Hansa-Brandenburg W.12

During World War I, the German biplane fighter floatplane known as the Hansa-Brandenburg W.12 was developed from Ernst Heinkel’s previous KDW model.

It featured a rear cockpit for an observer/gunner and an unusual, inverted tailfin/rudder to provide an uninterrupted field of fire.

The W.12s were stationed at the Naval air bases at Ostend and Zeebrugge, where they saw action on the Western Front.

One of the aircraft even managed to shoot down the British airship C.27.

In April 1918, a W.12 had to make an emergency landing in the neutral territory of the Netherlands.

The Dutch interned the plane, flight-tested it, and eventually purchased a licence to build the aircraft in 1919.

The Van Berkel company of Rotterdam manufactured 35 W.12s, which served with the Dutch Naval Air Service until 1933.

Variants

W.12

German Navy model.

Van Berkel W-A

Dutch licence-built W.12, with Benz engine.

Specifications

Crew

2

Wingspan

9.6 m (31 ft 6 in)

Height

3.3 m (10 ft 10 in)

Wing area

36.2 m2 (390 sq ft)

Empty weight

997 kg (2,198 lb)

Gross weight

1,454 kg (3,206 lb)

Powerplant

1 × Mercedes D.III,

6-cylinder water-cooled inline piston engine,

119 kW (160 hp)

Propellers

2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

Maximum speed

160 km/h (99 mph, 86 km)

Range

520 km (320 mi, 280 nmi)

Endurance

3 hours 30 minutes

Service ceiling

5,000 m (16,000 ft)

Armament

Guns

1 or 2 × fixed forward 7.92 (0.312 in) LMG 08 machine guns

1 × 7.92 (0.312 in) Parabellum MG14 in rear cockpit.