Brandenburg

From Wings of Linen

Hansa und Brandenburgische Flugzeug-Werke GmbH, a.k.a Hansa-Brandenburg or simply Brandenburg, produced a long line of seaplanes, two-seaters, and fighters. The company was formed by the merger of Hansa Flugzeugworke AG and Brandenburgische Flugzeugwerke AG in October 1915 under the control of Camillo Castiglioni, who by 1917 also controlled Phönix and UFAG. The original Brandenburgische company had been founded by Etrich and a partner in 1914, and they had hired technical director Ernst Heinkel. As Castiglioni had strong ties to Austro-Hungarian aircraft production, German and Austro-Hungarian armies and navies were free to pick Brandenburg designs for production according to their needs. Most Brandenburg designs produced in Austria-Hungary were manufactured by Phönix or UFAG rather than the parent company.[1]

Production aircraft from the Great War or shortly thereafter include:

References

Notes
  1. Three KW floatplanes with the 200hp Benz B.IV engine were built.[2]
  2. The LW was an LDD adapted as a floatplane. Only one was built.[2]
  3. Three KDWs were built with a wider wingspan and the 200hp Benz engine, designated the W.11.[3]
  4. A single-seat figher floatplane.[4] Only the prototype W.16 was finished.[3]
  5. The W.17 was a development of the Brandenburg CC flying boat.[5]
  6. The prototype Brandenburg W.18 single-seat flying boat was not adopted by the German Navy, but it saw life as the Phönix A in Austria-Hungary.[6]
  7. The W.20 was a pair of experimental small flying boats meant to be carried by submarine.[7]
  8. The W.21 and W.22 were projects for rotary-engined flying boats.[5]
  9. The W.21 and W.22 were projects for rotary-engined flying boats.[5]
  10. The W.23 was a project for a single-seat flying boat.[5]
  11. The W.25 was another attempt at a single-seat floatplane fighter, but performance was poor and it was not selected for production.[3]
  12. Three W.27s, basically a W.19 with a 185hp Benz engine, were used for training starting early summer 1918.[8]
  13. Three W.32s, basically a W.19 or W.29[5] with a 160hp Mercedes engine, were delivered to Kiel-Holenau in the summer of 1918.[8]
  14. The W.34 was an enlarged version of the W.33, but it was too late for service.[9][5]
  15. The W.35 was a large flying boat, but it was never completed.[5]
  16. The W.37 was a large two-seat floatplane, aka the Caspar S.1 or Heinkel He.1[5]
Citations
  1. Grosz, p.412
  2. 2.0 2.1 Nowarra, p.52.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Nowarra, p.76.
  4. Owers'15, p.4.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Owers'15, p.5.
  6. Gray, p.294.
  7. Nowarra, p.54.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Nowarra, p.74.
  9. Nowarra, p.75.
Bibliography
  • Peter Gray and Owen Thetford. German Aircraft of the First World War. Great Britain, Putnam, 1962, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-809-7.
  • Heinz J. Nowarra, Bruce Robertson, and Peter G. Cooksley. Marine Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War. Letchworth, Herts, England: Harleyford Publications Limited, 1966. ISBN 0900435070
  • Colin A. Owers, Hansa-Brandenburg Aircraft of WWI | Volume 3-Monoplane Seaplanes. Great War Aviation Centennial Series #19. Aeronaut Books, 2015. ISBN 978-1-935881-33-9