Fokker D.VIIf, Gotthard Sachsenberg

Time for a quick one.

Nothing like a bit of color to brighten one′s day. Here is a new profile for the Fokker D.VII. I know I have posted the history of the aircraft so I will spare you the canned history. I will focus on the pilot instead.

Fokker D.VIIf, Gotthard Sachsenberg (MFGR1) Flanders

Fokker D.VIIf, Leutnant zur See Gotthard Sachsenberg, Marine-Geschwader Flandern (MFGR1) Flanders, July, 1918.

On 1 February 1917, Sachsenberg succeeded Oberleutnant von Santen as commanding officer of Marine Field Jasta I. MFJ II was organized somewhat later, and the two were combined into a larger unit, Marine Jagdgruppe Flanders. Leutnant de See Sachsenberg was appointed its commanding officer. His friend and rival ace Theo Osterkamp became commander of MGJ II.

MFJ III was later raised and added to the larger unit. Still later, two more MFJs were raised and added to the parent unit, bringing its strength up to about 50 fighter planes, comparable to an army Jagdgeschwader. Stationed on North Sea coastal airfields, the MFJ units often fought against Royal Naval Air Service aircraft who were stationed in similar circumstances.

Sachsenberg opened his score as a fighter pilot, downing a Farman and a Sopwith 1 ½ Strutter on 1 May 1917. He scored again on the 12th, claiming a Sopwith Pup into the sea, and then notching a double victory on 7 June to make him an ace.

On 20 August, Sachsenberg was awarded the Knights Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern. By the end of 1917, his victory roll stood at eight.

He claimed his ninth victory on 17 March 1918, and continued to score steadily until 29 October 1918, when he downed his 31st confirmed. Midway through this run, Sachsenberg was awarded Prussia's and Germany′s highest decoration, the Pour le Mérite, on 5 August 1918.

The MJF switched from the Albatros to Fokker D.VIIs in June 1918. They were as colorfully and distinctively marked as Manfred von Richthofen′s Flying Circus, with the basic color scheme being yellow and black, as a yellow and black checkerboard had been Sachsenberg's personal motif, and it was spread to the entire unit, with minor variations marking the different pilots.
Post World War I.

Citation

Gotthard Sachsenberg From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotthard_Sachsenberg Accessed 2 October 2008.

Project Sopwith phase 1

Yes, I know it has been a while!

It's been a while since the last post. Meeting deadlines, schmoozing at Gencon, and computer malfunctions have been keeping me busy. The good news is I have two book illustration jobs completed this year. The most challenging project has been Lords of the Sky: Fighter Pilots and Air Combat, from the Red Baron to the F-16 by Dan Hampton, published by Harper Collins. It stretched my comfort zone and it was fun. Slowly but surely I'm getting the new drawings worked into the site. At least they do show up in the galleries. One project is a whole new layer of pages for each individual aircraft type. It may be a while before it’s complete. I took a break from the Fokker D.VII project to clean up some troublesome profiles, and prepping for the next batch on my list. I plan a second installment on the Sopwith 1½ Strutter. I will focus on Britain's first steps towards ship-launched naval fighters. There will also be profiles for the US, Russian Empire Soviet State, and other eastern countries.

Project Sopwith

Britain was slow to use tractor aircraft with synchronized machine gun. Most British fighters up to this time were pusher aircraft. Even with introduction of the Sopwith 1½ Strutter, Pup and Triplane , the British fought at a serious disadvantage during The Battle of Arras and Bloody April of 1917. It would take the introduction of the Sopwith Camel and the RAF SE.5a to turn the tide of battle.

Sopwith one and a Half Strutter - 1916

Sopwith one and a Half Strutter - 1916

Overview

The Sopwith 1½ Strutter was a British one or two-seat biplane multi-role aircraft of the First World War. It is significant as the first British-designed two seater tractor fighter, and the first British aircraft to enter service with a synchronized machine gun. It also saw widespread but rather undistinguished service with the French Aéronautique Militaire. The Sopwith 1½ Strutter was built in both one and two-seater models. In the latter version, the gas tank was dangerously positioned between the pilot and observer. This design flaw prompted some airmen to joke that the designer of the aircraft must surely have been German. Not long after its introduction, the 1½ Strutter was replaced by the Sopwith Pup.

