Focke-Wulf Fw 58

Fw 58 Weihe

Role	Trainer, Transport, Air Ambulance
Manufacturer	Focke-Wulf
First flight	1935
Introduction	1937
Retired	1940s
Primary user	Luftwaffe
Number built	1350 aircraft

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 was 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 was open to form a moveable machine gun station. The tailwheel undercarriage was 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, Hungary and Brazil. It was also operated by several countries such as the Netherlands, Romania, Croatia and Turkey.

Variants

Fw 58 V1: First prototype.
Fw 58 V2: Second prototype.
Fw 58 V3: Third prototype.
Fw 58 V4: Fourth prototype.
Fw 58 V14

The Fw 58 V14, D- OPDR was fitted with Fowler flaps and boundary-layer suction for high-lift experiments at AVA Göttingen. The suction system was powered by a Hirth aircraft engine in the fuselage and the air exited through two circumferential, parallel rows of slots in the rear fuselage section.^[1]

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

Austrian Air Force

Argentina

Argentine Air Force (1938–1952)

Brazil

Bulgaria

Bulgarian Air Force

NDH

Croatian Air Force

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakian Air Force

Finland

Finnish Air Force

Nazi Germany

Luftwaffe

Hungary

Hungarian Air Force

Netherlands

Royal Netherlands Air Force

Norway

Royal Norwegian Air Force (Postwar)

Poland

Polish Air Force

Romania

Royal Romanian Air Force
Romanian Air Force (Post war)

Slovakia

Slovak Air Force (1939–1945)

Spain

Spanish Air Force

Turkey

Turkish Air Force

Soviet Union

Soviet Air Force

Survivors

The only Fw 58 on display is 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.

A Fw58 C-2 is currently under restoration at the Norwegian Aviation Museum in Bodø - http://www.luftfart.museum.no/Utstillinger/Focke%20Wulf.htm

A FW 58 crashed in 1943 in the Lac du Bourget (France) after a low-flying training pass over the lake went wrong, Two of the Four airmen were rescued by local fishermen (The local German command even freed four "terrorists" - local people jailed for suspected Resistance activities - as a goodwill gesture towards the local population) .

The wreck is currently accessible to advanced divers with "tech diving " equipment as it lies at a depth of over 110 M, Video footage of the wreck was shown on various European TV channels . Due to the dark and cold water it is fairly well peresrved after 70 years, though the canvas over tube frame light structure is gradually deteriorating. Plans were made about rising the wreck but local divers are strongly against it because of the ethical aspects (War grave) and risks of badly damaging the wreck with inadequate rising techniques (cutting the aircraft in parts with ROV's before raising it.)

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

Maximum speed: 256 km/h (159 mph)
Range: 676 km (420 mi)
Wing loading: 59.8 kg/m² (12.3 lb/ft²)

Armament

2 × 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 15 machine guns

External links

Media related to Focke-Wulf Fw 58 at Wikimedia Commons

Focke-Wulf aircraft

Company designations, pre-1933	A 3 A 4 A 5 A 6 A 7 A 16 A 17 GL 18 F 19 A 20 A 21 GL 22 K 23 S 24 A 26 A 28 A 29 A 32 A 33 A 36 A 38 S 39 A 43 A 47 S 48 S 1 S 2 W 4 W 7 C.20 (cierva under licence) C.30 (Cierva under licence)

RLM designations, 1933-1945	Fw 40 Fw 42 Fw 43 Fw 44 Fw 47 Fw 55 Fw 56 Fw 57 Fw 58 Fw 61 Fw 62 Ta 152 Ta 154 Fw 159 Ta 183 Fw 186 Fw 187 Fw 189 Fw 190 Fw 191 Fw 200 Fw 206 Fw 238 Fw 249 Fw 250 Fw 281 Ta 254 Fw 261 Ta 283 Fw 300 Ta 400

Company designations, post-1945	Fw 260 Fw 300

Projects	Project I Project II Project III Project IV Project V Project VI Project VII "Flitzer" Project VIII 1000x1000x1000 Rochen Super Lorin Super TL Triebflügel Volksjäger

