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A German Albatros B.IIa was damaged during a landing in Stockholm in 1914. Before the aircraft was repaired, the WWI broke out. The Albatros was kept by the Swedish authorities and became the pattern for a long row of Swedish-built ”Albatross” aircraft for the Army Aviation Company, more or less similar to the original. The Navy purchased five surplus Albatros B IIa:s after the war, but these were German-built machines. 

A number of the Swedish Albatrosses were fitted with Mercedes  engines of 120 hp and used as basic trainers. Eight aircraft were later transferred to the young Air Force in 1926 as basic trainers, designated Sk 1. In the middle of the twenties, these aircraft had grown old and worn, and a more modern substitute was needed. One conceivable alternative was the Heinkel HD 35, of which one aircraft was bought for evaluation. This three-seat aeroplane was, like the Albatrosses it was to succeed, also fitted with a 120 hp Mercedes D II engine. 

The aircraft was delivered in August 1925. It carried Heinkel’s c/n 235 and got the military registration 66, which also later became its Air Force number. The evaluations at Malmen were finished in March 1927. At this time the Air Force was nearly one year old. The HD 35 now carried the designation Sk 5 and the earlier Army Aviation establishment at Malmen had formed the Air Force Wing F 3. 

The HD 35 showed itself too heavy and was, together with its not too strong engine, not a suitable trainer aircraft. The single Sk 5 was transferred to the War Flying School F 5 at Ljungbyhed, where the photo above was taken in 1926. There it became the personal aircraft of the head of the school, the legendary Navy aviator Captain Arvid Flory. 

The Sk 5 was written off in the summer of 1929. It was sold to the civil market and got the registration SE-SAM. It was flown by several pilots until 1940, when it was grounded for good.  

The aircraft still exists and is owned by Flygvapenmuseum. It is under restoration by a volountary group at Tullinge former Air Force base (F 18) near Stockholm. Photos below of the beautiful airframe and of the Mercedes engine during the restoration work.

Length: 7,40 m. Span:10,97 m. MTOW 1.060 kg. Max. speed: 138 km/h.

© Lars Henriksson

Updated 2011-09-17