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Which Lufthansa aircraft carried one of the first directional gyroscopes?

Short answer

The Albatros L 73, though what it actually carried was a primitive gyroscopic artificial horizon, along with a radio station, rather than a directional gyroscope. It was a German twin-engined biplane airliner of the 1920s. Four were built, operated by Deutsche Luft Hansa and delivered in 1926.

Published: November 1, 2026 · Updated: November 1, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

Which Lufthansa aircraft carried one of the first directional gyroscopes?
Stettin 1927 - Carl Meurling & Yngve Larsson - Lufthansa

A twin-engined biplane for Luft Hansa

The Albatros L 73 was a German twin-engined biplane airliner of the 1920s. It was developed on commission from Deutsche Lufthansa, and the four examples built were operated by Deutsche Luft Hansa; they were delivered to the customer in 1926. It was crewed by two people, a pilot and a mechanic, and could carry eight passengers. It was powered by two water-cooled six-cylinder inline BMW IV engines of 180 kW (240 hp) each.

Radio and gyroscopic horizon

The aircraft was fitted with a radio station and a primitive gyroscopic artificial horizon.

Built to fly at night

It was classed as a night transport and passenger aircraft. Four of its seats could be converted into two berths, reclining backward to form divans that were quite comfortable when the aircraft was used on a night service.

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