Reich Air Ministry aircraft designations

1 to 100	B 9 Gö 9 Do 10 Do 11 Wn 11 Do 12 Do 13 Do 14 Do 15 Wn 15 Do 16 Wn 16 Do 17 Do 18 Do 19 Do 20 Do 22 Do 23 Do 24 Kl 25 Do 26 Kl 26 M 27 Do 29 Kl 31 Kl 32 W 33 L 33 W 34 Kl 35 Kl 36 HD 37 HD 38 G 38 DFS 39 BV 40 DFS 40 A 40 Fw 42 He 42 Fw 43 HD 43 Fw 44 He 45 He 46 Ju 46 Fw 47 Ju 47 K 47 A 48 He 49 Ju 49 He 50 A 50 He 51 K 51 Ju 52 K 53 NR 54 Fw 55 NR 55 Fw 56 Fw 57 Fw 58 He 58 He 59 He 60 Ju 60 Fw 61 He 61 Fw 62 He 62 He 63 Ar 64 He 64 Ar 65 He 65 Ar 66 He 66 Ar 67 Ar 68 Ar 69 He 70 He 71 He 72 He 74 Ar 76 Ar 77 Ar 79 Ar 80 Ar 81 Ju 85 Ju 86 Ju 87 Ju 88 Ju 89 Ju 90 Ar 95 Ar 96 Fi 97 Fi 98 Fi 99 He 100

101 to 200	Al 101 Al 102 Al 103 Fi 103 Fh 104 Kl 105 Kl 106 Kl 107 Bf 108 Bf 109 Bf 110 He 111 He 112 He 113 He 114 He 115 He 116 Hs 117 He 118 He 119 He 120 Hs 121 Hs 122 Hs 123 Hs 124 Hs 125 Hs 126 Hs 127 Hs 128 Hs 129 Hs 130 Bü 131 Hs 132 Bü 133 Bü 134 Ha 135 Ha 136 Hü 136 Ha 137 BV 138 Ha 139 Ha 140 BV 141 BV 142 BV 143 BV 144 Go 145 Go 146 Go 147 Ju 147 Go 149 Go 150 Kl 151 Ta 152 Kl 152 Ta 153 Ta 154 BV 155 Fi 156 Fi 157 Fi 158 Fw 159 Ju 160 Bf 161 He 162 Bf 162 Bf 163 Me 163 Me 164 Fi 166 FK 166 Fi 167 Fi 168 He 170 He 172 He 176 He 177 He 178 Bü 180 Bü 181 Bü 182 Ta 183 Fl 184 Fl 185 Fw 186 Ju 186 Fw 187 Ju 187 Ju 188 Fw 189 Fw 190 Fw 191 Ao 192 DFS 193 DFS 194 Ar 195 Ar 196 Ar 197 Ar 198 Ar 199 Fw 200

201 to 300	Si 201 Si 202 DFS 203 Si 204 Fw 206 Me 208 Me 209 Me 209 (1943) Me 210 Hü 211 Do 212 Do 214 Do 215 Do 216 Do 217 Hs 217 He 219 He 220 BV 222 Fa 223 Fa 224 Ao 225 Fa 225 BV 226 Ho 226 FGP 227 DFS 228 Ho 229 DFS 230 Ar 231 Ar 232 Ar 233 Ar 234 Do 235 BV 237 BV 238 Fw 238 Ar 239 Ar 240 Go 241 Go 242 Go 244 BV 246 Ju 248 BV 250 Fw 250 Ho 250 Ho 251 Ho 252 Ju 252 Fi 253 Ho 253 Ta 254 Ho 254 Fi 256 Sk 257 Fw 261 Me 261 Me 262 Me 263 Me 264 Fl 265 Me 265 Fa 266 Ho 267 Ju 268 Fa 269 He 270 We 271 Fw 272 He 274 He 275 He 277 He 278 He 280 Fl 282 Fa 283 Ta 283 Fa 284 Fl 285 Ju 286 Ju 287 Ju 288 Ju 290 Me 290 As 292 Hs 293 Hs 294 Hs 295 Ar 296 Hs 296 Hs 297 Hs 298 Fw 300

301-	Me 309 Me 310 Do 317 Do 318 He 319 Me 321 Ju 322 Me 323 Me 328 Me 329 Fa 330 DFS 331 DFS 332 Fi 333 Me 334 Do 335 Fa 336 Fl 339 E.340 WNF 342 He 343 Rk 344 So 344 Go 345 DFS 346 Rk 347 Ba 349 Ju 352 Me 362 Me 364 Ju 388 Ju 390 Fw 391 Ar 396 Ta 400 Me 409 Me 410 Do 417 He 419 ZMe 423 Ar 430 Ka 430 Ar 432 Do 435 Ar 440 Ju 452 Me 462 Ju 488 Fw 491 Me 509 Me 510 He 519 ZSO 523 Ar 532 Do 535 E.555 Me 609 Ar 632 Do 635

Flygvapnet test aircraft designations pre-1940

P 1 P 2 P 3 P 4 P 5 P 6 P 7 P 8/P 8A/P 8B P 9A/P 9B

Authority control	GND: 4769634-5

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