Home Defense

Sopwith 1½ Strutter “Comic Fighter” W/n B'762, No.78(HD) Sqn RFC

Based at Martlesham Heath during summer-autumn 1917 and reallocated to Home De fence on August 1917. This aircraft did not have a specific pilot and used by all pilots of 78 Squadron. With its twin upward-firing guns, Sopwith 1½Strutter B762 was one of a number of such aircraft employed for Home Defence in a single-seat form. It served with 78 Squadron from the autumn of 1917, having replaced BE2 and BE12 variants.

Sopwith 1½ Strutter “Comic Fighter” W/n A'6901, No.78(HD) Sqn RFC

Essentially an Admiralty sponsored design, carrying their Type 9700 designation, the Sopwith 1½ Strutter. This type was also operated by the RFC. Serial no A 6901, seen above, was the first of a 100 aircraft batch produced by Hooper & Company Ltd of Chelsea for the RFC. This particularly was one of the four single-seat home defense fighter variants built.

This was by no means the end of the Sopwith two seater’s service. The type's long range and stability were good qualities for a home defense fighter and it served with three home defense squadrons, No. 37, No. 44 and No. 78 Squadrons. Most of the 1½ Strutters supplied to home defense units had been built as two-seaters but many were converted ‘in the field” to single seaters in order to improve performance. Some of these single-seaters were similar to the bomber variant but others were of different type, known (like similarly adapted Sopwith Camels) as the Sopwith Comic. The cockpit was moved back behind the wings and one or two Lewis guns, either mounted on Foster mountings or fixed to fire upwards, outside the arc of the propeller, replaced the synchronized Vickers.

Since September 1917 German bomber aviation had revised its plan of air campaign against the British Isles: after eight daylight raids the losses of important strategic bombers were too high, therefore, the decision was made to conduct all forthcoming raids only at night. At that point the newly created British Home Defence did not have a dedicated type of fighter interceptor. The majority of planes serving in Home Defense were fighters retired from the front line — a few two-seater Sopwith 1½ Strutter fighters among them.

Captain F.W. Honnett, Flight Commander of “A” Flight No. 78 Sqn (HD) RFC, suggested a modification of one of the 1½ Strutters by moving the pilot's seat and all the controls into the observer's position, his argument being poor visibility from the regular pilot's seat. The original pilot’s position was faired over, and the plane was equipped with a night searchlight.

The first three 1½ Strutters modified to the new standard by the Southern Aircraft Repair Depot joined 78 Sqn in September 1917. During the night raid over London on the night of October 31st/November 1st 1917 they opposed twenty-two enemy Gothas. 78 Sqn pilots dubbed this unusual plane the ‘Comic fighter’. Initially the armament of this aircraft consisted of only a single course Vickers gun; later Comics were equipped with a Lewis gun on a flexible Foster mounting. It should be also mentioned that at least one aircraft, namely B762, had two Lewises on a special fixed mounting and could fire at a 70° angle.

1½ Strutter Comics were intensively used by 78 Sqn until February 1918, flying night intercept missions against Gothas and Giant R-planes. Due to the poor performance of this type, it was never put into series production. At the beginning of 1918 the night fighter version of the famous Sopwith Camel (which ironically received the official name Sopwith Comic) replaced the 1½ Strutter Comic and other obsolete night-fighters in many Home Defense units.

In French Service

Sopwith 1½ Strutter French Aéronautique Militaire in Escadrille Sop 640, circa 1918.

Sopwith 1½ B2 French Aéronautique Militaire, Escadrille Sop 131 s/n 3, Summer 1917.

The French, who until now had been a prime supplier of aircraft to both the RFC and RNAS, saw the RFC using the Sopwith 1½ Strutter as two-seat fighters to good effect during the July 1916 Battle of the Somme and were impressed enough to promptly negotiate a license to build the aircraft and put it into large scale production. Indeed, of the total 5.720 examples built. 4,200 were French-produced. As it was, the French chose to produce the 1½ Strutter in both single-seat bomber and two-seat reconnaissance form, but ran into delivery problems, as a result of which the mass of French aircraft were not delivered until the summer of 1918, by which time they were obsolescent, if not obsolete. As a two seater, the machine was usually powered by a 110hp Clerget that gave a top level speed of 106 mph at sea level, along with a ceiling of 15,000 feet.

