Albatros C.XII: Where nobody expected it.

The C.XII was the last Albatros C-Type recon biplane produced in quantity which saw service in WWI. Building on the previous models in an evolutive way, nothing was radical in its design. Powered by the same 260hp Mercedes D.IVa engine of the C.X, its main distinctive feature was the elliptical-section fuselage taken from the D.V. The result was an alluring aircraft, which nevertheless had basically the same performances of the aircraft it replaced. First flown in mid-1917, they entered service late that year, remaining in use throughout 1918.

The tiny bombload of a C.XII causing havoc in a factory, maybe a steelworks like the Bleckmann Phönix Stahl publicized here. A search for the history of some really old (metal) files we have uncovered this cool poster.