Albatros C.VII

The Albatros C.VII was a military reconnaissance aircraft built by Albatros Flugzeugwerke, a revised and re-engined development of the disappointing C.V. Developed rapidly during 1916, it replaced the unreliable Mercedes D.IV with the more dependable Benz Bz.IV and was a hybrid of the C.V/16 and C.V/17 designs; refinements to the control surfaces gave it excellent handling, although it was considered a stop-gap. It entered service with the Luftstreitkräfte in late 1916 and proved less troublesome than the C.V. At one point it made up most of the reconnaissance aircraft Germany operated, with roughly 350 in service at the peak, and by the end of 1916 it had become a staple of reconnaissance and artillery spotting on all fronts.