Albatros Productions, Ltd

Windsock Datafile No.126 Albatros C.XII Volume I

by  P. M. Grosz

Reviewed By  Clare Wentzel, IPMS# 1096

MSRP: £10.75 Web Site: www.windsockdatafilespecials.co.uk This is one of the latest Datafiles from Albatros Productions, Ltd. This datafile, number 126 covers the beautiful, sleek Albatros C.XII two-seater biplane. The listed author is Peter M. Grosz a world-renowned expert on German Aircraft who has authored many, many books on the subject. In reality, Peter passed away late in 2006 before he completed this Datafile. A group of his friends worked with his incredible data and photo files and finished this book. They used Peter's own words whenever possible and in my opinion, have done a commendable job. The Albatros C.XII entered service in May 1917 and continued through the end of the war. The airplane was an evolutionary design, being based on the earlier Albatros C.VII and C.X bomber/recon aircraft. As a result, the basic model was no longer state-of-the-art when it entered service. It was assigned to various Eastern and Western front units but quickly showed poor performance on deep, behind the lines operations and was relegated to lower risk missions and to training squadrons. A number of these were obtained by Poland and Russia and soldiered on into the 1920s. The total production of the model C.XII was 483 units. Over half of them were license-built by other manufacturers. A future datafile will cover these aircraft. This 32-page book contains over 70 large black and white photos. As usual, detailed 1/72 and 1/48 scale drawings are included along with three, colored profile drawings on the rear cover. One of the profiles on the rear cover is the same airplane shown in the color painting on the front cover but with a different interpretation of the color of the marking. Such is the problem with trying to determine colors from black and white photos. No cockpit details are shown although there is good coverage of the engines used on various versions. The book format includes a detailed written narrative of the airplane covering its development and wartime usage. A number of the photos cover crashed aircraft. These really tend to illustrate construction details. The photos do not necessarily always relate to the words on the same page but the total package provides a great history of the airplane. Several low volume kits have been issued of the Albatros C.XII. This datafile will help the modeler complete these kits and possibly will tempt a manufacturer to produce a modern kit of this graceful bomber/reconnaissance biplane. This book is well recommended for all aviation enthusiasts who are fans of World War One. The photos provide a great coverage of this interesting airplane. A big thank you to Albatros Productions Ltd. for providing the sample for review. Information on this book and other datafiles is available from the publisher on their website. The books are also available from many other hobby shops and aviation booksellers.

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