What were the Albatros C.I's side radiators for?

Short answer

To cool the engine and, additionally, to regulate that cooling: they were mounted on both sides of the fuselage and were made up of several separate units that could be switched on or off individually, adjusting cooling capacity to local temperature.

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

What were the Albatros C.I's side radiators for?

Albatros C I '197-15Alan Wilson (CC BY SA), vía commons

A two-seater born from a 1914 requirement

In late 1914 the German Luftstreitkräfte issued a requirement for two-seat aircraft, the C category, with engines of at least 150 hp. The C.I received a more powerful powerplant, such as the 150 hp (110 kW) Benz Bz.III or the 160 hp (120 kW) Mercedes D.III. Its fuselage was mainly plywood.

Radiators adjustable in modules

The radiators were mounted on both sides of the fuselage and consisted of several separate units that could be switched on or off individually, adjusting cooling capacity according to local temperature. On most early aircraft they were fixed to the side of the fuselage, an arrangement that was replaced on later-production C.Is. Despite the care the design team devoted to aerodynamically refining the aircraft, the radiators partly undermined that effort.

Crew and armament

The C.I reversed the pilot and observer positions: the pilot moved to the front cockpit and the observer to the rear one. From there he operated a flexibly mounted machine gun, usually a 7.92 mm Parabellum MG14 on a ring mount. The aircraft also carried internal bomb racks for four 10 kg bombs.