Focke-Wulf Fw 56

infobox Aircraft
name =Focke-Wulf Fw 56
type =Trainer aircraft
manufacturer =Focke-Wulf

---

caption =Fw 56 (above) tested as a transport glider tug in a Mistel unit
designer =
first flight =November 1933
introduced =
retired =
status =
primary user =III German Reich
more users =
produced =
number built =~1000
unit cost =
variants with their own articles = The Focke Wulf Fw 56 "Stösser" (German : "Goshawk") was a single-engined high-wing monoplane advanced trainer aircraft, built in the 1930s in Germany.

Design

It was developed, in accordance with a request by the Reich Air Ministry for an advanced fighter trainer, by Kurt Tank, chief engineer with Focke-Wulf. It was also considered for possible use as a home defence fighter.

The first prototype flew for the first time in November 1933. A second prototype had some modifications made to the fuselage, and metal rather than wooden wings for flight testing. The third prototype, which flew in February 1934, reverted to the wooden wing and satisfied the technical designers.

After comparison flights in 1935 against its two competitors - the Arado Ar 76 and the Heinkel He 74 - the Air Ministry ordered production to begin. About 1,000 aircraft where built, mostly used by Germany, though numbers were used by Austria and Hungary. A few were sold for private use, for instance to Gerd Achgelis, who later founded the helicopter company Focke-Achgelis with Henrich Focke.

Ernst Udet, an advocate of the use of dive bombers, tested the second prototype Fw 56 V2 in this role, and on his recommendation the development of dive bombers was given greater attention.

The Fw 56 was a high-wing aircraft with a fuselage of steel tubes, clad in metal at the front, and canvas elsewhere. The wing was of wood, clad mostly in plywood, while the trailing edge was covered with material. The three-point undercarriage was fixed and possessed a tail skid.

Variants

* Fw 56a : First prototype.
* Fw 56 V2 : Second prototype.
* Fw 56 V3 : Third prototype.
* Fw 56A-0 : Three pre-production aircraft.
* Fw 56A-1 : Single-seat advanced trainer aircraft. Main production version.

Operators

*
*
*

pecifications (Fw 56A-1)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
ref=
crew=one, pilot
capacity=
payload main=
payload alt=
length main= 7.70 m
length alt= 25 ft 3 in
span main= 10.50 m
span alt= 34 ft 5 in
height main= 3.55 m
height alt= 11 ft 8 in
area main= 14.00 m²
area alt= 150.6 ft²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 695 kg
empty weight alt= 1,530 lb
loaded weight main=
loaded weight alt=
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main= 995 kg
max takeoff weight alt= 2,190 kg
more general=
engine (prop)= Argus As 10C
type of prop=V8 engine
number of props=1
power main= 179 kW
power alt= 240 hp
power original=
max speed main=278 km/h at sea level
max speed alt= 173 mph
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
range main= 400 km
range alt= 250 mi
ceiling main= 6,200 m
ceiling alt= 20,335 ft
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=
armament=
* 2 × 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns
avionics=

External links

* http://aviationtrivia.info/Focke-Wulf-FW-56-Stosser.php
* http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/fw56.html
* http://www.luftfahrtmuseum.com/htmi/itf/fw56.htm

ee also

aircontent
related=
similar aircraft=
lists=
see also=
List of military aircraft of Germany