Junkers W 34

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Junkers W 34 was a German-built, single-engine, passenger- and transport aircraft, that was developed in the 1920s and was taken into service in 1926. The passenger version could take a pilot and five passengers. The aircraft was developed from the Junkers W 33. Further development of the aircraft led to the Junkers Ju 46.

One Junkers W 34 be/b3e managed to break the then current altitude record on May 26, 1929 when it reached the altitude of 12,739 meters (41,402 feet). That aircraft carried the markings D-1119 and it was equipped with a Bristol Jupiter VII engine. The airplane was flown by Friedrich W. Neuenhofen.

The Junkers W 34 was manufactured in many different versions. The total production numbers for the civil market were around 1,000, a further 2,024 "hi"'s and "hau"'s were built on license for the RLM and Luftwaffe. The unit price was between RM 65,000 and 70,400.

On January 31, 1944, the Luftwaffe still had 618 W 34 hi's and 516 W 34 hau's in service, the majority were used by flight schools.

Contents 1 Production 2 Versions 3 Users 4 Specifications 5 External Links

[edit] Production

• W 34 hi: Junkers (105 aircraft built), Henschel (430), ATG (94), Dornier Wismar (58), HFB (69) and Weser (221).
• W 34 hau: Henschel (329), Arado Brandenburg (205), ATG (105), Dornier Wismar (93), HFB (192) and MIAG Braunschweig (73).

[edit] Versions

• W 34 a - 331 kW Gnôme-Rhône engine, speed: 190 km/h, wingspan: 17.75 m and length 11.10 m
• W 34 be - 375 kW Gnôme-Rhône engine, speed: 230 km/h, wingspan: 17.75 m, length: 10.70 m
• W 34 be/b3e - 441 kW Bristol Jupiter VII engine and was used for attempts to try breaking the world altitude record
• W 34 ci - 405 kW Pratt & Whitney Hornet engine, speed: 245 km/h, equipped with cabin windows
• W 34 di - like the W 34 ci, the engine was licenseproduced by BMW.
• W 34 f - 331 kW Gnôme-Rhône engine, speed: 190 km/h, wingspan: 18,48 m and length 11,10 m, enclosed cockpit, ailerons were lengthened and the export version had a cargo door
• W 34 f - experimental aircraft with floats
• W 34 fa - passenger aircraft for export
• W 34 fä - export aircraft
• W 34 fo - export aircraft with a Pratt & Whitney R-1340 engine
• W 34 fy - Armstrong-Siddeley Panther engine
• W 34 fao - 397 kW Siemens Sh 20 engine, only one was produced for tests with autopilot
• W 34 fei - 441 kW Siemens Sh 20 U engine, only one was produced as a maritime test aircraft
• W 34 fg - Armstrong-Siddeley Jaguar Major engine
• W 34 fue - Pratt & Whitney Hornet engine, later rebuilt as a maritime aircraft.
• W 34 fi - 405 kW Hornet engine that wither was manufactured by Pratt & Whitney or license made by BMW, wingspan: 18,48 m, length: 10,27 m, speed: 260 km/h. The aircraft had an enclosed cockpit and low pressure tires.
• W 34 gi - 405kW BMW Hornet, only one machine was produced in 1933 for tests
• W 34 hi - 485 kW BMW 132A/E, the aircraft could take 6 passengers and was equipped with improved radio- and direction finders. This version was mostly used by Luftwaffe to train pilots and radio operators.
• W 34 hau - similar as hi, but it had a 526kW Bramo 322 H engine. The type was mostly used by Luftwaffe to train its pilots and radio operatorsradiooperatörer.

• K 43 - was the military version of the Junkers W 34 and it was available in many of the above mentioned versions.

[edit] Users

Apart from being extensively used by Germany itself, the W 34 was exported to several nations, among them: Canada, China, Finland, Norway, New Guinea, Spain, Sweden and South Africa.

The Junkers K.43, nicknamed the "Bush Bomber", was used extensively during the Chaco War (1932–1935) fought between Bolivia and Paraguay. See external links.

[edit] Specifications

Data from ^[1], ^[2]

General characteristics

• Crew: 8: pilot, co-pilot, 6 passengers
• Length: 17.75 m (58 ft 3 in)
• Wingspan: 10.27 m (33 ft 8 in)
• Height: 3.53 m (11 ft 7 in)
• Wing area: 43 m² (462.8 ft²)
• Empty weight: 1,700 kg (3,750 lb)
• Loaded weight: 3,200 kg (7,055 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× BMW 132 radial engine, 660 hp (492 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 265 km/h (165 mph)
• Range: 900 km (560 mi)
• Service ceiling: 6,300 m (20,670 ft)

Armament

• 1-2x 7.92 mm machine guns (top)
• 1x 7.92 mm machine gun (belly)
• 8x 50 kg bombs

[edit] External Links

History of Bolivian Junkers K.43's use during fighting over the Gran Chaco area.