The Albatros D.V was a fighter aircraft used by the Luftstreitkräfte (Imperial German Air Service) during World War I. The D.V was the final development of the Albatros D.I family, and the last Albatros fighter to see operational service. It closely resembled the appearance of the D.III.

The D.V entered service in May 1917. Manfred von Richthofen was particularly critical of the D.V. In a July 1917 letter, he described it as "so obsolete and so ridiculously inferior to the English that one can't do anything with this aircraft."

Deliveries of the D.Va commenced in October 1917. It featured stronger wing spars, heavier wing ribs, and a reinforced fuselage. The structural problems of the Fokker Dr.I and the mediocre performance of the Pfalz D.III left the Luftstreitkräfte with no viable alternative to the D.Va until the Fokker D.VII entered service in the summer of 1918. As of May 1918, 131 D.V and 928 D.Va aircraft were in service on the Western Front, and examples remained in use until the end of the war.

Source: Wikipedia, "Albatros D.V", available under the CC-BY-SA License.

As Described In

Red Baron: The D.Va is an easy to fly, competent fighter. However, it's inferior to both the S.E.5a and the Sopwith Camel.