Junkers F.13

Infobox Aircraft
name = F.13
type = 6-seat transport
manufacturer = Junkers

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caption = Junkers F.13 in the Deutsches Museum
designer = Otto Reuter
first flight = June 25, 1919
introduced =
retired =
status =
primary user = German civilian aviation
more users =
produced = 1919-1929
number built = 322
unit cost =
variants with their own articles = The Junkers F.13 (also known as the F 13, and developed under an engineering designation of J 13), was an all-metal transport German aircraft that first flew on June 25, 1919.

Design and development

It was the world's first civilian plane with an all light metal internal skeletal frame. Tinplate was used for most of the skin, however. At the moment of production's start it was probably the most modern passenger plane in the world. Many variants were built using Mercedes, BMW and Junkers liquid cooled inline engines, and Armstrong, Gnome-Rhône Jupiter and Pratt & Whitney Hornet radial engines.

Operational history

It flew with a Junkers airline until it merged with Lufthansa. Until 1922 the Junkers F13 was not allowed to operate in Germany due to the postwar restrictions. However 1919 and 1922 a number of airframes were sold to the USA (mostly to the US Post Office), France, England, Italy and Japan. In 1922/23, Hugo Junkers signed a contract with the Soviet Government to produce the aircraft in a Soviet factory, located in the Moscow suburb of Fili . Several Junkers F 13 built there were used by the Red Army under the designation PS-3. A number of airframes also served in Soviet airlines. It saw active service until the 1940s, serving with many countries and being widely exported in many variants and a seaplane version. In China, Junkers F.13 was converted and used as a scout bomber and the last battle they participated in was the January 28 Incident during which the last surviving Junkers F.13s were destroyed along with the Shanghai Aircraft Factory>

The Colombian Air Force used the F-13 in the Colombia-Peru War in 1932-3.

Operators

;flag|Afghanistan|1919: four were acquired by the Afghan Air Force from 1924 through 1928.;China as ROC;COL:
*SCADTA
*Colombian Air Force;FIN: Finnair, then Aero Airways;FRA;flag|Germany|Weimar: about 110, most in Lufthansa;flag|Hungary|1940: six operated by Aeroexpress between 1923 - 1927;flag|Iceland|: three operated by Flugfélag Íslands, 1928-1931;flag|Italy|1861;JPN;flag|Lithuania|1918;POL: 16 in 1922-1936;flag|Soviet Union|1923;SWE;UK;flag|United States|1912

Description

All-metal low wing cantilever monoplane. Engine in front, behind it a crew cockpit and a passenger cab. Two crewmen had small windshields only, the heated cab for four passengers had windows and doors in fuselage sides. Fixed conventional landing gear with a rear skid.

Some of the engines used were BMW IIIa (240 hp /176 kW), BMW IV (250 hp /184 kW), Junkers L2 (265 hp /194 kW), Junkers L5 (310 hp /228 kW).

pecifications (F.13de)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
ref=
crew=2
capacity=4 passengers
payload main=
payload alt=
length main= 9.60 m
length alt= 31 ft 6 in
span main= 17.75 m
span alt= 58 ft 2.8 in
height main= 4.10 m
height alt= 13 ft 5.4 in
area main= 43 m²
area alt= 463 ft²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 1,225 kg
empty weight alt= 2,701 lb
loaded weight main=
loaded weight alt=
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main= 2,000 kg
max takeoff weight alt= 4,409 lb
more general=
engine (prop)= Junkers L5
type of prop=6 cylinder straight engine
number of props=1
power main= 228 kW
power alt= 310 hp
power original=
max speed main=185 km/h
max speed alt= 115 mph
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
range main= 980 km
range alt= 609 miles
ceiling main= 5,000 m
ceiling alt= 16,404 ft
climb rate main= 198 m/min
climb rate alt= 650 ft/min
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=
armament=
avionics=

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/hjunkers/ju_f13_a1.htm Junkers F 13]
* [http://www.idflieg.com/junkers-f13.htm Junkers F 13 photos from the Budapest Aviation Museum]
* [http://www.geocities.com/hjunkers/ju_f13_a1.htm Hugo Junkers Homepage]