Bücker Bü 131

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Bücker Bü 131 "Jungmann"

Type	Basic trainer
Manufacturer	Bücker Flugzeugbau
Designed by	Carl Bücker
Maiden flight	1934-04-27
Introduced	1935 (Luftwaffe)
Retired	1968 (Spanish Air Force)
Primary user	Luftwaffe
Variants	Bü 133 Jungmeister

The Bücker Bü 131 "Jungmann" (young man) was a Luftwaffe basic training aircraft of World War II.

1 History
2 Operators
3 Specifications (Bü 131B)
4 References
5 Related content

[edit] History

After serving in the German Navy in World War I, Carl Bücker moved to Sweden where he became managing director of Svenska Aero AB (SAAB). He later returned to Germany with Anders Anderson, a young designer from SAAB. "Bücker Flugzeugbau GmbH" was founded in Berlin in 1932, with the first aircraft to see production being the Bü 131 Jungmann.

Sturdy and agile, the Jungmann was selected as the primary basic trainer for the German Luftwaffe. Production licenses were granted to Switzerland, Spain, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Japan. In Spain, production continued at CASA until the early 1960s. The Jungmann was retained as Spanish Air Force's primary basic trainer until 1968, and the aircraft was eventually given a status equivalent to that of a national treasure.

About 200 Jungmann survive to this day, many having been fitted with modern engines, and are very much revered by those who fly them.

[edit] Operators

[edit] Specifications (Bü 131B)

Data from Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II^[1]

General characteristics

Crew: 2: student, instructor
Length: 6.62 m (21 ft 8 in)
Wingspan: 7.40 m (24 ft 3 in)
Height: 2.35 m (7 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 13.5 m² (145 ft²)
Empty weight: 380 kg (840 lb)
Loaded weight: 670 kg (1,500 lb)
Powerplant: 1× Hirth HM 504 four-cylinder inverted straight engine, 70 kW (100 hp)