GPM 0301 ALBATROS B II

The Albatros B.II was a multi-role and training aircraft of German production from the First World War, with a mixed structure - mainly wooden, with a fixed landing gear, in a biplane configuration. The drive was provided by a single engine Mercedes DI or D.II with 100 and 120 HP respectively. The first flight of this machine took place in 1914. In the years 1914-1918 serial production took place, which led to the creation of over 3,000 aircraft of this type. In the Austro-Hungarian aviation, the on-board armament consisted of a single 7.92 mm machine gun.

The Albatros B.II was developed at the Albatros Flugzeugwerke works by the later, well-known aviation constructor - Ernest Heinkel. Its design was to a large extent based on another machine of this aviation manufacturer - the BI model. The Albatros B.II aircraft turned out to be a great success and a very successful design. In the course of serial production, two main development versions were created: B.II (multi-purpose aircraft) and B.IIa (training aircraft). The main difference between them was the use of different drive units. The Albatros B.II license production was undertaken by several plants in Germany and Austria-Hungary, for example: Aviatik, BFW or Mercur. They appeared in the airline service in German and Austro-Hungarian aviation from the beginning of 1915 and remained in it until the end of World War I, playing primarily training roles with the passage of time. A small number of machines of this type were taken over by the Polish army in 1918 and used in the Polish-Bolshevik war of 1919-1921.