Warplanes of Germany: Luftwaffe Blohm + Voss BV 139
Luftwaffe Blohm + Voss BV 139
(Luftwaffe Photo)
Blohm + Voss BV 139 long-range seaplane in Luftwaffe service.
The Blohm & Voss Ha 139 was a Germanall-metal inverted gull wing floatplane. With its four engines it was at thetime one of the largest float-equipped seaplanes that had been built. Theinboard engines were mounted at the joint between the inboard anhedral andoutboard dihedral wing sections, above the pylon-mounted floats.
Further development of the Ha 139 led tothe land-based version Blohm & Voss BV 142 which had its first flight inOctober 1938. The aircraft were flown by Deutsche Luft Hansa on transatlanticroutes between 1937 and 1939, predominantly between Bathurst, The Gambia andNatal, Brazil. Catapult-launched from an aircraft tender they were able totransport 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) of mail over a distance of up to 5,000kilometres (3,100 mi).
On the outbreak of the Second World War, the planes were transferred to theLuftwaffe and used for transport, reconnaissance and minesweeping work over theBaltic Sea. They were not particularly suited for military use.
Variants
Projekt 15
Catapult launched floatplane mail-carrier design for Deutsche Lufthansa (DLH),became the Ha 139.
Projekt 20
A reconnaissance-bomber derivative of Projekt 15 submitted to theReichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) (German air Ministry) which generated littleinterest.
Ha 139 V1
D-AMIE, named Nordmeer — First of two initial prototypes
Ha 139 V2
D-AJEY, named Nordwind — Second of two initial prototypes
Ha 139 V3
D-ASTA, named Nordstern — Third prototype with longer wingspan, increased wingarea and modified engine mounts.
Ha 139B
The Ha 139 V3 was given new triangular fins, and re-designated while in servicewith DLH.
Ha 139B/Umbau
After service with DLH, the Ha 139B was modified as the Ha 139B/Umbau with anextended glazed nose accommodating a navigator and a spherical Ikaria mount fora machine-gun. Additional machine guns were mounted in the cockpit roof hatchand in lateral mountings on either side of the rear fuselage.
Ha 139B/MS
The Ha 139B/Umbau was later modified into a minesweeper (Minensuch) with amagnetic cable loosely run between the nose, wing-tips, and tail. (Wikipedia)
(SDASM Photo)
Blohm + Voss BV 139.
(Lufthansa Photo)
Blohm + Voss BV 139 in Lufthansa service, c1938.
(Lufthansa Photo)
Blohm + Voss BV 139 in Lufthansa service, c1938.
(Luftwaffe Photo)
Blohm + Voss Ha 142, which was based on the Ha 139 but equipped with landing gear. The Ha 142 took much of the Ha 139’s design with four low mounted engines on the gull wing and a double vertical tail. The one major difference was replacing the floats with undercarriage.
The Ha 142 did see some operational service as a maritime observational plane in 1940 and later as a transport aircraft in occupied Denmark and Norway. There was also talk of fitting the aircraft to carry a guided torpedo for naval warfare. However, like its predecessor, the Ha 142 was also not deemed suitable as a tactical bomber. Only four prototypes were produced in total and they were withdrawn from all forms of Luftwaffe service in 1942.
