Hansa-Brandenburg W.29
Hansa-Brandenburg · Germany · first flew 1918 · fighter
The Hansa-Brandenburg W.29 was a German two-seat fighter floatplane that served with the Imperial German Navy's Naval Air Service in the closing months of the First World War. It was a monoplane version of the W.12 biplane.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Low-mounted, tapered |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Floatplane monoplane derived from the W.12 biplane, keeping its fuselage, floats and tail |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Floatplane monoplane derived from the W.12 biplane, keeping its fuselage, floats and tail
- Almost rectangular wing, tapered slightly at the leading and trailing edges, braced to the floats by N-struts
- Slab-sided plywood fuselage rising behind the engine to lift the observer's cockpit
A single-engined two-seat floatplane with a low monoplane wing braced down to the floats and a deep plywood fuselage. The observer sits in a raised rear cockpit.
Specifications
- The Hansa-Brandenburg W.29 has a length of 9.36 m (31 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 13.5 m (44 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 175 km/h (109 mph).
- Typical crew: 2.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Ernst Heinkel, then technical director, sketched the monoplane by removing the W.12's upper wing and enlarging the lower one, while Hanns Klemm did the detailed design. The first flight was on 27 March 1918, with a 112 kW Benz Bz.III engine.
Variants
German aircraft were ordered as the C3MG with fixed and flexible machine guns, and Austria-Hungary ordered 25 from UFAG. After the war some were sold for mail and fishery-spotting work, and others had a passenger cabin in place of the rear cockpit.
Where you'll see it
The first documented combat was on 4 June 1918, when four aircraft engaged British Felixstowe flying boats. Japan built copies that served into the early 1930s, Denmark bought at least three and licence-built more, and Norway bought two.
Related aircraft
- Hansa-Brandenburg W.25
- Hansa-Brandenburg W.27
- Hansa-Brandenburg W.33
- Hansa-Brandenburg W.34
- Adamoli-Cattani Fighter
- AEG DJ.I
- AEG J.II
- Albatros C.XIV
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