Issue 4 - Knights of the Sky: Video
By: Web Editor
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.
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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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Current Issue: The Hawker Hurricane
Two UK fighters have gone from being mere machines to become icons. The first is the Supermarine Spitfire, the second is the subject of the next issue of Aviation Classics... the Hawker Hurricane.
Designed by Sydney Camm, it represented the bridge between biplane and monoplane technology and was originally known as the ’Monoplane Fury’, after the Fury biplane fighter of 1931. The type formed the backbone of RAF Fighter Command, with 18 squadrons in service when the Second World War began in September 1939. Hurricanes saw action over France and the Low Countries before the Battle of Britain began in June 1940, during which they were to shoot down more enemy aircraft than all the other air and ground defences put together. Later, it went on the offensive in Europe – as a night intruder and fighter bomber. Large numbers fought over Malta, the Western Desert, Burma, India and the Far East, excelling as fighters and ground attack aircraft. All over the world the Hurricane earned a reputation for reliability and toughness. This issue tells the story of the Hurricane and its crews from inception to war career.
PLUS:
• Next issue on sale: 25th May 2012
