Albatros C.V

The Albatros C.V was a military reconnaissance aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Albatros Flugzeugwerke. It was developed to make use of the newly-available Mercedes D.IV eight-cylinder engine. While the C.V drew greatly upon the company's previous aircraft, it featured greater use of balanced flight control surfaces and a new tail design. These changes also resulted in a heavier aircraft than its predecessors. Initially internally designated C.V/16, initial flight testing found that the aircraft's performance was lacking, particularly in terms of the flight controls being cumbersome and demanding, thus redesign work commenced. The resulting aircraft, which was designated C.V/17 by the company, showed improved handling and thus proceeded into quantity production. The Luftstreitkräfte promptly accepted delivery of the type, using it active combat during the First World War. However, the unreliable Mercedes D.IV engine hurt aircraft availability and its manufacturer was unable to resolve the engine issues. Instead, production of the power plant stopped, leaving the C.V without an engine, thus forcing an early end of production of the type. It was replaced by the Albatros C.VII while existing C.Vs were quickly withdrawn from service due to the engine issues.

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