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The Albatros D.XI was the first Albatros fighter to be powered by a rotary engine, but like the other Albatros fighter designs of 1918 didn't enter production.
The D.XI was one of a series of simplified designs produced by Albatros. The D.IX had introduced a flat sided and flat based fuselage with the same wooden frame and plywood covering as on other Albatros aircraft. The D.X had a better nose and used I struts between the wings.
The D.XI kept the slab sided and flat based fuselage, but replaced the engines used on the earlier aircraft with a Siemens-Halske Sh III rotary engine that provided 160hp. The D.XI was a sesquiplane, with a smaller wing span on the lower wing. I struts connected the upper and lower wing, and another set of struts linked the base of the I struts with the top of the fuselage. The D.XI was smaller and lighter than the D.X.
Two prototypes were produced. The first had balanced ailerons and a four-blade propeller, the second had unbalanced ailerons and a two blade propeller. Both aircraft entered the second D type competition of May-June 1918 (one of thirty seven types submitted). Despite the impressive climbing speed of the D.XI it wasn't ordered into production and the context was won by the Fokker V 28, which began the Fokker D.VIII.
Engine: Siemens-Halske Sh III rotary engine
Power: 160hp
Span: 26ft 3in
Length: 18ft 3 3/4in
Height: 9ft 4 5/8in
Empty weight: 1,087lb
Loaded weight: 1,516lb
Max speed: 118mph
Climb Rate: 15.1 minutes to 16,400ft
Endurance: 1.5 hours
Armament: Two Spandau machine guns