From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1932 general aviation aircraft family by Focke-Wulf
Fw 44 Stieglitz
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A Focke-Wulf Fw 44J in 2008
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Role
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Biplane
trainer
Type of aircraft
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National origin
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Germany
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Manufacturer
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Focke-Wulf
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Built by
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FMA
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First flight
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Late summer 1932
[1]
|
The
Focke-Wulf Fw 44
Stieglitz
(Goldfinch) is a 1930s
German
two-seat
biplane
. Designed by
Kurt Tank
[2]
in 1931, it was the
Focke-Wulf
company's first major international success.
Produced as a pilot
training
and sports flying aircraft. It was also built under license in several other countries.
Design and development
[
edit
]
The Fw 44 was designed as a biplane with conventional layout and straight, untapered wings. Its two open
cockpits
were arranged in tandem, and both cockpits were equipped with flight controls and instruments. The Fw 44 had fixed
tailwheel landing gear
. It employed
ailerons
on both upper and lower wings. It did not use
flaps
. It was flown with a
Siemens-Halske Sh 14
radial engine
.
The first
prototype
flew in 1932.
[1]
After many tests and modifications to increase the plane's durability and aerodynamics, the final Fw 44 proved to have excellent airworthiness.
A second version of the Fw 44 was the
Fw 44B
, which had an
Argus As 8
four-cylinder inverted
inline
air-cooled engine of 90 kW (120 hp).
[1]
The
cowling
for this engine gave the plane a more slender, aerodynamic nose.
Twenty Fw 44s purchased by
China
were modified for combat missions, and participated in the early stage of the
Second Sino-Japanese War
until all were lost in action.
The last series version was the
Fw 44J
, which was sold or built under license in several countries around the world. It was equipped with a seven-cylinder
Siemens-Halske Sh 14
radial engine.
Many Fw 44Cs remained in
Luftwaffe
service during World War 2, with the Flugzeugfuhrerschulen and one or two Flugkriegsschulen.
Variants
[
edit
]
- Fw 44B
- Fw 44C
- Main production version with minor equipment changes, powered by a seven-cylinder Siemens-Halske Sh 14a radial piston engine.
- Fw 44D
- Fw 44E
- Fw 44F
- Fw 44J
- Final production model, powered by a seven-cylinder
Siemens-Halske Sh 14a
radial piston engine.
Operators
[
edit
]
-
Argentina
The aircraft was produced under license in 1937?1942 period
[4]
-
Austria
-
Bolivia
-
Brazil
? license production
-
Bulgaria
-
China
-
Chile
-
Colombia
-
Czechoslovakia
-
Finland
-
Germany
-
Hungary
-
Poland
-
Romania
-
Slovakia
-
Spain
-
Sweden
-
Switzerland
-
Turkey
-
Yugoslavia
Specifications
[
edit
]
Data from
Flugzeug Typenbuch 1941
[8]
General characteristics
- Crew:
2
- Length:
7.3 m (23 ft 11 in)
- Wingspan:
9 m (29 ft 6 in)
- Height:
2.7 m (8 ft 10 in)
- Wing area:
20 m
2
(220 sq ft)
- Empty weight:
565 kg (1,246 lb)
- Gross weight:
870 kg (1,918 lb)
- Powerplant:
1 ×
Bramo Sh 14A-4
7-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine 150 PS (148 hp; 110 kW)
- Propellers:
2-bladed Starrschraube, 2.25 m (7 ft 5 in) diameter fixed-pitch RH rotation wooden propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed:
185 km/h (115 mph, 100 kn)
- Cruise speed:
172 km/h (107 mph, 93 kn)
- Landing speed:
74 km/h (46 mph; 40 kn)
- Range:
675 km (419 mi, 364 nmi)
- Endurance:
4 hours 24 minutes
- Service ceiling:
3,900 m (12,800 ft)
- Rate of climb:
3.4 m/s (670 ft/min)
- Time to altitude:
- 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 5 minutes 30 seconds
- 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 23 minutes 36 seconds
- Wing loading:
43.5 kg/m
2
(8.9 lb/sq ft)
- Power/mass
:
0.1724 PS/kg (0.0771 hp/lb; 0.1268 kW/kg)
- Fuel consumption:
.20 L/km (0.071 imp gal/mi)
- Oil consumption:
.01 L/km (0.0035 imp gal/mi)
- Take-off distance:
140 m (460 ft)
- Landing distance:
140 m (460 ft)
Notes
[
edit
]
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Cortet, Pierre (May 2002). "Retros du mois" [Retros of the Month].
Avions: Toute l'Aeronautique et son histoire
(in French) (110): 4.
ISSN
1243-8650
.
- Holmes, Tony (2005).
Jane's Vintage Aircraft Recognition Guide
. London: Harper Collins.
ISBN
0-00-719292-4
.
- Munson, Kenneth (1978).
German Aircraft Of World War 2 in colour
. Poole, Dorsett, UK: Blandford Press.
ISBN
0-7137-0860-3
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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Company designations, pre-1933
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Names
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RLM
designations, 1933?1945
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Company designations, post-1945
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Projects
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1 to 100
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101 to 200
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201 to 300
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301 to 349
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Post-349 (non-sequential)
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- 1
Not assigned
- 2
Unofficial/proposed
- 3
Assigned, but not used before RLM was dissolved
- 4
Assigned to captured aircraft
- 5
Unconfirmed
- 6
Propaganda/cover designation
Note: Official RLM designations had the prefix "8-", but this was usually dropped and replaced with the manufacturer's prefix.
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Attack aircraft (
A
)
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Bombers (
B
)
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Army aeroplanes (
Fpl
)
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Gliders (
G
/
Lg
/
Se
)
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Helicopter (
Hkp
)
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Fighters (
J
)
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Advanced trainers (
O
)
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Trials aircraft (
P
)
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Reconnaissance (
S
)
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Trainers (
Sk
)
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Torpedo bombers (
T
)
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Transports (
Trp/Tp
)
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Trainer
(
Cvi?ny
)
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Bomber Trainer
(
Cvi?ny Bombardovaci
)
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Liaison Trainer
(
Cvi?ny Kury?i
)
| |
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Fighter Trainer
(
Cvi?ny Stihaci
)
| |
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Current system
| Fighter (F)
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Helicopter (H)
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Trainer (I)
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Utility (U)
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Old system
| Fighter (C)
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Courier (D)
| Navy (AvN)
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Beechcraft (Be)
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Consolidated (C)
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Focke-Wulf (FW)
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Luscombe (L)
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Waco (W)
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Reconnaissance (E)
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Training helicopter (HT)
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Utility helicopter (HU)
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Trainer (I)
| Avro (A)
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Navy (AvN)
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de Havilland (H)
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Observation (O)
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Patrol (P)
| Martin (M)
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Savoia-Marchetti (S)
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Advanced trainer (V)
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