Albatros D III, cladding material.

[Igmar]

Hello colleagues.
I am communicating with the help of a virtual translator.
A question arose about the "Albatros D III", as far as I know, the spars were made of spruce, the frames were made of ash plywood, and what kind of wood was used for the fuselage skin?
Thank you.

[Dutch522]

Hello Igmar! I believe it was 3mm birch plywood, but I'd have to check my references to be certain. I have photographs from one of the factories showing the fuselages under construction if they would be of any help.

Dutch

[Igmar]

Thank you.
Of course, pictures would certainly help.

[Dutch522]

The last photo shows the way the ply panels were joined, with a rivetted ply strip (which was probably also glued) on the inside of the joint as reinforcement.









Dutch

[Igmar]

Thank you very much.

[Dutch522]

You're welcome! Those are all D.V or D. Va types, but I think but the materials and construction methods were similar for the D. III.

Dutch

[Igmar]

Hello colleagues. I have a question: can anyone tell me the distance, or spacing, between the nails used to attach the planking to the frames? Also, it would be great to know the diameter of the nail heads used.
Thank you.

[Berman]

 In the last photo, there are shafts being trimmed by a flush cutter. These look similar to pop rivets invented by British engineer Hamilton Neil Wylie in 1916. Basically, the head of the shaft collapses an eyelet under tension. I would like to see a closeup photo of the other side as a standard pop rivet normally would leave an excessive protruding bump on the external side of the birch plywood sheeting. I think the Germans improved the British invention or independently designed their own pop rivet system that reduced the external protrusion to an acceptable level.

[Igmar]

Thanks for the information. I'd like to clarify: does this mean the nail was driven through, a ring was placed on the protruding part, and then a portion of the nail was snipped off with special pliers, simultaneously flattening it? I hope the virtual translator translated everything correctly. What if a sheet of wood sheathing needed to be nailed to the end of the rib?

[Berman]

 Igmar,
          I think you may be correct. The photo shows that tiny metal washers were placed on the shafts of the (copper?) nails. After the nails were trimmed with the end nippers, the remaining portion of the nail was peened over by the hammer shown in the photo creating a rivet. Can anyone verify this?