Sopwith 1½ B2 French Aéronautique Militaire, Escadrille Sop 107 s/n 105, Summer 1917.

In comparison, the single-seat bombers, with their various 110hp or 130hp rotaries could carry a bomb load of up to 224lb and had a top level speed of 102mph at 6.560 feet. Of the French machines, 514 were purchased by the American Expeditionary Force, while the type also served in small numbers with the air arms of Belgium, Latvia, Romania and Russia.

Sopwith 1½ B2 RFC S/N 36 (N912) France 1917.

Of the S50 aircraft delivered to the RNAS, around 130 were of the single-seat bomber variety, which could carry up to 300lb of weapons in the shape of twelve 25lb bombs, while the two seaters lifted 224lb, or four 56lb bombs. The type's performance was such as to lead to orders not just from the RFC, but from several other nations and the machine's broader program history is dealt with earlier in the chapter on French aircraft. The image is of an RNAS 1 1/2 Strutter departing from atop one of a capital warship's main turrets. This kind of operation was to become relatively routine from April 1918 onwards.

References

1. From Wikipedia Sopwith 1½ Strutter "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopwith_1%C2%BD_Strutter"
2. Bruce, J.M. "The Sopwith 1½ Strutter: Historic Military Aircraft No. 14 Part I." Flight, 28 September 1956, pp. 542-546.
3. Bruce, J.M. "The Sopwith 1½ Strutter: Historic Military Aircraft No. 14 Part II." Flight, 5 October 1956, pp. 586-591.
4. Bruce J.M. "British Aeroplanes 1914-18". London:Putnam, 1957.
5. Bruce, J.M. "The Aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps" (Military Wing). London: Putnam, 1982. ISBN 0 370 30084 x.
6. Gerdessen, F. "Estonian Air Power 1918-1945". Air Enthusiast No 18, April -July 1982, pp. 61-76. ISSN 0143-5450.
7. Jarrett, Philip. "Database:The Sopwith 1½ Strutter". Aeroplane, December 2009, Vol 37 No 12, Issue No 440. London:IPC. ISSN 0143-7240. pp.55-70.
8. Kopan'ski, Tomasz Jan. "Samoloty brytyjskie w lotnictwie polskim 1918-1930" (British aircraft in the Polish air force 1918-1930) (in Polish). Warsaw: Bellona, 2001. ISBN 83-11-09315-6.
9. Lake, Jon. "The Great Book of Bombers: The World's Most Important Bombers from World War I to the Present Day". St. Paul, MN: MBI Publishing Company, 2002. ISBN 0-7603-1347-4.
10. Swanborough, F.G. and Peter Bowers. "United States Military Aircraft since 1909". London: Putnam, 1963.
11. Swanborough Gordon and Peter Bowers. "United States Navy Aircraft since 1911". London: Putnam, Second edition 1976. ISBN 0-370-10054-9.
12. Taylor, John W.R. "Sopwith 1½ Strutter". Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the Present". New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. ISBN 0-425-03633-2.
13. Thetford, Owen. "British Naval Aircraft since 1912". London: Putnam, Fourth edition 1978. ISBN 0-370-30021-1.
14. Visatkas, C. "The Annals of Lithuanian Aviation". Air Enthusiast, Number Twenty-nine, November 1985-February 1986, pp. 61-66. Bromley, UK:Fine Scroll. ISSN 0143-5450.

Germany - 1914 Friedrichshafen FF.33e

Early German Float Planes

Friedrichshafen FF.33e - 1917

Friedrichshafen FF.39 - 1917

The Friedrichshafen FF.33 was a German single-engined amphibious reconnaissance biplane designed by Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen in 1914.

The initial production version was powered by a Mercedes D.II engine inline water-cooled engine, six examples of this variant were built. The basic design was refined and improved. The FF.33e main production reconnaissance variant was powered by a Benz B.III inline engine. This version had longer twin floats, and the under tail central float was eliminated. A radio transmitter replaced its armament, aproximately 180 examples of the FF.33e variant were built.

The FF.33l was the main production armed scout/fighter version. The design underwent aerodynamic improvements, including a reduction in length and wingspan, about 135 of this version built.

