[stephen]

I'm certainly a believer in the abilities of the DVII, but for Pete's sake... that's 40% of all the combined Allied aircraft on the entire western front at any given time. Then, of course, you also get into the discussion of German overclaiming - which DID happen on a regular basis and significantly skewed their final kill results, regardless of the theories of German perfection that so many still hopelessly cling to.

I would rate the Albatros series as a more successful aircraft, but on an entirely different basis... longevity. The DVII was nearing the end of it's viability toward the end of the war. Hence, the development of the Schuckert series, the Junkers and the Fokker DVIII. It was still a dominant and effective aircraft, but the end was in sight after less than 9 months in combat. Not so for the Alb series, which went from late '16 until the end of the war, when it was still a servicable aircraft that could put up a decent fight when well handled. From the standpoint of the servicability and viable service life of the aircraft, the Albatros was king of WWI for the Germans. Somewhat akin to the F-4 Phantom, which IMHO, is the greatest (by that definition) combat aircraft of all time. They should STILL be flying that thing.