[[Luftstreitkräfte]]'' * ''[[Kaiserliche Marine]]'' ;{{NLD}} * [[Royal Netherlands Air Force]] ;{{POL}} * The [[Polish Air Force]] operated this type postwar. ;{{ROU}} * [[Romanian Air Corps]] – One Albatros purchased from Germany in 1913<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://amnr.defense.ro/webroot/fileslib/upload/files/Revista_Document/Revista_061_2013.pdf|title=Din Istoria Aripilor Românești 1910–1916|magazine=Buletinul Arhivelor Militare Române|author=Valeriu Avram|language=ro|issue=61/2013|date=2013|pages=2–17|issn=1454-0924}}</ref> ;{{TUR}} * [[Ottoman Air Force]]

==Surviving aircraft== The '''Phönix 20.01''', prototype for Austrian production of the Albatros B.I(Ph), is preserved at the [[Heeresgeschichtliches Museum]] in [[Vienna]].

==Specifications (B.I)== [[File:Albatros HGM.jpg|thumb|Phönix 20.01:Prototype for Austrian production of the Albatros B.I(Ph)]] {{Aircraft specs |ref=''German aircraft of the First World War'' <ref name="Gray"/> |prime units?=met  |crew=2 |length m=8.57 |length note= |span m=14.48 |span note= |upper span m= |upper span note= |mid span m= |mid span note= |lower span m= |lower span note= |swept m= |swept note= |dia m= |dia note= |width m= |width note= |height m=3.15 |height note= |wing area sqm= |wing area note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil= |empty weight kg=747 |empty weight note= |gross weight kg=1080 |gross weight note= |max takeoff weight kg= |max takeoff weight note= |fuel capacity= |more general=  |eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=[[Mercedes D.I]] |eng1 type=6-cylinder water-cooled in-line piston engine |eng1 hp=100 |eng1 note=

|prop blade number=2 |prop name=fixed-pitch wooden propeller |prop dia m= |prop dia note=  |max speed kmh=105 |max speed note= |max speed mach= |cruise speed kmh= |cruise speed note= |stall speed kmh= |stall speed note= |never exceed speed kmh= |never exceed speed note= |range km=650 |range note= |combat range km= |combat range note= |ferry range km= |ferry range note= |endurance=ca 4 hours |ceiling m= |ceiling note= |g limits= |roll rate= |climb rate ms= |climb rate note= |time to altitude={{cvt|800|m}} in 10 minutes |wing loading kg/m2= |wing loading note= |fuel consumption kg/km= |power/mass= |more performance= }}

==See also== {{aircontent| |related= * [[Albatros B.II]] * [[Albatros B.III]] * [[Albatros C.III]] * [[Lebed XI]] * [[Lebed XII]] |similar aircraft= |lists= * [[List of military aircraft of Germany]] |see also= }}

==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name="taylor">{{cite book |last= Taylor |first= Michael J. H. |title=Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation |year=1989 |publisher=Studio Editions |location=London |pages= 51 }}</ref> <ref name="Gray">{{cite book|last=Gray|first=Peter|author2=Owen Thetford|title=German aircraft of the First World War|publisher=Putnam|location=London|year=1970|edition=2nd|isbn=0-370-00103-6 |pages=252}}</ref> <ref name=Treadwell>{{cite book |last=Treadwell |first=Terry C. |title=German & Austro-Hungarian aircraft manufacturers 1908–1918 |year=2010 |publisher=Amberley Publishing |location=Stroud |isbn=978-1-4456-0102-1 |pages=236–244}}</ref> }}

==Bibliography== {{commons category}} *{{cite book |last1=Herris |first1=Jack |title=Albatros Aircraft of WWI: Volume 1: Early Two-Seaters: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes |date=2016 |publisher=Aeronaut Books |location=n.p. |isbn=978-1-935881-47-6|series=Great War Aviation Centennial Series|volume=24}} *{{cite journal |last1=Klaauw|first1=Bart van der|title=Unexpected Windfalls: Accidentally or Deliberately, More than 100 Aircraft 'arrived' in Dutch Territory During the Great War |journal=Air Enthusiast |date=March–April 1999 |issue=80 |pages=54–59 |issn=0143-5450}}

[[Category:Biplanes]] [[Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft]] [[Category:1910s German military reconnaissance aircraft]] [[Category:Albatros aircraft|B.I]] [[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1913]] [[Category:Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear]] [[Category:Single-engined piston aircraft]]