The FF.33 served in both the German and Austrio-Hungarian navies. Several other nations purchased the Friedrichshafen FF.33e during the first world war, including: Bulgaria, Denmark, Netherlands, and Sweden. The Finnish Air Force purchased two FF.33Es from Germany in February 1918. The first one arrived on April 20, 1918 to Vaasa and the other one in the summer of 1918.

Versions

• FF.33 Initial production version powered by a Mercedes D.II engine, six built
• FF.33b FF.33 with pilot and observers positions reversed, additional observers-operated machine-gun and powered by 119 kW (160 hp) Maybach inline piston engine, five built.
• FF.33e Main production reconnaissance variant powered by a Benz B.III inline engine, longer twin floats, under tail central float removed, and radio transmitter instead of armament, about 180 built.
• FF.33f Scout/Fighter version based on FF.33e with reduced span wings and reduced length but fitted with a machine-gun on a pivoted mount, five built.
• FF.33h FF.33f with aerodynamic refinements, and duplication of wing-bay bracing cables as a safeguard if the observer has to fire his machine-gun forward through the wings, about 50 built.
• FF.33j FF.33e with aerodynamic refinements and the provision of a radio transmitter and receiver.
• FF.33l Main production scout/fighter version, with further aerodynamic improvements and a fixed machine gun, about 130 built
• FF.33s dual-control trainer version
• FF.39 Refined version of the FF.33e with a 149 kW (200 hp) Benz Bz.IV engine, 14 built.
• FF.49c Further improved FF.39 with strengthened structures, balanced controls, a radio receiver and transmitter, machine-gun for observer, over 200 built.
• FF.49b Bomber variant of the FF.49c, crew positions reversed, deletion of observers machine-gun and provision to carry a light bombload, 15 built.
• FF.59a Development aircraft based on FF.39 with different tail, one built.
• FF.59b Development aircraft based on FF.39 with different tail, one built.
• FF.59c FF.39 with modified tail unit, wing interplane struts moved outwards and inner-bay bracing wires removed.
• C.I A landplane version of the FF.33l with wheeled landing gear, one built.

References

1. Friedrichshafen FF.33. (2010, August 15). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:57, August 29, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Friedrichshafen_FF.33&oldid=379054818
2. Timo Heinonen. Thulinista Hornetiin - 75 vuotta Suomen ilmavoimien lentokoneita. Tikkakoski: Keski-Suomen ilmailumuseo. (1992) ISBN 9519568824.

Britain - 1917 Port Victoria PV.8

The End of the Line for the Kittens.

My final post on the Port Victoria Marine Experimental Aircraft Depot which deals with the final "Kittens" designs. Even though the design unit was not a profit driven commercial venture, eventually they were forced to closed up shop.

Port Victoria PV.8 - Eastchurch Kitten - 1917

The Port Victoria P.V.8 Eastchurch Kitten was a prototype British fighter aircraft of the First World War designed and built by the Port Victoria Marine Experimental Aircraft Depot on the Isle of Grain. It was a small and light biplane with a conventional wheeled undercarriage intended to operate from platforms on small ships, but while it had good handling, an unreliable and underpowered engine meant that the aircraft did not enter production, only the one prototype being built.

In 1916, the British Admiralty produced a requirement for a small single seater fighter landplane intended to fly off short platforms on the forecastle of the Royal Navy's Destroyers and other small ships to provide a widely distributed airship interceptor. Orders were placed with the RNAS Experimental Flight at Eastchurch and the Marine Aircraft Experimental Department at Port Victoria on the Isle of Grain for single prototypes to meet this requirement.

G.H. Millar, the chief technical officer of the Eastchurch flight, designed a small, angular, single-bay biplane, named the Eastchurch Kitten, powered by the required 45 hp (34 kW) ABC Gnat engine. It was larger and heavier than the Isle of Grain design, with equi-span upper and lower wings, which had bracing wires that ran from the wings through the undercarriage axle to the opposite wing. Initially it had no fixed horizontal tailplane, being fitted with a balanced elevator. Armament was a single Lewis gun mounted to the top wing.

The Eastchurch Kitten was part built when Harry Busteed, the commander of the Eastchurch Experimental Flight, was posted to the Isle of Grain to take command of the Marine Aircraft Experimental Department, taking Millar and the part built Eastchurch Kitten with him to Port Victoria for completion.

