Focke-Wulf Fw 58
The Focke-Wulf Fw 58 Weihe ("Harrier") was a German aircraft, built to fill a request of the Luftwaffe for a multi-role aircraft to be used as advanced trainer for pilots, gunners and radio operators.
Design and development
The Fw 58 is a low-wing monoplane with two piston engines mounted in nacelles on the wing leading edges. The crew sat in an enclosed canopy. Aft of the flight deck, the fuselage is open to form a moveable machine gun station. The tailwheel undercarriage is retractable.
Operational history
The Fw 58 was widely used for training Luftwaffe personnel. It was also used as VIP transport, ambulance, feeder airliner, photo reconnaissance, and weather research aircraft. It was built under license in Bulgaria and Brazil. It was also operated by several countries such as the Netherlands, Hungary, Romania, Croatia and Turkey.
Variants
- Fw 58 V1
- First prototype.
- Fw 58 V2
- Second protoype.
- Fw 58 V3
- Third prototype.
- Fw 58 V4
- Fourth prototype.
- Fw 58B
- Fw 58B-1
- Fw 58B-2
- This version had a glazed nose, and was armed with a 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 15 machine gun.
- Fw 58C
- Fw 58W
- Twin-floatplane version.
Operators
- Austria
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Czechoslovakia
- Finland
- Nazi Germany
- Hungary
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Romania
- Turkey
- Soviet Union
Specifications (Fw 58)
General characteristics
- Crew: 4
- Length: 14 m (45ft 11 in)
- Wingspan: 21 m (68 ft 10 in)
- Height: 4.3 m (14 ft 1 in)
- Wing area: 47 m² (506 ft²)
- Empty weight: 1,900 kg (4,200 lb)
- Loaded weight: 2,810 kg (6,200 lb)
- Powerplant: 2 × Argus As 10 air-cooled inverted V8 piston engines, 180 kW (240 hp) each
Performance
Armament
Survivors
The last surviving Fw 58 is now on display at Museu Aeroespacial in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Brazil used this airplane mainly for maritime patrols and the example on display was one of the 25 Fw 58B-2 units license-built in Brazil by Fábrica de Galeão circa 1941.
See also
- Related lists
References
|
|
|
| Company designations, pre-1933 |
|
|
| RLM designations, 1933-1945 |
|
|
| Projects |
|
|
|
|
|
| 1 to 100 |
|
|
| 101 to 200 |
|
|
| 201 to 300 |
|
|
| 301- |
|
|
|
|
|
| General |
|
|
| Military |
|
|
| Accidents/incidents |
|
|
| Records |
|
|