FF.41a
General information
Type	Reconnaissance
Manufacturer	Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen GmbH
Primary users	Kaiserliche Marine Finnish Air Force Estonian Air Force
Number built	9 (1 x FF.41a + 8 x FF.41at)
History
Introduction date	1917
First flight	1917

The Friedrichshafen FF.41a was a large, German-built, three-seat, twin-engine floatplane reconnaissance aircraft designed by Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen in 1917.

Contents

• Use in Finland
• Use in Estonia
• Variants
• Operators
• Specifications (FF.41at)
• See also
• References
• Bibliography

The aircraft was mainly used as a reconnaissance aircraft, but also as a bomber and as a mine-laying aircraft. A torpedo-carrying version, the FF.41at, was also developed. It had a modified fuselage and a single vertical fin (in comparison to the basic model's three). Only five FF.41at aircraft were manufactured. According to another information, eight FF.41 were built, and six of them were stationed in the Baltic territories. Aircraft numbered 996, 1000 and 1209 were stationed In Vindava (Ventspils), and aircraft numbered 997, 998 and 999 in Angersee.

Use in Finland

The Finnish Air Force purchased one FF.41at aircraft from the Germans in Estonia on 26 November 1918, at the end of World War I. It was flown to Sortavala where it was repaired. In 1922, the torpedo-carrying fuselage was changed, and the capability to carry torpedoes was removed. This aircraft was in use between 1918–23.

Use in Estonia

The Estonians found an unairworthy Friedrichshafen FF.41a in the Tallinn hangars. The remains of the wrecked German aeroplane were used to produce the first aeroplane of the independent Estonian Air Force. On 13 March 1919, the Naval Squad was established, and the barrack finished in 1921. ^[1] According to the other information the Estonians were left three aircraft. One of them was purchased by the Finns, and the other two in bad conditions were re-built as a new functioning one, which stayed in Estonian service.^{[ citation needed ]}

Variants

FF.41a

A twin engined floatplane torpedo bomber, developed from the FF.35; one built.

FF.41at

Further developed torpedo bomber floatplane; eight built.

Operators

  Estonia

Estonian Air Force

  Finland

Finnish Air Force

  German Empire

German Imperial Navy

Specifications (FF.41at)

Data from Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen GmbH, ^[2] Thulinista Hornetiin – 75 vuotta Suomen ilmavoimien lentokoneita ^[3]

General characteristics

• Crew: 2
• Length: 13.7 m (44 ft 11 in)
• Upper wingspan: 22 m (72 ft 2 in)
• Lower wingspan: 20.97 m (68 ft 10 in)
• Height: 4.65 m (15 ft 3 in)
• Wing area: 112.5 m² (1,211 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 2,288 kg (5,044 lb)
• Gross weight: 3,701 kg (8,159 lb)
• Powerplant: 2 × Benz Bz.III 6-cylinder water-cooled in-line piston engines, 110 kW (150 hp) each
• Propellers: 2-bladed fixed pitch tractor propellers

Performance

• Maximum speed: 125 km/h (78 mph, 67 kn)
• Cruise speed: 115 km/h (71 mph, 62 kn)
• Range: 605 km (376 mi, 327 nmi)
• Endurance: 6 hours
• Time to altitude:
  

560 m (1,840 ft) in 9 minutes

800 m (2,600 ft) in 16 to 18 minutes

1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 20-25 minutes

Armament

• Guns: 1 × 7.92 mm (0.312 in) Parabellum MG14 machine-gun
• Bombs: 1 × 726 kg (1,601 lb) torpedo

See also

Related lists

• List of military aircraft of Finland
• List of military aircraft of Germany
• List of flying boats and floatplanes

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The Friedrichshafen FF.1 was a German experimental floatplane built in 1912. It was the first aircraft designed and built by the newly established Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen. Only one prototype was constructed and it set a German national record for endurance in 1913 before crashing in early 1914.

The Friedrichshafen FF.2 was a floatplane built in Germany in 1913. It was derived from a design by the Swiss pilot and designer René Grandjean. Only one aircraft was built before the design was reworked into the Friedrichshafen FF.4 the following year.

The Friedrichshafen FF.17 was an experimental floatplane built in Germany in 1914. Originally designed and flown with a single main float and two outriggers as the FF.17, it was later modified as the FF.17b with two floats.

The Friedrichshafen FF.63 was a German experimental floatplane produced by Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen.

The Friedrichshafen FF.67 was a German experimental floatplane produced by Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen.

References

Bibliography

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Friedrichshafen FF.41 .

• Borzutzki, Siegfried (1993). Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen GmbH: Diplom-Ingenieur Theodor Kober[Friedrichshafen Aircraft Company: Diloma-Engineer Theodore Kober] (in German). Berlin: Burbach. ISBN   3-927513-60-1.
• Gerdessen, Frederik. "Estonian Air Power 1918 – 1945". Air Enthusiast , No. 18, April – July 1982. pp. 61–76. ISSN   0143-5450.
• Herris, Jack (2016). Friedrichshafen Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes. Great War Aviation Centennial Series. Vol. 21. Charleston, South Carolina: Aeronaut Books. ISBN   978-1-935881-35-3.
• Schmeelke, Michael (2020). "Torpedo Los!": The German Imperial Torpedo-Flieger. n.p.: Aeronaut Books. ISBN   978-1-953201-17-1.