The Eastchurch Kitten was given the designation P.V.8, with the competing Port Victoria designed P.V.7, named the Grain Kitten, flying first in June 1917. The Eastchurch Kitten did not fly until 7 September 1917, powered by a 35 hp (26 kW) ungeared Gnat engine, as the originally planned engine was unavailable. After this first flight, when it was found to be unstable, it was fitted with a small fixed tailplane with revised elevators. Thus modified, it had superior performance and handling to the Grain Kitten, but was similarly plagued by the terrible unreliability of the Gnat. Official testing praised the view for the pilot and the handling but considered the aircraft too fragile for regular use.

No orders followed, with adapted versions of the Sopwith Camel, operating both from aircraft carriers and from lighters towed behind destroyers being used instead. The Eastchurch Kitten was packed for dispatch to the United States of America in March 1918 for evaluation, but it is uncertain whether it was actually dispatched.

References

1. "Port Victoria P.V.8". (2010, September 18). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 00:32, November 9, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Port_Victoria_P.V.8&oldid=385587921
2. Bruce, J.M. "War Planes of the First World War: Volume One Fighters". London:Macdonald, 1965.
3. Collyer, David. "Babies Kittens and Griffons". Air Enthusiast, Number 43, 1991. Stamford, UK:Key Publishing. ISSN 0143 5450. pp. 50–55.
4. Green, William and Swanborough, Gordon. "The Complete Book of Fighters". New York:Smithmark, 1994. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8.
5. Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter since 1912. Annapolis, Maryland:Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.

Britain - 1917 Port Victoria PV.7

A Failed Carrier Based Aircraft

The Port Victoria Marine Experimental Aircraft Depot on the Isle of Grain also designed naval aircraft which were not float planes. They produced several sleek aircraft in 1917.

Port Victoria PV.7 - Grain Kitten - 1917

The Port Victoria P.V.7 Grain Kitten was a prototype British Fighter aircraft of the First World War designed and built by the Port Victoria Marine Experimental Aircraft Depot on the Isle of Grain. A very small and light biplane intended to fly off platforms on Royal Navy Destroyers, it was unsuccessful, only a single prototype being built.

Following Royal Navy experience in operating land planes from platforms on ships, in late 1916, the British Admiralty came up with the idea of a lightweight fighter aircraft, capable of flying off short platforms on the forecastle of Destroyers in order to provide large numbers of aircraft at sea capable of intercepting and destroying German Airships. It therefore instructed the Marine Aircraft Experimental Department at Port Victoria on the Isle of Grain, and the RNAS Experimental Flight at Eastchurch to each produce a design to meet this requirement.

The Port Victoria aircraft, designed by W.H. Sayers, was designated P.V.7. It was a very small single bay tractor biplane, of sesquiplane configuration, with its lower wing much smaller than its upper wing. The wings featured the same high-lift section as used in previous Port Victoria aircraft, and were fitted with ailerons only on the upper wing. It was intended, as was the competing Eastchurch design, to use a 45 hp (34 kW) geared ABC Gnat two cylinder air-cooled engine. Armament was a single Lewis gun mounted above the upper wing.

While the Port Victoria design was design and built, the commander of the Experimental flight as Eastchurch, Harry Busteed took over command of the Port Victoria Marine Aircraft Experimental Department, taking the designer of the Eastchurch competitor and the part built prototype with him to the Isle of Grain, with the Eastchurch design gaining the Port Victoria designation P.V.8. The P.V.7 acquired the name Grain Kitten to distinguish it from the P.V.8, which was named the Eastchurch Kitten.

The P.V.7 first flew on 22 June 1917, powered by a 35 hp (26 kW) ungeared Gnat engine, as the geared engine was unavailable. The P.V.7 proved to be tail heavy in the air and difficult to handle on the ground, with its sesquiplane layout and high lift wings being considered unsuitable for such a small aircraft. The Gnat engine proved to be extremely unreliable, with test flights being forced to remain within gliding distance of an airfield.

When the P.V.8 first flew in September, it proved superior, although similarly hamstrung by the 35 hp Gnat. The P.V.7 was rebuilt with new wings of conventional airfoil section, a modified tail and a new undercarriage to eliminate some of the problems found in testing.[4] The low power and unreliability of the Gnat, however, prevented either aircraft being suitable for the intended use, and the P.V.7 was not flown after it was rebuilt.

