Hansa-Brandenburg GDW

The Hansa-Brandenburg GDW was a prototype floatplane torpedo bomber built by the Hansa-Brandenburg Aircraft Company for the Imperial German Navy's Naval Air Service during World War I. Developed from the GW, only a single aircraft was built. No production order ensued and the prototype was relegated to training duties.

Design and development

Derived from the GW, it was larger and differed in detail. Like that aircraft, it was a conventional three-bay biplane design with equal-span wings intended to carry a heavier torpedo. The undercarriage consisted of two widely spaced floats to allow for the torpedo to be carried between them. The floats were attached to the fuselage and wings by multiple V-struts. The short nose was rounder and more streamlined than the GW and the wings were swept to the rear outboard of the engine nacelles. The aircraft used two water-cooled Benz Bz.IV straight-six engines positioned between the wings with the radiators mounted on the struts above the engines. A single prototype was ordered in April 1916, but was not delivered until December 1917. The official Seaplane Experimental Command drawings of the aircraft as delivered show that the rudder extended above and below the fuselage and that the elevators were not balanced. Photographic evidence shows that the lower part of the rudder extending below the fuselage was removed and that the elevators were fitted with balances. The GDW was not used operationally and it was probably used for training.