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Albatros C.XII
 

Albatros C.XII

Volume 1
Windsock Datafile 126
By P. M. Grosz
Albatros Publications, ©2007
ISBN 1-902207-95-5
Softbound, 32 Pages

Reviewed by Chris Banyai-Riepl

This Datafile holds a special place in the series, as it is the last Datafile of Peter Grosz. With his passing in September of 2006, the aviation world lost a great historian, and this book presents a last glimpse into the depth of his knowledge. Through the assistance of his family and friends, this volume on the Albatros C.XII was finished. This is the first of two volumes, and after looking through this one, I am guessing that the second volume will cover the Albatros C.XII in post-war usage.

This volume, though, starts out with an examination of the Albatros C series, and the progression that led up to the C.XII variant. As with many aircraft during this period, the driving force for the new design was the engine, in this case the Mercedes D.IVa, which became the powerplant for the Albatros C.X. In an attempt to get even better performance, Albatros departed from its earlier designs and went with an oval fuselage cross section for the C.XII, designed to reduce drag and lower weight. The hoped for benefits, though, did not appear, and the C.XII was not appreciably better than its immediate predecessor, the C.X. Still, several hundred were produced, and it served quite well in the waning years of the war. For its post-war record, we will just have to wait for Volume 2 (hopefully; I would hate to think that the post-war Polish and Russian service will only get the single paragraph that appears in this text).

Complementing the text, which does a great job of describing the development and operations of the Albatros C.XII, this book has over seventy photos, many of which are very clear. This allows for a great amount of detail to show up, making this a great reference for the modeler. In addition to the photos, there are the usual high quality drawings, further complemented by the color profiles on the rear cover showing one German, one Polish, and one Russian example.

This is a great addition to the Datafile line, and fills an important gap in the German two-seater line. I am looking forward to the second volume with anticipation. My thanks to Albatros Publications for the review copy. Visit their website for ordering information.