What unusual wheels did the Albatros G.II have?

The graceful lines of the Albatros G.II's fuselage were spoiled by the twin set of nose wheels, intended to reduce damage in nose-over accidents and while at rest, when the centre of gravity was shifted forward.

Conceived as a medium bomber, the G.II shared no attributes with the larger G.I: it was a single-bay biplane with thick-section upper wings and rigid X-form interplane struts. Its powerplant consisted of two water-cooled, six-cylinder in-line Benz Bz.III engines of 112 kW (150 hp) each. The engines were installed in pusher nacelles supported by struts from the fuselage, and the trailing edges of the lower wing had cutouts that allowed them to be mounted further forward than would otherwise have been possible. Only one prototype was built, which showed relatively poor performance, so development was concentrated on the more powerful Albatros G.III.

The G.I first flew on 31 January 1916, piloted by Alexander Hipleh, and testing revealed poor flying qualities and poor performance, leading to the abandonment of its development. The G.III was a large single-bay biplane of unequal span with no stagger between the wings. It was powered by two Benz Bz.IVa engines in pusher configuration, installed in nacelles supported between the wings. An unusual feature of its design was that the lower wing had cutouts for the propellers, so that the nacelles could be mounted further forward than would otherwise have been possible. Few were built, and they served mainly on the Macedonian front in 1917.