Hansa-Brandenburg W.20
The Hansa-Brandenburg W.20 was a German submarine-launched reconnaissance flying boat of the World War I era, designed and built by Hansa-Brandenburg.[1]
| W.20 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Submarine-launched reconnaissance flying boat |
| National origin | Germany |
| Manufacturer | Hansa-Brandenburg |
| Number built | 3 |
Design and development
Due to the need to be stored and launched from a submarine aircraft carrier, the W.20 was a small single-seat biplane flying boat that was designed to be assembled and dismantled quickly.[1] It had a slender hull on which was mounted a biplane wing and a conventional braced tailplane.[1] It was powered by a seven-cylinder, 80 PS Oberursel U.0 rotary engine — basically a German-made near-clone of the Gnome Lambda pre-war French rotary — mounted on struts between the wings driving a pusher propeller.[1] The pilot had an open cockpit just forward of the lower wing.[1] Because of the slender hull stabilising floats were fitted below and at the end of the lower wings.[1] The submarine intended to carry the W.20 was not built and only three W.20s were built.[1]
Specifications (3rd built)
Data from [1]
General characteristics
- Crew: One
- Length: 5.93 m (19 ft 5.5 in)
- Wingspan: 6.80 m (22 ft 3.75 in)
- Wing area: 15.82 m2 (170.29 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 396 kg (873 lb)
- Gross weight: 568 kg (1,252 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Oberursel U.0 7-cylinder rotary piston engine , 60 kW (80 hp)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 117 km/h (73 mph, 63 kn)
- Endurance: 1 hours 15 minutes
References
Notes
- Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft Orbis 1985, pp. 2098–2099
Bibliography
- Clouts, Walter; Gregoire, Daniel; Layman, R. D. & Scurrell, Charles E. (1991). "Question 42/89". Warship International. XXVIII (1): 84–86. ISSN 0043-0374.
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985). Orbis Publishing.
- Passingham, Malcolm (February 2000). "Les hydravions embarqués sur sous-marins" [Submarine-carried Seaplanes]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (83): 7–17. ISSN 1243-8650.
- Treadwell, Terry C. (1999). Strike From Beneath the Sea: A History of Aircraft-carrying Submarines. Stroud, UK: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-1704-5.