Hansa-Brandenburg W.23
The Hansa-Brandenburg W.23 was a prototype biplane flying-boat fighter designed by the Hansa-Brandenburg Aircraft Company for the Imperial German Navy's Naval Air Service during World War I. Three aircraft were ordered in 1917 and delivered the following year, but it was not ordered into production.
Design and development
The W.23 was the culmination of the company's line of pusher configuration flying-boat biplane fighters reaching back to 1916's CC, all of which had a swept lower wing, wing floats, and a single-step hull to allow the aircraft to break free from the water more easily. It greatly resembled the preceding W.18, but its hull was longer and it had a water-cooled Mercedes D.III straight-six engine that drove a two-bladed, fixed-pitch propeller. The aircraft's armament consisted of a LMG 08/15 and a Becker autocannon, both mounted in the upper deck of the nose.Three prototypes were ordered in June 1917 and were delivered to the Seaplane Experimental Command in June 1918. Details are scanty, but aviation historians William Green and Gordon Swanborough state that the W.23's flight characteristics were so poor that the program was cancelled. Two aircraft were located at Seddin when the Allies inspected the German seaplane bases in December 1918. Their ultimate fate is unknown, but it is likely that they were scrapped.