References

1. "Port Victoria PV7 Grain Kitten - airship interceptor" Virtual Aircraft Museum Retrieved 01:03, November 9, 2010, from http://www.aviastar.org/air/england/portvictoria_pv-7.php
2. "Port Victoria PV7 Grain Kitten (1917) (England)" The-Blueprints.com, Retrieved 12:03, October 19, 2010, from http://www.the-blueprints.com/blueprints/ww1planes/ww1-english/36145/view/port_victoria_p_v_7_grain_kitten_%281917%29_%28england%29/
3. "Port Victoria P.V.7". (2010, September 18). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 00:35, November 10, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Port_Victoria_P.V.7&oldid=385587956
4. Bruce, J.M. "War Planes of the First World War: Volume One Fighters". London:Macdonald, 1965.
5. Collyer, David. "Babies Kittens and Griffons". Air Enthusiast, Number 43, 1991. Stamford, UK:Key Publishing. ISSN 0143 5450. pp. 50–55.
6. Mason, Francis K. "The British Fighter since 1912". Annapolis, Maryland:Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.

Britain - 1917 Port Victoria P.V.5

More Aircraft from The Isle of Grain Part 2

Port Victoria PV.5 - 1917

Shortly after the Depot initiated work on the P.V.4, it was asked to develop a single-seat fighter seaplane also capable of performing light bombing tasks with two internally-stowed 30kg bombs. To meet this requirement, two different aircraft were designed and built, the P.V.5 and the P.V.5a. The former was developed from the P.V.2bis and employed a similar sesquiplane wing cellule devoid of flying wires and braced by struts to the float undercarriage. The wings employed a high-lift aerofoil section, the armament comprised a single synchronized 7.7mm machine gun plus the two 30kg bombs specified and power was provided by a 150hp Hispano- Suiza engine. Fitted with pontoon-type floats rather than the Linton Hope floats for which it had been designed, the P.V.5 was flight tested in mid-1917 with promising results, but the original requirement had been overtaken and development was discontinued.

References

1. "Port Victoria P.V.5 1917" Virtual Aircraft Museum Retreived from http://www.aviastar.org/air/england/portvictoria_pv-5.php
2. Mason, Francis K. "The British Fighter since 1912". Annapolis, Maryland:Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.
3. Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. "The Complete Book of Fighters". London: Salamander Books, 1994. ISBN 0-83173-939-8.
4. Bruce, J.M. "British Aeroplanes 1914-18". London:Putnam, 1957.

Germany - 1918 Hansa-Brandenburg W.33

The Final Version

The final war-time development of the Hansa-Brandenburg floatplanes reached maturity in the last days of the Great War. The basic design of the W.29 was refined and expanded on with the advent of the W.33. The W.33 was larger, heavier and faster than the W.29. The service ceiling was the same, however the endurance of the W.33 was greater by 30 minutes, giving it an edge in range. During it's operational life a total of approximately 181 examples were built.

Hansa-Brandenburg W.33 - 1918

Hansa-Brandenburg W.33 was a German two-seat, low-wing single-engined seaplane, which had been designed by Hansa und Brandenburgische Flugzeugwerke in the 1920s. Although the W.33 was built in relatively small numbers, the design was widely recognized as successful and numerous copies and license built versions were built by the hundreds after World War I.

The Hansa-Brandenburg W.33 aircraft was designed in 1916 by Ernst Heinkel and entered German service in 1918. 26 aircraft were built of this design, but only six before the collapse of the German empire. Noticeably superior to the FF.33L, it proved to be an excellent aircraft. The Hansa-Brandenburg monoplanes considerably influenced German seaplane design; several copies appeared in 1918, such as the Friedrichshafen FF.63, the Dornier Cs-I, the Junkers J.11, and the L.F.G. Roland ME 8. After the war a version of the W.29 was used by Denmark, while Finland obtained a license for to manufacture of the W.33.

Finland purchased a number of W.33 and W.34 aircraft from Germany. In 1921, Finland also obtained the manufacturing license for the W.33. The first Finnish-built Hansa made its maiden flight on 4 November 1922, and was called IVL A.22 Hansa. This aircraft was the first industrially manufactured aircraft in Finland. During the following four years a total of 120 aircraft were manufactured. The Finnish Air Force used the aircraft in maritime service until 1936.

