Klemm Kl 35

Kl 35
Klemm Kl.35D
Role Two-seat sports and training aircraft
Manufacturer Klemm Leightflugzeugbau Gmbh
Designer Friedrich Fecher
First flight 1935
Introduction 1935
Status out of service
Primary users Luftwaffe
Czechoslovakia
Hungary
Romania
Sweden
Produced 1937-1944
Number built c.2,000?
Unit cost
RM17,500

The Klemm Kl 35 is a German sporting and training aeroplane developed as a successor to the Kl 25. A product of Klemm Leichtflugzeugbau Gmbh it shared the same single-engine, cantilever low-wing configuration as the earlier machine, the major difference being the introduction of an inverted gull wing.

Probably Klemm's most important type,[1] the fully aerobatic aeroplane was shown for the first time publicly in October 1935 at the international Air Show in Milan and soon found many private buyers. Powered initially by an 80 hp (60 kW) Hirth HM60R inline,[1] it had fixed undercarriage,[1] mixed wood and fabric covering,[1] and the choice of open or closed cockpit.[1] Powered by the Hirth 60R, it became the Kl 35A (with floats, Kl 35AW),[1] while with the 105 hp (78 kW) Hirth, it was the Kl 35A (with floats, Kl 35AW).[1]

An improved Kl 35D, designed as a Luftwaffe trainer, with 105 hp (78 kW) Hirth HM 504A-2 engine and the option of ski or float landing gear, appeared in 1938.[1] It was the most numerous, with over three thousand built.[1]

A number of air forces purchased copies, including the Romanian, Hungarian, and Slovak.[1] The Swedish Air Force bought several,[1] designated Sk 15, for training use (at least five of those were seaplanes) and in 1941 began licence production, building about 74 more,[1] with some remaining in service until 1951.[1] The Lithuanian air force flew three.[1]

Development

The Kl 35 was designed in 1934 under the auspices of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM). Dipl. Ing. Friedrich Fecher had overall responsibility for the construction. The so-called Gemischtbauweise construction was used: steel for fuselage, wood for wings and tail units and only small quantities of light alloy for linings were used. This became a preferred building method with the RLM around this time, because from considerations of strategic material availability.

Production

The results of the trial must have been satisfactory, because in July 1936, 23 aircraft were ordered for delivery between July and September 1937, with production planned to increase to 3 per month. Klemm was at the time manufacturing the Fw 44 under licence from Focke-Wulf.

By this time the RLM was already looking for a sub-contractor to build the Kl 35A under licence, choosing Fieseler which was already undertaking licence production of the He 72 and Fw 58 alongside Storchs at its Kasseler plant.

Further orders, to a total of 1,386, followed and new variants came on line, beginning with the Kl 35B with a new engine.

Manufacture at Fieseler ceased in November 1939, after 365 aircraft, when the RLM transferred licence production to Zlin in occupied Czechoslovakia.

Production ended in May 1943 with total production for the Luftwaffe having reached 1,302. The balance of production was for private and export customers, though since these would have to number nearly 700 to reach the oft-quoted total of around 2,000 this may be exaggerated.

Variants

Kl 35a
The first prototype, powered by a 60-kW (80-hp) Hirth HM60R piston engine.
Kl-35b
Second prototype.
Kl 35B
Initial production version, powered by a 60-kW (80-hp) Hirth RM60R piston engine.
Kl 35BW
Floatplane version.
Kl 35D
Improved version.
Kl 106
version of the Kl 35D with Hirth HM 500 engine intended for production under licence in the United States
Sk 15
Swedish military designation for the Kl 35D.

Operators

 Czechoslovakia
 Germany
 Hungary
 Lithuania
 Slovakia
 Romania
 Spain
 Sweden
 Norway

Survivors

Klemm Kl35

No Luftwaffe machine is known to survive, but a number of ex-Flygvapnet machines have been preserved.

Specifications (Klemm Kl 35D)

Data from The Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II [5]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Related lists

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Klemm Kl 35.
Notes
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Ketley, Barry, and Rolfe, Mark. Luftwaffe Fledglings 1935-1945: Luftwaffe Training Units and their Aircraft (Aldershot, GB: Hikoki Publications, 1996), p.12.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Klemm Kl 35 start up
  4. ↑ Flypast, March 2010 p. 5
  5. ↑ Mondey1996, p.149-150
Bibliography
  • Mondey, David. The Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II. London: Chancellor, 1996. ISBN 1-85152-966-7.
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