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Focke-Wulf Fw 62

Fw 62
The Fw 62 V2 with single main float
Role Reconnaissance floatplane
National origin Germany
Manufacturer Focke-Wulf
Designer Erich Arbeitlang
First flight 23 October 1937
Number built 4

The Focke-Wulf Fw 62 was a reconnaissance floatplane, designed and built by Focke-Wulf for use by Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. Only four were built.

Design and development

Fw 62 V1
Fw 62 V1 on its beaching gear

In 1936 the RLM, the German ministry of aviation, formulated a requirement for a shipboard seaplane for reconnaissance missions, to replace the Heinkel He 114. The aircraft was to be light, with a maximum weight of 2.5 tons and a crew of one or two, and suitable for catapult launching. Equipment and armament were to be kept to a minimum.[1][2]

Focke-Wulf competed with the Fw 62, a conventional biplane design. The Fw 62 was of mixed construction and powered by a 705 kW (945 hp) BMW 132K radial engine. The engine was tightly cowled and drove a two-bladed propeller. The biplane wings were of equal span and featured two N-type struts on each side. They could be folded for shipboard storage. Each wing had a plain flap and an aileron.[2]

Operational history

First flown on 23 October 1937 the Fw 62 V1 twin floats, while the Fw 62 V2 had a large central float and smaller outboard stabilising floats. Official tests began in Travemünde in the summer of 1937. The Fw 62 was a capable aircraft and well liked by test pilots, but the competing Arado Ar 196 monoplane was both conceptually and structurally more modern, and was chosen for production.[3][2]

Specifications (Fw 62 V1)

Data from Aircraft of the Third Reich [2]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Length: 11.15 m (36 ft 7 in)
  • Wingspan: 12.35 m (40 ft 6 in)
  • Height: 4.3 m (14 ft 1 in)
  • Wing area: 36.1 m2 (389 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 2,300 kg (5,071 lb)
  • Gross weight: 2,850 kg (6,283 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × BMW 132Dc 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 656 kW (880 hp) for take-off
  • Propellers: 2-bladed controllable-pitch airscrew

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 280 km/h (170 mph, 150 kn) at 1,000 m (3,300 ft)
  • Cruise speed: 251 km/h (156 mph, 136 kn)
  • Range: 900 km (560 mi, 490 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 5,900 m (19,400 ft)
  • Rate of climb: 6.4 m/s (1,250 ft/min)

Armament

  • Guns: 1 × 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 15 machine gun in rear cockpit.
  • Bombs: 4 × 50 kg (110 lb) SC 50 bombs.

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References

  1. ^ Becker, Hans-Jürgen (1994). Wasserflugzeuge - Flugboote, Amphibien, Schwimmerflugzeuge : Entwicklungsgeschichte der deutschen Flugboote, Schwimmerflugzeuge, Amphibien, Bodeneffektgeräte sowie Bordflugzeuge. Bonn: Bernard und Graefe. ISBN 978-3763761067.
  2. ^ a b c d Green, William (2010). Aircraft of the Third Reich. [S.l.]: Crecy. pp. 358–359. ISBN 9781900732062.
  3. ^ Ketley, David Wadman; Bradley; Barry, John (1997). Aufklärer: Luftwaffe Reconnaissance Aircraft & Units, 1935–1945 (1st UK ed.). Aldershot, Hants, UK: Hikoki Publications. ISBN 978-0951989982. OCLC 722584711.
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