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Junkers Ju 46

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Ju 46
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Type Mail plane
Manufacturer Junkers
Maiden flight 1927
Introduced 1932

Junkers Ju 46 was a German catapult-launched derivative of the W 34, constructed for Lufthansa's mail service over the Atlantic ocean. The first production models were delivered in 1932 and replaced the Heinkel He 58, then in service as the main maritime mail aircraft.

Design and development

Compared to the W 34, the Ju 46 had an enlarged tail section, which improve control of the aircraft during launching. The aircraft was also painted in bright red, for easy spotting by rescue planes in case of emergency landings at sea. The aircraft was equipped with a 441 kW (591 hp) BMW-C radial engine. A total of five aircraft were supplied, then equipped with more powerful engines.

The aircraft was used in the postal link service across the Atlantic Ocean, and the aircraft were based on board the steamers S/S Bremen and S/S Europa, which had been fitted with compressed air-driven catapults for this purpose. These catpults allowed the 3,200 kg aircraft to take off in a distance of 20 m and a speed of 110 km/h. The launch of these aircraft was always a special experience for the passengers of the steamers.

Operators

Template:Country data Germany

Specifications (Ju 46)

Template:Aircraft specification

References

Notes
Bibliography

See also

Related lists

Template:RLM aircraft designations

de:Junkers Ju 46


This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Junkers Ju 46".