Focke-Wulf Fw 62

The Focke-Wulf Fw 62 was a reconnaissance floatplane, designed and built by Focke-Wulf for use by Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. Only four were built.

Design and development

In 1936 the RLM, the German ministry of aviation, formulated a requirement for a shipboard seaplane for reconnaissance missions, to replace the Heinkel He 114. The aircraft was to be light, with a maximum weight of 2.5 tons and a crew of one or two, and suitable for catapult launching. Equipment and armament were to be kept to a minimum.
Focke-Wulf competed with the Fw 62, a conventional biplane design. The Fw 62 was of mixed construction and powered by a 705 kW BMW 132K radial engine. The engine was tightly cowled and drove a two-bladed propeller. The biplane wings were of equal span and featured two N-type struts on each side. They could be folded for shipboard storage. Each wing had a plain flap and an aileron.

Operational history

First flown on 23 October 1937 the Fw 62 V1 twin floats, while the Fw 62 V2 had a large central float and smaller outboard stabilising floats. Official tests began in Travemünde in the summer of 1937. The Fw 62 was a capable aircraft and well liked by test pilots, but the competing Arado Ar 196 monoplane was both conceptually and structurally more modern, and was chosen for production.