Albatros L.84

When, in 1931, economic circumstances dictated amalgamation of the Albatros Flugzeugwerke with the Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau, flight testing had just commenced of a new tandem two-seat fighter, the L.84 powered by a 660hp BMW VIu 7.3Z water-cooled 12- cylinder Vee-type engine. A single-bay biplane with V-type interplane struts, the L.84 had plywood-covered wooden wings and a welded steel-tube fuselage primarily fabric covered. Armament consisted of two fixed forward-firing 7.9mm machine guns and a similar weapon on an aft ring mounting. The first prototype was destroyed during flight testing, but a second prototype was completed by Focke-Wulf and flown in February 1933, this being referred to as the L.84C and featuring a revised cooling system. Twelve L.84 fighters were ordered from Focke-Wulf by the Reichswehr, but, in the event, only three were completed, the remainder being cancelled. One was used under the designation L.84E to evaluate the Rolls-Royce Kestrel HIS engine, and another, fitted with a fuel-injection version of the BMW VIu engine, was known as the L.84F. At least one L 84 was supplied to China.

3-View

A three-view drawing (1630 x 1177)