W.3

Rear oblique photo of an Albatros W.III torpedo bomber with axles beneath its floats
Role	Float plane torpedo bomber Type of aircraft
National origin	Germany
Manufacturer	Albatros Flugzeugwerke
First flight	Before July 1916
Number built	1
Developed into	Albatros W.5

The Albatros W.3, company designation VT, was a biplane torpedo bomber floatplane prototype, built for the Imperial German Navy during the First World War. Only one was built.

Design and development

The W.3 was designed from the outset as a torpedo bomber, a large two bay biplane powered by two 150 hp (112 kW) Benz Bz.III engines in pusher configuration mounted on top of the lower wing; these drove two blade propellers, The wings had straight leading edges, squared tips and almost constant chord, though the upper trailing edge was complicated by cut-outs for the propellers and by ailerons, fitted only to this wing, which increased in chord outwards. There was no stagger, so each pair of interplane struts was perpendicular to the wing; the forward member of each pair was at the leading edge and the other at mid-chord.^[1]

The fuselage was flat sided, with two open, tandem cockpits in the nose ahead of the leading edge and deepest between nose and trailing edge, forming a belly which housed the torpedo. Aft, it became quite slender, with a broad chord, triangular fin and rounded, balanced rudder. Twin floats, only about half as long as the fuselage, were mounted on individual sets of struts to allow torpedo release between them.^[1]

One Albatros W.3 was built and supplied to the Imperial German Navy in July 1916. The design was developed into the W.5, five of which were built for the Navy in 1917.^[1]

Specifications

Data from German Aircraft of World War I^[1]

General characteristics

Crew: Two
Length: 13.1 m (43 ft 0 in)
Wingspan: 22.7 m (74 ft 6 in)
Powerplant: 2 × Benz Bz.III 6-cylinder water-cooled inline in pusher configuration, 110 kW (150 hp) each
Propellers: 2-bladed

Performance

Maximum speed: 133 km/h (83 mph, 72 kn)

Armament

Guns: 2 × 7.92 mm (0.312 in) machine guns
Bombs: 1 × Torpedo

References

Bibliography

Herris, Jack (2017). Albatros Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes: Volume 3: Bombers, Seaplanes, J-Types. Great War Aviation Centennial Series. Vol. 26. Charleston, South Carolina: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-935881-49-0.
Nowarra, Heinz J (May 1980). "Les Premiers Torpilleurs Allemande" [The First German Torpedo Aircraft]. Le Fanatique de l'Aviation (in French) (126): 52–58.
Schmeelke, Michael (2020). "Torpedo Los!": The German Imperial Torpedo-Flieger. n.p.: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-953201-17-1.

Albatros aircraft

Early aircraft

Military Idflieg
designations

B type unarmed reconnaissance biplanes	B.I B.II B.III
C type armed reconnaissance biplanes	C.I C.II C.III C.IV C.V C.VI C.VII C.VIIII N C.IX C.X C.XI C.XII C.XIII C.XIV C.XV
D type Doppeldecker fighters	D.I D.II D.III D.IV D.V D.VI D.VII D.VIII D.IX D.X D.XI D.XII D.XIII D.XIV D.XV
Dr type Dreidecker triplane fighters	Dr.I Dr.II
G type Grossflugzeug bombers	G.I G.II G.III G.IV
J type close support	J.I J.II J.III

Company
designations

Landflugzeug (Landplanes)	LDD L.1 L.2 L.3 L.4 L.5 L.6 L.7 L.8 L.9 L.10 L.11 L.12 L.13 L.14 L.15 L.16 L.17 L.18 L.19 L.20 L.21 L.22 L.23 L.24 L.25 L.26 L.27 L.28 L.29 L.30 L.31 L.32 L.33 L.34 L.35 L.36 L.37 L.38 L.39 L.40 L.41 L.42 L.43 L.44 L.45 L.46 L.47 L.48 L.49 L.50 L.51 L.52 L.53 L.54 L.55 L.56 L.57 L.58 L.59 L.60 L.65 L.66 L.67 L.68 L.69 L.70 L.71 L.72 L.73 L.74 L.75 L.76 L.77 L.78 L.79 L.80 L.81 L.82 L.83 L.84 L.100 L.101 L.102 L.103
Wasserflugzeug (Seaplanes)	W.1 W.2 W.3 W.4 W.5 W.8 WMZ
Höhenflugzeug (High Altitude)	H.1