Warplanes of Germany: Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf Fw 62

Focke-Wulf Fw 62

(Luftwaffe Photo)

Focke Wulf Fw 62V-3. Civil registered as D-OHGF.

The Focke-Wulf Fw 62 was a reconnaissancefloatplane, designed and built by Focke-Wulf for use by Nazi Germany'sKriegsmarine. Only four were built.

In 1936 the RLM, the German ministry of aviation, formulated a requirement fora shipboard seaplane for reconnaissance missions, to replace the Heinkel He114. The aircraft was to be light, with a maximum weight of 2.5 tons and a crewof one or two, and suitable for catapult launching. Equipment and armament wereto be kept to a minimum.

Focke-Wulf competed with the Fw 62, a conventional biplane design. The Fw 62was of mixed construction and powered by a 705 kW (945 hp) BMW 132K radialengine. The engine was tightly cowled and drove a two-bladed propeller. Thebiplane wings were of equal span and featured two N-type struts on each side.They could be folded for shipboard storage. Each wing had a plain flap and anaileron.

First flown on 23 October 1937 the Fw 62 V1 twin floats, while the Fw 62 V2 hada large central float and smaller outboard stabilising floats. Official testsbegan in Travemünde in the summer of 1937. The Fw 62 was a capable aircraft andwell liked by test pilots, but the competing Arado Ar 196 monoplane was bothconceptually and structurally more modern, and was chosen for production. (Wikipedia)