Hansa-Brandenburg W.12
| Hansa-Brandenburg W.12 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Naval fighter |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
January 1917 |
| Commissioning: |
1917 |
| Number of pieces: |
136 |
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The Hansa-Brandenburg W.12 - also written as the Hansa-Brandenburg W-12 - was a German military aircraft from the First World War .
history
Shortly before the beginning of the First World War , the Flugzeugwerk Hansa-Brandenburg GmbH was created in Brandenburg-Briest on the Havel from the merger of the Brandenburgische Flugzeugwerke and the Hansa Flugzeugwerke; further parts of the plant were located in Austria-Hungary . The company mainly produced seaplanes for the navy of Germany and Austria-Hungary as well as various models for the army squadrons of Austria-Hungary.
In September 1916, Hansa-Brandenburg received an order from the German naval command to develop a new fighter aircraft for their naval forces. Orders for three prototypes each followed on October 15 and November 22. The chief designer of Hansa-Brandenburg, Ernst Heinkel , based on the two-seater land reconnaissance aircraft K, created a double-decker in lightweight construction within 8 weeks under the designation W.12. Since the lake at Briest was frozen over in January 1917, the prototype with the naval number 1014 was brought by rail to the Seaplane Test Command in Warnemünde. This was where the acceptance flights took place, which the W.12 passed thanks to its high flight performance for the time, especially in terms of speed and climbing ability. In addition, there was the very strong armament, which also made the fight against enemy sea fighters possible. On January 5th, before the prototype was tested, the Navy ordered another 10 W.12s.
According to the marine nomenclature of that time, the model was given the service designation C3MG. The W.12 was mainly deployed on the western front from the Ostend and Zeebrugge sea flying stations , where the machines were in use until the end of the war.
Van Berkel WA
After the war, the Netherlands bought a W.12 that had not landed at Rottumeroog for 25,000 guilders . After successful flight tests of this machine, they were convinced of the flight performance and acquired a license from Hansa-Brandenburg to replicate 35 machines. The production took place at the company Van Berkel's Patent in Rotterdam , where they were called Van Berkel WA . The machines were in service with the Dutch Navy and in the Dutch colonies until 1933.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 2 |
| length | 9.60 m |
| span | 11.20 m above 10.48 m below |
| height | 3.30 m |
| Wing area | 36.20 m² |
| Empty mass | 997 kg |
| Takeoff mass | 1463 kg |
| Top speed | 160 km / h at sea level |
| Ascent time to 3000 m | 38 min |
| practical summit height | 4000 m |
| Range | 520 km |
| Flight duration | 3:30 h |
| Engine | a water-cooled 6-cylinder in- line engine Mercedes D III , 165 HP (121 kW) starting power |
| Armament | 3 × MG 7.9 mm |
replica
The Neptune Association in the Netherlands has set itself the goal of building a Van Berkel WA replica; the work began in the 1990s and was not yet completed in 2006.
See also
literature
- H. Dieter Köhler: The German aviation Ernst Heinkel - pioneer of the high-speed aircraft , Bernard & Graefe Verlag, ISBN 3-7637-6116-0
- PM Grosz : Brandenburg W 12 , Windsock Datafile 61
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ H. Dieter Köhler The German Aviation Ernst Heinkel - Pioneer of the high-speed aircraft , 2nd edition v. 1999, p. 40, Bernard & Graefe Verlag, ISBN 3-7637-6116-0