Hansa-Brandenburg W.12

infobox Aircraft
name = W.12
type = Floatplane fighter
manufacturer = Hansa-Brandenburg


caption =
designer = Ernst Heinkel
first flight = Early 1917
introduction =
retired =
status =
primary user =Kaiserliche Marine
more users = Marine-Luchtvaartdienst
produced =
number built = 181
unit cost =
developed from =
variants with their own articles =The Hansa-Brandenburg W.12 was a German biplane fighter floatplane of World War I. It was a development of Ernst Heinkel's previous KDW design, adding a rear cockpit for an observer/gunner, and had an unusual inverted tailplane (which instead of standing up from the fuselage, hung below it) in order to give an uninterrupted field of fire.

The W.12's (under the Naval designation C3MG) served on the Western Front, based at the Naval air bases at Ostend and Zeebrugge. The aircraft had some success, and one shot down the British airship C.27.

In April 1918 a W.12 made an emergency landing in the neutral territory of the Netherlands, where it was interned and flight tested by the Dutch. In 1919 the government of the Netherlands bought a licence to build the aircraft. Thirty-five W.12's were subsequently manufactured by the Van Berkel company of Rotterdam as the W-A, serving with the Dutch Naval Air Service until 1933.

Variants

* W.12 : German Navy model. 146 built.
* W-A : Dutch licence-built W.12, with Benz engine. 35 built.

Operators

*
** Kaiserliche Marine
*
** Dutch Naval Aviation Service

pecifications (W.12)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?= plane
jet or prop?= prop
ref=Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft [Jackson, Robert, "The Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft", Parragon, 2002. ISBN 0-75258-130-9]
crew= Two (pilot & observer/gunner)
capacity=
length main= 9.60 m
length alt= 31 ft 6 in
span main= 11.20 m
span alt= 36 ft 9 in
height main= 3.30 m
height alt= 10 ft 10 in
area main= 36.20 m²
area alt= 389.5 ft²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 997 kg
empty weight alt= 2,193 lb
loaded weight main= 1,454 kg
loaded weight alt= 3,206 lb
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
more general=

engine (prop)= Mercedes D.III
type of prop=6-cylinder inline engine
number of props= 1
power main= 119 kW
power alt= 160 hp
power original=

max speed main= 160 km/h
max speed alt= 86 knots, 99 mph
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
range main= 520 km
range alt= 281 nm, 320 mi
ceiling main= 5,000 m
ceiling alt= 16,405 ft
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=
* Endurance: 3 hrs 30 mins
armament=
* 1 or 2 × fixed forward 7.92 (0.31 in) LMG 08/15 machine guns
* 1 × 7.92 (0.31 in) Parabellum MG14 in rear cockpit
avionics=

ee also

aircontent
related=*Hansa-Brandenburg W.19

*Hansa-Brandenburg W.29

*Hansa-Brandenburg W.33

similar aircraft=

sequence=

lists=
* List of military aircraft of Germany
* List of seaplanes and flying boats
see also=

References

External links

* [http://www.airwar.ru/enc_e/fww1/w12.html airwar.ru]
* [http://www.earlyaviator.com/archive/images4/BRANDENBURG_W12.jpgearlyaviator.com photo]