The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service (Luftstreitkräfte) during World War I.

However, at the request of the Idflieg (Inspectorate of Flying Troops), the D.III adopted a sesquiplane wing arrangement broadly similar to the French Nieuport 11.

The upper wingspan was extended, while the lower wing was redesigned with reduced chord and a single main spar.

After a Typenprüfung (official type test) on 26 September 1916, Albatros received an order for 400 D.III aircraft, the largest German production contract to date.

Like the later models of the D.II, early D.IIIs featured a Teves und Braun airfoil-shaped radiator in the center of the upper wing, where it tended to scald the pilot if punctured.

More seriously, the new aircraft immediately began experiencing failures of the lower wing ribs and leading edge,[3] a defect shared with the Nieuport 17.

[3] On 27 January, the Kogenluft (Kommandierender General der Luftstreitkräfte) issued an order grounding all D.IIIs pending resolution of the wing failure problem.

[5] New production D.IIIs were completed with the strengthened wing while operational D.IIIs were withdrawn to Armee-Flugparks for modifications, forcing Jastas to use the Albatros D.II and Halberstadt D.II during the interim.

For cold weather operations, Oeffag aircraft featured a winter cowling which fully enclosed the cylinder heads.

Austrian pilots often removed the propeller spinner from early production aircraft, since it was prone to falling off in flight.

[12] Beginning with aircraft 112 of the series 153 production run, Oeffag introduced a new rounded nose that eliminated the spinner.

Remarkably, German wind-tunnel tests showed that the simple rounded nose improved propeller efficiency and raised the top speed by 14 km/h (8.7 mph).

[11] This created a new problem; the Schwarzlose operated via blowback and the weapon contained a cartridge oiler to prevent cases from sticking in the chamber while the extractor ripped their rims off.

After the Armistice, in early 1919 Poland bought 38 series 253 aircraft from the factory, ten more were rebuilt from wartime leftovers.

An Austrian aviation enthusiast, Koloman Mayrhofer, has completed a pair of Albatros D.III (Oeffag) series 253 reproductions.