German Patrol Aircraft 1930-1939 - Focke-Wulf FW 200, Dornier Do 18, Dornier Do 24, Heinkel He 59 (Paperback)

Chapters: Focke-Wulf Fw 200, Dornier Do 18, Dornier Do 24, Heinkel He 59. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 33. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor was a German all-metal four-engine monoplane that entered service as an airliner. Later versions for the Luftwaffe were used as long-range reconnaissance and anti-shipping bomber aircraft as well as transport planes for troops and VIPs. The Fw 200 was built to a Lufthansa specification with Wilhelm Bansemir as project director. It first flew in July 1937 after just under one year of development with Kurt Tank at the controls. The aircraft was a simple development of a pre-war commercial craft. It was an all-metal construction, four-engined monoplane capable of carrying 25 passengers up to 3,000 km (1,860 mi). To adapt it for wartime service, hardpoints were added to the wings for bombs, the fuselage was extended and strengthened to create more space, and front, aft and dorsal gun positions were added. Their extra weight meant that a number of early Fw 200 would break up on landing, a problem that was never entirely fixed. Later models were equipped with radar. Danish Fw 200 airliner Dania at Fornebu Airport in Norway in 1939The Fw 200 was the first airplane to fly nonstop between Berlin and New York City, making the journey on August 10, 1938 in 24 hours and 56 minutes. The return trip on August 13, 1938 took 19 hours and 47 minutes. These flights are commemorated with a plaque in the Bottcherstrasse street of Bremen. A Danish Fw 200 aircraft named Dania was seized by the British on English soil after Denmark was invaded by German forces in 1940. It was operated by the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and was later pressed into service with the British Royal Air Force. It was damaged beyond repair in 1...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=1485