The Friedrichshafen FF.40 was a German three-seat floatplane of the 1910s produced by Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen.
| FF.40 | |
|---|---|
 A FF.40 with axles underneath its floats | |
| General information | |
| Type | Three-seat coastal patrol floatplane |
| Manufacturer | Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen |
| Number built | 1 |
| History | |
| First flight | April 1916 |
Development and design
editThe FF.40 was designed to meet a German Imperial Navy requirement for a three-seat patrol seaplane. It was a biplane but had an unusual powerplant design. The Maybach Mb.IV was fitted in the fuselage and drove two tractor propellers mounted just forward of and between the wings on each side. Only one aircraft was built.
Operators
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Specifications (FF.40)
editData from Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen GmbH[1]
General characteristics
- Crew: 3
- Length: 12.43 m (40 ft 9 in)
- Upper wingspan: 21 m (68 ft 11 in)
- Lower wingspan: 19 m (62 ft 4 in)
- Height: 4.45 m (14 ft 7 in)
- Wing area: 88.9 m2 (957 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 1,879 kg (4,142 lb)
- Gross weight: 2,539 kg (5,598 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Maybach Mb.IV 6-cylinder water-cooled in-line piston engine, 180 kW (240 hp)
- Propellers: 2-bladed fixed pitch tractor propeller driven by transmission shafts and gearboxes
Performance
- Maximum speed: 125 km/h (78 mph, 67 kn)
- Range: 750 km (470 mi, 400 nmi)
- Time to altitude:
- 560 m (1,840 ft) in 8 minutes
- 800 m (2,600 ft) in 8 minutes
- 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 10.5 minutes
Armament
- Guns: 1 × 7.92 mm (0.312 in) Parabellum MG14 machine gun for observer
See also
editRelated lists
References
edit- ^ Kober, Theodor von; Borzutzki, Siegfried. Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen GmbH (in German) (1. Aufl ed.). Burbach. pp. 130–131. ISBN 978-3927513600.
Bibliography
edit- Borzutzki, Siegfried (1993). Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen GmbH: Diplom-Ingenieur Theodor Kober [Friedrichshafen Aircraft Company: Diploma-Engineer Theodore Kober] (in German). Berlin: Burbach. ISBN 3-927513-60-1.
- Herris, Jack (2016). Friedrichshafen Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes. Great War Aviation Centennial Series. Vol. 21. n.p.: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-935881-35-3.
Further reading
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Friedrichshafen FF.40.
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985). Orbis Publishing.