Albatros BI/BII's

Last week we looked at the Morane-Saulnier Type G and how it became the first plane to destroy an enemy in Air to Air combat. Today we look at the plane it destroyed.

The Albatros BI/BII was two seated aircraft designed for observation. Like other planes from this era, it also lacked any sort of armament, so the observer would be given a carbine rifle or perhaps even a shotgun to defend themselves with. This was the Central Powers primary observation craft up until with was replaced by later planes that featured observer wielded machine guns and eventually both observer mounted and forward fixed guns.

Like our Morane-Saulnier Tpye G those familar with Canvas Eagles will realize that the Albatros BI/BII is yet another plane not offered on the Canvas Eagles Website. So again, I took it upon myself to create the sheets we needed.

Similar to its counterparts of the era, the Albatros BI/BII was under powered. Though it's stability and reliability at the time made it a well liked aircraft.

I have not had a chance to use these in game yet but I hope to recreate the first air battle, between a Morane-Saulnier Type G and an Albatros BI soon!

These minis come from Shapeways and are of great quality. Unlike the mono-planes, the bi-planes from Shapeways are much sturdier... Which in the real world was also the issue with mono-planes for much of the war. So that's an interesting coincidence.

They were an ease to paint, but like all 3D printed minis, make sure you soak them in Simple Green cleaning solution to get the wax off.


Written by: Andrew Gregory