Focke-Wulf Fw 57
{{short description|German fighter-bomber prototypes}}
{{Infobox aircraft
|name =Fw 57{{Sfn | Munson | 1978 | p = 55}}
|image =File:Focke-Wulf Fw57.jpg
|caption=
|type=Heavy fighter
|national_origin=Germany
|manufacturer =Focke-Wulf
|first_flight =1936{{Sfn | Munson | 1978 | p = 55}}
|status =Prototype only
|number_built=3
}}
The Focke-Wulf Fw 57 was a prototype German heavy fighter and fighter-bomber. Prototypes were built in 1936 but never entered production.
Design and development
In 1934, the Reich Air Ministry (RLM) declared a requirement for a Kampfzerstörer (battle destroyer), a tactical multi-role fighter/bomber concept, and a possible predecessor to the late-1930s German Schnellbomber concept. Focke-Wulf submitted the Fw 57, Messerschmitt submitted the Bf 110 and Henschel submitted the Hs 124. The Fw 57 was larger than its two competitors; it was heavier and did not handle as well as them.
The Fw 57 was a twin-engine all-metal monoplane of conventional configuration, with a single fin and rearwards-retracting maingear members comprising its tailwheel undercarriage, into the engine nacelles. The pilot and navigator sat in tandem under a long canopy, the aft end of which had a gunner's turret.
Three Fw 57 prototypes (V1-V3) were completed during 1936. The aircraft was severely overweight and handled poorly. The original Kampfzerstörer concept, which specified a multi-role aircraft with turret-mounted armament had been abandoned by autumn 1936 in favor of the simpler Zerstörer represented by the Bf 110, which omitted gun turrets and bombing capability to allow greater performance. All further research into the Fw 57 was abandoned shortly thereafter.Green and Swanborough 1994, p. 213.Green 1972, pp. 176–178.
Specifications (Fw 57 V1)
File:Focke-Wulf Fw 57 sketch.jpg
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Warplanes of the Third Reich Green 1972, p. 178.
|prime units?=met
|crew=3 (pilot, navigator and gunner)
|length m=16.4
|length note=
|span m=25
|span note=
|height m=4.1
|height note=
|wing area sqm=73.5
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=6814
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=8317
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight kg=
|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity=
|more general=
|eng1 number=
|eng1 name=Daimler-Benz DB 600A
|eng1 type=V-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston engines
|eng1 kw=679
|eng1 note=
|prop blade number=3
|prop name=variable-pitch propellers
|prop dia m=
|prop dia note=
|max speed kmh=404
|max speed note=at {{cvt|3000|m}}
|max speed mach=
|cruise speed kmh=374
|cruise speed note=
|stall speed kmh=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed note=
|minimum control speed kmh=
|minimum control speed note=
|range km=
|range note=
|combat range km=
|combat range note=
|ferry range km=
|ferry range note=
|endurance=
|ceiling m=9100
|ceiling note=
|g limits=
|roll rate=
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude=
|wing loading kg/m2=
|wing loading note=
|fuel consumption kg/km=
|power/mass=
|thrust/weight=
|more performance=
|guns= 3x 20 mm caliber MG FF cannon (2 in the nose and 1 in a Mauser electric dorsal turret)
|bombs= {{cvt|600|kg|0}} of bombs
|avionics=
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
- Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. New York:Doubleday, 1972. {{ISBN|0-385-05782-2}}.
- Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. The Complete Book of Fighters. New York, Smithmark, 1994. {{ISBN|0-8317-3939-8}}.
- Herwig, D and H. Rode.Luftwaffe Secret Projects - Ground Attack & Special Purpose Aircraft. {{ISBN|1-85780-150-4}}
- {{cite book |last = Munson |first = Kenneth |title = German Aircraft Of World War 2 in colour |location = Poole, Dorsett, UK |publisher = Blandford Press |year = 1978 |isbn = 0-7137-0860-3}}
- Wagner, Ray and Heinz Nowarra. German Combat Planes: A Comprehensive Survey and History of the Development of German Military Aircraft from 1914 to 1945. New York: Doubleday, 1971.
External links
{{commons category|Focke-Wulf Fw 57}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080704073720/http://www.luftwaffe-reich.co.uk/focke-wulf-fw-57-fighter.htm Picture and specifications of Fw 57]
{{Focke-Wulf aircraft}}
{{RLM aircraft designations}}
Category:Abandoned military aircraft projects of Germany