Versions

• Hansa-Brandenburg W.33: 26 built
• IVL A.22: Hansa: Finnish license manufactured W.33, 120 built
• Hansa-Brandenburg Make: Norwegian license manufactured W.33, 41 built:
• Make I: 6 built
• Make II: 24 built
• Make III: 11 built at Kjeller Flyfabrikk and known as Kjeller F.F.8 Make III.

References

1. Hansa-Brandenburg W.33. (2010, December 3). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 11:56, January 8, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hansa-Brandenburg_W.33&oldid=400370370
2. Hansa-Brandenburg W.33 1918 Virtual Aircraft Museum Retrieved 12:15, January 8, 2011, from http://www.aviastar.org/air/germany/brandenburg_w33.php
3. W.Green, D.Swanborough The Complete Book of Fighters, 2000
4. Keskinen, Kalevi; Niska, Klaus; Stenman, Kari; Geust, Carl-Fredrik: Suomen museolentokoneet, Forssan kirjapaino, 1981, ISBN 951-9035-60-5.

Britain - 1917 Mann Egerton Type H

Rather early on in the Great War Britain recognized the need for ship-borne fighters to add to the flexibility of naval aviation. Several attempts were tried with none of the candidates performing particularly well in the role which they were intended.

Mann Egerton Type H - 1917

The Mann Egerton Type H, also known as the Mann Egerton H.2, was an unsuccessful British ship-borne fighter aircraft designed in 1916.

The Type H was the first original design by Mann Egerton, and was designed by J W Carr according to Air Ministry specification N.1a in 1916. Its biplane wings could be folded manually (a feature first introduced in 1913 on the Short Folder), due to its intended use as a naval fighter. Other features of the design were the use of flotation chambers and a float attached to the underside of the fuselage for extra buoyancy. An innovation was that the undercarriage could be jettisoned if the aircraft needed to land on water. However, in autumn 1917, the aircraft failed flotation tests, and a new aircraft prototype, the Type H Mk II was developed.

This aircraft had inflatable flotation bags in place of the large float on the Mk I, a more conventional undercarriage and a horn-balanced rudder. This aircraft was tested in December 1917, however it was determined as unfit for production in the Fleet Air Arm and further development was discontinued.

References

1. "Mann Egerton Type H". (2008, August 25). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 23:45, August 5, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mann_Egerton_Type_H&oldid=234206123
2. Green, William; Gordon Swanborough. "The Complete Book of Fighters". Godalming, UK: Salamander Books.

Britain - 1917 Beardmore WB.III

Hello again. I hope you are ready for a great weekend. I love comments, especially when they make me think.. Lately I have been getting many which make me focus so I can answer the questions put to me. When answering a comment question on the Sopwith Pup post posed by KP I threw out this aircraft as an example of licensing aircraft for third party manufacture. Since I have been working on a British aircraft thread I figured it was time to post this.

Early British Carrier Based Aircraft

Beardmore W.B.III - 1917

The Beardmore WB.III, nicknamed the folding Pup was a British carrier-based fighter biplane of World War I. It was a development of the Sopwith Pup that William Beardmore and Company was then building under license, but was specially adapted for shipboard use.

The Beardmore W.B. III was built to be used on aircraft carriers as naval scouts. It featured a redesigned wing cellule with no stagger, facilitating folding for stowage, a stretched fuselage that carried emergency floatation gear, and main undercarriage that could be folded for stowage (though not in flight). Later models had fixed landing gear that could be jettisoned off in case of an emergency landing at sea. A Lewis machine gun was mounted on the upper wing that fired over the propeller. By the end of 1918, one hundred of these aircraft were deployed by the Royal Naval Air Service on the carriers HMS Furious, Nairana and Pegasus.

References

1. Beardmore W.B.III. (2009, May 17). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 08:46, September 4, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Beardmore_W.B.III&oldid=290566872
2. Sharpe, Michael. "Biplanes, Triplanes, and Seaplanes". Pg 75. London, England: Friedman/Fairfax Books , 2000. ISBN 1-58663-300-7.
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