Albatros L 76

Albatros L 76
General information
Type	Reconnaissance aircraft
National origin	Germany
Manufacturer	Albatros
Number built	6
History
First flight	1927

The Albatros L 76 Aeolus was a German military reconnaissance aircraft built by Albatros Flugzeugwerke in 1927. The plane had wooden dual-spar wings with plywood skins supported by N-type struts and a fabric-covered fuselage made of welded steel tubing. The aircraft was used for testing, ^[1] as well as the training of the Soviet Air Force. ^[2] It was difficult to fly, and killed many people, including Emil Thuy, ^[3] who crashed near Smolensk on June 11, 1930, ^[1] and Paul Jeschonnek, who crashed near Berlin on June 13, 1929. As a result, it had to be improved, leading to the production of the Albatros L 77v, designed by Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke.

Operators

  Soviet Union

• Soviet Air Force - Two aircraft, used for tests and trials.

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: 2
• Length: 8.55 m (28 ft 1 in)
• Wingspan: 12.76 m (41 ft 10 in)
• Height: 3.74 m (12 ft 3 in)
• Wing area: 27.8 m² (299 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 1,615 kg (3,560 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × BMW VI inline engine, 450 kW (600 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 235 km/h (146 mph, 127 kn)

Notes

1. Beauvais, Heinrich (2002). German secret flight test centres to 1945: Johannisthal, Lipetsk, Rechlin, Travemünde, Tarnewitz, Peenemünde-West. Midland. ISBN   978-1-85780-127-9.
2. Boyd, Alexander (1977). The Soviet Air Force since 1918 . Stein and Day. p.  24. ISBN   978-0-8128-2242-7.
3. Musciano, Walter A. (1966). Eagles of the black cross. L. Obolensky. p. 261.

References

• Michael J. H. Taylor, Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. Studio Editions, London (1989).
• W.Green & G Swanborough, The Complete Book of Fighters. Salamander Books, London (1994). ISBN   1-85833-777-1