Albatros L 77v
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Albatros L 77v was a tandem two-seat reconnaissance fighter biplane, four examples of which were built under license for Albatros Flugzeugwerke by Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1928. Based upon the Albatros L 76 Aeolus reconnaissance trainer, the aircraft was powered by a 600 hp BMW VI 5.5 water-cooled V12.
Like the L 76, the L 77v had a fabric-covered welded-steel fuselage and wooden dual-spar wings with plywood skins supported by N-type struts. It was armed with twin 7.92 mm machine guns in fixed forward-firing positions and a third on a ring mounting in the rear cockpit.
Three of the aircraft saw service performing armament trials in Lipezk in the Soviet Union; these included one aircraft testing a free-mounted 20 mm cannon. The fourth aircraft had been destroyed while undergoing tests in March 1929. Between December 1929 and their retirement in October 1931, the surviving L 77vs were based at the Staaken Erprobungsstelle (Test Centre).
[edit] References
- Green, W. & Swanborough, G. (1994). The Complete Book of Fighters. London: Salamander Books. ISBN 1-85833-777-1
