Hansa-Brandenburg W.18
| Hansa-Brandenburg W.18 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Hunting flying boat |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: |
|
| First flight: |
1917 |
| Commissioning: |
1917 |
| Production time: |
1917/1918 |
| Number of pieces: |
47-60 |
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The Hansa-Brandenburg W.18 was a German flying boat from the First World War that was used by the Austro-Hungarian Navy .
development
The W.18 was designed as a fighter flying boat for the Austro-Hungarian Navy . As a basis for the construction, the chief designer at HBF, Ernst Heinkel , used the flying boat CC from 1916 or its further development W.17 , in which he used the relatively heavy Heinkelsche "strut spider" , which served as a connection between the upper and lower wing, with diagonal struts and a cantilever , had replaced the significantly shortened lower wing. This configuration was not pursued any further and the W.17 remained a one-off. Heinkel extended the lower wingspan of the W.18 back to about that of the upper wing and used a pair of I-struts per side for the connection of the outer wings for the structure , which significantly reduced the air resistance compared to the CC type.
Production was transferred to Phönix Flugzeugwerke in Vienna-Stadlau , whose owner Camillo Castiglioni was also the owner of the Hansa and Brandenburgische Flugzeugwerke. 47 and 48 copies respectively, which were delivered between July 1917 and January 1918, were built. Other sources give a number of 60 copies produced. The flying boats designated as Type A were equipped with Austro-Daimler or Hiero engines with 200 or 220 hp, respectively, with which they reached top speeds of 170 to 190 km / h, which was faster at the beginning of their deployment as escort and interceptor fighters in the Adriatic region when all the planes of the Italian enemy made. As armament, they received a rigid 7.9 mm MG in the bow.
A W.18 was given the (German) naval number 2138 and was equipped with a Bz III engine of 150 hp and two machine guns in the bow. It was taken over and tested by the Seaplane Test Command (SVK) of the Imperial Navy in December 1917 , but it did not attract any further interest.
construction
The W.18 was a braced and braced biplane with wings of almost the same span and swept lower wings, under which two flat support floats were attached in the outer area. The engine with a propeller was in pressure configuration on a strut bracket placed on the fuselage . The cooler was in the upper wing. The wooden hull had a step and tapered towards the stern. To protect against splashing water, the horizontal and vertical stabilizers were raised at the stern.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data (W.18) |
|---|---|
| crew | 1 |
| span | above 10.70 m below 10.30 m |
| length | 8.15 m |
| height | 3.45 m |
| Wing area | 34.38 m² |
| Preparation mass | 875 kg |
| Payload | 270 kg |
| Takeoff mass | 1145 kg |
| drive | a water-cooled six - cylinder in - line engine |
| Type | Benz Bz III |
| rated capacity | 150 hp (110 kW) |
| Top speed | 160 km / h close to the ground |
| Rise time | 5 min at 1000 m altitude 23 min at 3000 m altitude |
| Armament | two 7.9 mm rigid machine guns |
literature
- Fred Gütschow: The German flying boats . Motorbuch, Stuttgart 1978, ISBN 3-87943-565-0 , p. 190-192 .
- Volker Koos: Aviation between the Baltic Sea and Breitling . Transpress, Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-344-00480-8 , pp. 29 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Volker Koos: Ernst Heinkel . From the biplane to the jet engine. Delius Klasing, Bielefeld 2007, ISBN 978-3-7688-1906-0 , p. 41 .
- ^ Hans-Jürgen Becker: Seaplanes - flying boats, amphibians, float planes . In: German aviation . tape 21 . Bernard & Graefe, Bonn 1994, ISBN 3-7637-6106-3 , pp. 81 .
- ↑ see Gütschow, page 190
- ^ Günter Kroschel, Helmut Stützer: The German military aircraft 1910–1918 . E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Herford 1994, ISBN 978-3-920602-18-9 , pp. 154 .