Why did Albatros's first bomber fail?

Short answer

Albatros's first bomber, the four-engine G.I, flew on 31 January 1916 with Alexander Hipleh at the controls, and testing revealed not only poor flying qualities but also poor performance, so its development was abandoned. It was of typical 1915 construction, wire-braced wood covered in fabric.

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

Caudron G 4

A four-engine aircraft of typical 1915 construction

The Albatros G.I followed the construction typical of 1915: a wire-braced wooden structure covered in fabric, with four engines mounted in nacelles on the upper surface of the lower wing.

The flight of January 1916

It first flew on 31 January 1916, piloted by Alexander Hipleh, and flight testing revealed not only poor flying qualities but also poor performance, leading to the abandonment of its development.

The G.II and G.III followed a different path

The later G.II and G.III had no direct relationship to the G.I: they were twin-engine aircraft, much lighter and with wings of a completely different design. The G.II was conceived as a medium bomber and 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. It was powered by two water-cooled, six-cylinder in-line Benz Bz.III engines of 112 kW (150 hp) each, installed in pusher nacelles supported by struts from the fuselage, with cutouts in the trailing edges of the lower wing that allowed them to be mounted further forward than would otherwise have been possible. The fuselage lines were spoiled by the twin set of nose wheels, intended to reduce damage in nose-over accidents and while at rest with the centre of gravity shifted forward. Only one prototype was built, which showed relatively poor performance, so development was concentrated on the more powerful Albatros G.III. This was a large single-bay biplane of unequal span with no stagger between the wings. Few were built, and they served mainly on the Macedonian front in 1917.