Friedrichshafen FF.29

The Friedrichshafen FF.29 was a German lightweight two-seat floatplane of the 1910s produced by Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen.

FF.29
U-12 with FF.29 on deck
Role Two-seat coastal patrol floatplane
Manufacturer Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen
First flight 1910s
Introduction 1914
Primary user German Imperial Navy
Number built 44

Development and design

The FF.29 was designed as a lightweight floatplane, a biplane powered by a Mercedes D.II inline piston engine. Five FF.29s were built at the Orlogsværftet Flyvemaskineværksted in Denmark, designated Orlogsværftet HB.I

Operational history

The FF.29 entered service with the German Imperial Navy in November 1914, it was used for coastal patrol and reconnaissance and had the ability to carry a small load of bombs. On 24 December 1914 an FF.29 was the first aircraft to drop a bomb on British soil, a single bomb landed in the garden of a house in Leyburn Road, Dover. There were no injuries and little damage beyond a crater in the lawn and smashed windows. On 15 January 1915 a FF.29 was the first plane to be launched from a submarine, the SM U-12.

Variants

FF.29
Production aircraft.
FF.29A
A similar aircraft with improved floats and tail surfaces.

Operators

 Denmark
 German Empire
 Netherlands

Specifications (FF.29)

General characteristics

  • Length: 10.40 m (34 ft 1 in)
  • Wingspan: 16.30 m (53 ft 6 in)
  • Wing area: 57.5 m2 (619 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 928 kg (2,046 lb)
  • Gross weight: 1,400 kg (3,086 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Mercedes D.II , 90 kW (120 hp)

Performance

See also

Related lists

References

    Further reading

    • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985). Orbis Publishing.
    • Borzutzki, Siegfried (1993). Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen GmbH: Diplom-Ingenieur Theodor Kober. Berlin: Königswinter. p. 102.
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