IN May-June 1916 the German Navy took the first step towards creating a marine fighter arm by engaging Alba-tros, Friedrichshafen, I lansa-Brandenburg, Liibcck-Travenuinde, Roland, Rumpler and Sablatnig (LVG) to build single-seat floatplane and flying-boat fighters. On May 16 1916, the Navy ordered three Albatros W 4 prototype fighters (marine numbers 747, 785 and 786) powered by a 160 hp Mercedes engine and armed with a single, fixed machine gun. As might be expected the largest companies delivered their prototypes for testing within a few months. In August-September 1916 the Albatros W 4 (marine number 747), Friedrichshafen FF 44 (749) and Rumpler 6B1 (751) arrived at the Seeflugzeug Versuchs Kommando (SVK — Seaplane Testing Command) in Warnemunde for flight evaluation and seaworthiness trials...