Warplanes of Germany: Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf Fw 56 Stösser
Focke-Wulf Fw 56 Stösser
(Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1997-002-31A Photo)
Focke-Wulf Fw 56 Stösser, parasol monoplane trainer.
The Focke-Wulf Fw 56 Stösser (goshawk) wasa single-engine parasol wing monoplane advanced trainer designed and built by the German aircraft manufacturer Focke-Wulf. It was the company's first aircraft to be designed from the onset by the aeronautical engineer Kurt Tank, who also named the type.
The Fw 56 was a parasol-wing monoplane aircraft with a fuselage of steel tubeconstruction, which was clad in metal towards the front and canvas elsewhere.The wing was made of wood and covered mostly in plywood, while the trailing edge was fabric-covered. The fixed conventional undercarriage consisted of two cantilever main legs and a tailskid. The aircraft was powered by an air-cooled Argus As 10C V-8 inline engine and intended as a single-seat advanced trainer for the fledgling pilot trainee to transition to from the Bucher primary trainer.For its secondary role as an emergency fighter as well as aiding aspiringfighter pilot trainees in conversion, it was fitted with a pair of fixedcowl-mounted 7.9mm MG17 machine guns as well as a removable ventral rack for upto three 10kg bombs (inert practice bombs or, in the event, lightanti-personnel fragmentation bombs).
Developed to meet a request by the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM), the first prototype performed its maiden flight during November 1933. Two years later,several Fw 56 participated in a competitive flyoff, during which they proved tobe superior to both the Arado Ar 76 and the Heinkel He 74 and accordinglysecured a production contract from the RLM. The type would be procured inquantity by the Luftwaffe, various flying clubs, and even private individuals across Germany; a number were also sold on the export market to various European and South American nations. In Germany, the Fw 56 was used to demonstrateand evaluate the dive-bombing technique, which was more effective than conventional bombing at that time and contributed to the procurement of dedicated dive-bombers such as the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka.
The Fw 56 was developed during the early 1930s in response to a request by the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) which sought an advanced fighter trainer. It was also considered for possible use as a home defence fighter.[citationneeded] The design effort was headed by the firm's chief designer, Kurt Tank,who gave the aircraft the name Stösser (goshawk) in line with Henrich Focke's established convention of naming the company's aircraft after various birds.
The aircraft had a high-mounted parasol wing that had elliptical tips and aslight sweepback. The wing structure comprised a pair of spars, composed ofspruce and plywood; spruce was also used for the ribs while plywood was usedfor some of the wing's covering, the remainder being fabric. An alternativemetal wing was also designed. The structure of the fuselage made extensive useof steel tubing, the forward section being covered with metal panels which therear half was fabric based. The tail unit, which featured a triangulartailplane that was mounted on top of the truncated fin forward of the rudder, wasconstructed from a combination of wood, metal, and fabric.
To reduce the risk of a fire within the engine bay, a fire-proof bulkhead waspresent between the bay and the rest of the fuselage interior. Both the fueltank and oil tank were located behind this bulkhead. The undercarriagecomprised cantilever main legs that were covered by wide-chord light metalfairings; the wheels were furnished with Hydraulically-actuated wheels. Some Fw56s were completed with unspatted wheels.
During November 1933, the first prototype performed its maiden flight. Afurther two prototypes were built; the second prototype featured severalmodifications to the fuselage along with metal (rather than wooden) wings. Thethird prototype, which first flew in February 1934, reverted to the wooden wingand satisfied the technical designers. During 1934, three Fw 56A-0pre-production aircraft were constructed, the first two featuring twin machineguns and bomb racks, while the third was only equipped with a single machinegun. In the following year, these aircraft were competitively flown against tworival designs - the Arado Ar 76 and the Heinkel He 74 - for a productioncontract from the RLM. Roughly 1,000 aircraft were built, the majority of whichwere flown by Germany, where it was flown by numerous civil flying clubsamongst other organizations.
Upon the Fw 56 proving its superiority in the competition, the RLM ordered thetype into quantity production on behalf of the Luftwaffe. Other major stateoperators included both Austria and Hungary. A number of Fw 56s were purchasedby private owner-operators, such as the German pilot Gerd Achgelis, who laterfounded the helicopter company Focke-Achgelis together with Henrich Focke. TheFw 56 was a highly popular aircraft amongst pilots, who often praised itsaerobatic capabilities and fine handling. Some criticism was received for itsundercarriage, which some pilots considered to be relatively fragile.
The Fw 56 had exceptionally clean lines, which positively impacted its flight performance,particularly its relatively high diving speed. Furthermore, its solidconstruction meant that it could withstand the forces involved in such divesand the consequential pull-out. It was for these qualities that the Germanpilot Ernst Udet took an interest in the type, arranging for an Fw 56 to bemodified with makeshift bomb racks so that it could be used to evaluate thedive-bombing technique, which proved to be more effective than conventional bombing at that time. Specifically, against small targets, a single-engine divebomber could achieve four times the accuracy at one tenth of the cost of a four-engine heavy bomber, such as the projected Ural bomber. The interestcumulated in aircraft such as the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka. (Wikipedia)
(SDASM Archives Photo)
Focke-Wulf Fw 56 Stösser, parasol monoplane trainer.
(Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-2007-0107 Photo)
Focke-Wulf Fw 56 Stösser parasol monoplane trainer.
