Neha Patil (Editor)

Hansa Brandenburg W.20

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Top speed
  
117 km/h

Length
  
5.93 m

Wingspan
  
6.8 m

Manufacturer
  
Hansa-Brandenburg

The Hansa-Brandenburg W.20 was a German submarine-launched reconnaissance flying boat of the World War I era, designed and built by Hansa-Brandenburg.

Contents

Design and development

Due to the need to be stored and launched from a submarine aircraft carrier, the W.20 was a small single-seat biplane flying boat that was designed to be assembled and dismantled quickly. It had a slender hull on which was mounted a biplane wing and a conventional braced tailplane. It was powered by a seven-cylinder, 80 PS Oberursel U.0 rotary engine — basically a German-made near-clone of the Gnome Lambda pre-war French rotary — mounted on struts between the wings driving a pusher propeller. The pilot had an open cockpit just forward of the lower wing. Because of the slender hull stabilising floats were fitted below and at the end of the lower wings. The submarine intended to carry the W.20 was not built and only three W.20s were built.

Specifications (3rd built)

Data from

General characteristics

  • Crew: One
  • Length: 5.93 m (19 ft 5½ in)
  • Wingspan: 6.80 m (22 ft 3¾ in)
  • Wing area: 15.82 m2 (170.29 ft2)
  • Empty weight: 396 kg (873 lb)
  • Gross weight: 568 kg (1252 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Oberursel U.0 7-cylinder rotary piston engine, 60 kW (80 hp)
  • Performance

  • Maximum speed: 117 km/h (73 mph)
  • Endurance: 1 hours  15 min
  • References

    Hansa-Brandenburg W.20 Wikipedia