Focke-Wulf Fw 159

Focke-Wulf Fw 159
Type:	Fighter plane
Design country:	German Empire
Manufacturer:	Focke-Wulf
First flight:	1935
Number of pieces:	3

The Focke-Wulf Fw 159 was a single-engine fighter aircraft produced by the German Focke-Wulf aircraft factory. The test aircraft developed in 1935 for a tender could not prevail against the competitor Messerschmitt Bf 109 and was never used.

history

After 1934, the Ministry of Aviation a design competition for a single-seat fighter - monoplane had advertised with which the old Arado Ar-68 - and Heinkel He-51 - Double Decker should be replaced, has won both Arado , Heinkel and Messerschmitt also Focke-Wulf a development contract .

Kurt Tank commissioned chief engineer Blaser with the construction management. By the summer of 1935, Blaser developed the Fw 159, a high-decker made of all-metal with a covered driver's seat and a chassis that could be retracted into the fuselage. The Fw 159 V1 was a Jumo 210 A 610 PS starting power and a rigid two-blade - propeller equipped. It broke on the first flight under flight captain Wolfgang Stein because the landing gear was not working. In October 1935, a comparison flight was carried out in Travemünde with the rival machines Arado Ar 80 V1, Heinkel He 112 V1 and Messerschmitt Bf 109 V1 . The Bf 109 emerged as the winner. It turned out that the conception of the Fw 159 was already outdated as a result of the rapid technical development. The two other sample machines under construction, the Fw 159 V2 and Fw 159 V3, were equipped with the more powerful Jumo 210 G with 680 hp and a three-blade propeller. They were still being built and tested.

construction

Parameter	Data
Type	Single-engine hunting single-seater
wing	Targeted high-wing aircraft. Three-part all-metal wing , middle part on two N-shaped posts firmly above the fuselage, outer parts with fabric-covered ailerons and landing flaps , otherwise all-metal shell construction . I-stems .
hull	All-metal shell body with an oval cross-section
Tail unit	Normal, self-supporting. Metal structure, sheet metal fins, fabric-covered rudder. Rudder weight, elevator weight weight and aerodynamically balanced.
landing gear	Retractable normal landing gear. Main wheels on double buckled legs can be pulled up and back into the fuselage. Hydraulic actuation. Uncovered tail wheel.
Engine	A Junkers Jumo 210 G liquid-cooled twelve-cylinder engine with 680 hp starting power. Rigid three-bladed propeller.
crew	A man in a closed cabin with the hood on behind the trailing edge of the wing.

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data
crew	1
span	12.40 m
length	10.00 m
height	3.75 m
Empty mass	1875 kg
Takeoff mass	2250 kg
drive	a liquid-cooled, twelve-cylinder - V engine Jumo 210A
power	610 PS (approx. 450 kW)
Top speed	385 km / h
Service ceiling	7200 m
Range	650 km
Armament	two rigid 7.92 mm MG 17

Web links

Commons : Focke-Wulf Fw 159  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Peter All-Fernandez (ed.): Aircraft from A to Z . Consolidated PBY – Koolhoven FK 55th volume 2 . Bernard & Graefe, Koblenz 1988, ISBN 3-7637-5905-0 , p. 244 .