Focke-Wulf Fw 159
| {{Infobox Aircraft Begin
| name = Focke Wulf Fw 159 | image = File:Focke-Wulf FW159.png | caption = }}{{Infobox Aircraft Type | type = Fighter | national origin = German | manufacturer = Focke-Wulf | designer = Kurt Tank | first flight = 1935 | introduced = | retired = | status = | primary user = | number built = 3 | developed from = Focke-Wulf Fw 56 | variants with their own articles = }} |
The Focke Wulf Fw 159 was an experimental German fighter of the 1930s, designed by Kurt Tank which never reached production, as it was considered inferior to the He 112 and Bf 109. It was a heavier variant of the Focke-Wulf Fw 56, with several improvements, such as a retractable landing gear and enclosed cockpit.{{cite book |last1=Lepage |first1=Jean-Denis G. G. |title=Aircraft of the Luftwaffe, 1935-1945 : an illustrated guide |date=5 February 2009 |publisher=McFarland & Co |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |isbn=978-0786439379 |pages=212–213}}
Design and development
The Focke-Wulf company designed the aircraft as one of the four entries for the Rüstungsflugzeug IV ("Armed Aircraft IV") 1934 fighter competition. Its parasol wing configuration was based on the company's successful trainer product, the Focke-Wulf Fw 56 Stösser, and it used a Junkers Jumo 210 engine. The plane had an enclosed cockpit and a rearward-retracting lever-action suspension main undercarriage which retracted completely into the lower fuselage. This mechanism was complicated, fragile and endlessly troublesome. The first prototype, the Fw-159 V1, was ready in the spring of 1935 but was destroyed when it crash-landed following the failure of the main undercarriage to deploy properly.
The second prototype, the V2, had a reinforced undercarriage. The general flight characteristics were good but the rate of climb and rate of turn were unsatisfactory, and the aircraft suffered greater drag than its competitors in the contest, the Arado Ar 80, Heinkel He 112 and Messerschmitt Bf 109. The competition was won by the Bf 109.{{cite book |title= Hitler's Luftwaffe|last1=Wood |first1=Tony |last2=Gunston |first2=Bill |year= 1977|publisher=Salamander |location= London|isbn=0-86101-005-1 |page= 159}}
Specifications (V2)
{{Aircraft specs
|prime units?=met
|crew=1
|length m=9.77
|length note=
|span m=12.4
|span note=
|height m=3.75
|height note=
|wing area sqm=
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=1875
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=2250
|gross weight note=
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|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Junkers Jumo 210Da
|eng1 type=V-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston engine
|eng1 kw=507
|eng1 note=
|prop blade number=3
|prop name=variable-pitch propeller
|prop dia m=
|prop dia note=
|max speed kmh=385
|max speed note=
|cruise speed kmh=
|cruise speed note=
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|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed note=
|range km=650
|range note=
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|ceiling m=
|ceiling note=
|g limits=
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|climb rate note=
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|wing loading kg/m2=
|wing loading note=
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|guns=
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See also
{{aircontent|
|related=
|similar aircraft=
|lists=
|see also=
- Swedish FFVS J22, which used a similar main landing gear design to the Fw 159
}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Focke-Wulf Fw 159}}
- {{cite web|url=http://www.cmchant.com/german-focke-wulf-monopolane-fighters|title=The German Focke-Wulf Fw 159 | Aviation and Military History Blog | Chris Chant's Blog|date=18 March 2014 |publisher=cmchant.com|access-date=2015-11-09}}
- {{cite web | url = http://me109.airwar1946.nl/family/fw159.htm | title = Focke-Wulf Fw 159| work = Airwar 1946}}
- {{cite web | url = http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_fw_159.html | title =Focke-Wulf Fw 159 | work =History of war}}
{{Focke-Wulf aircraft}}
{{RLM aircraft designations}}
Category:1930s German fighter aircraft
Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft
Category:Parasol-wing aircraft
Category:Aircraft first flown in 1935
Category:Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear