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Hansa-Brandenburg GW

German Floatplane Torpedo Bomber

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GW
Role	Torpedo bomber Type of aircraft
National origin	Germany
Manufacturer	Hansa-Brandenburg
First flight	1916
Primary user	Imperial German Navy
Number built	ca. 20

The Hansa-Brandenburg GW was a floatplane torpedo bomber produced in Germany during World War I for the Imperial German Navy. In configuration, it was similar to the Hansa-Brandenburg G.I land-based bomber, but the GW was substantially larger and heavier. Like the G.I, it was a conventional three-bay biplane design with staggered wings with the lower wing of slightly greater span than the upper. The undercarriage consisted of twin floats, each mounted on a separate truss structure, leaving space between them for a single torpedo to be dropped from the underside of the fuselage. The metal trusses that had attached the engines to the sides of the G.I's fuselage were not present in this design, with the engine nacelles carried on struts in the interplane gap.

Specifications (variant)[edit]

General characteristics

• Crew: Three
• Length: 12.57 m (41 ft 4 in)
• Wingspan: 21.56 m (70 ft 9 in)
• Height: 4.15 m (13 ft 7 in)
• Gross weight: 3,938 kg (8,664 lb)
• Powerplant: 2 × Mercedes D.III , 120 kW (160 hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 105 km/h (65 mph, 56 kn)
• Range: 500 km (310 mi, 270 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 1,000 m (3,280 ft)

Armament

• 1 × machine gun
• 1 × torpedo

References[edit]

• Owers, Colin A. (2015). Hansa-Brandenburg Aircraft of WWI: Volume 2–Biplane Seaplanes. Great War Aviation Centennial Series. Vol. 18. n.p.: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-935881-32-2.
• Schmeelke, Michael (2020). "Torpedo Los!": The German Imperial Torpedo-Flieger. n.p.: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-953201-17-1.

Further reading[edit]

• Nowarra, Heinz J. (May 1980). "Les Premiers Torpilleurs Allemande". Le Fanatique de l'Aviation (in French) (126): 52–58.