| BV 144 | |
|---|---|
 Profile drawing of the Bv 144 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Airliner |
| Manufacturer | Blohm & Voss Breguet |
| Primary user | French Air Force |
| Number built | 2 |
TheBlohm & Voss BV 144 was an advanced twin-engined commercialairliner developed by theGerman aircraft manufacturerBlohm & Voss. While a pair of prototypes were completed, no production aircraft were ever produced.
Development of the BV 144 commenced at the behest of the Germanflag carrierDeutsche Luft Hansa during the early years of theSecond World War; from the onset, it was intended to be a civil airliner for use during thepostwar era as a successor to theJunkers Ju 52. The BV 144 incorporated numerous advanced and uncommon features for the era, including the use of avariable-incidence wing,de-icing apparatus, andtricycle landing gear. Despite these innovations, it had an orthodox general configuration.
In response to an initial order from Deutsche Luft Hansa, a pair of prototypes were built by theFrench aircraft companyBreguet during theGerman occupation of France; the first prototype performed itsmaiden flight in August 1944. However, Blohm & Voss's involvement in the project ceased later that same year when German forces were pushed out of France. It has been claimed that, following the conflict's end, one of these prototypes receivedFrench Air Force markings and was used as the private aircraft of PresidentCharles de Gaulle.[1]
During 1940, by which point theSecond World War was already being waged in Europe, the Germanflag carrierDeutsche Luft Hansa approached the aircraft manufacturerBlohm & Voss with a request for it to design and produced a new twin-engined airliner.[2] This new airliner was intended to be relatively advanced, capable of seating up to 18 passengers in spacious accommodation, and function as a suitable successor to the ubiquitousJunkers Ju 52 transport aircraft. From the onset, it was envisioned that the prospective aircraft would be able to introduced by Deutsche Luft Hansa shortly after the conflict would come to an end; at that point in time, the war was going in Germany's favour and planning for post-war services was considered to be reasonable.[2]
The company opted to produce a response to the requirement, which led to its design team devising what would be designated theBV 144. The airline was reportedly impressed with the resulting design, particularly in respect to its safety features, and placed an initial order for a pair of prototypes to be produced.[2] However, Blohm & Voss lacked any production capacity to pursue peacetime projects; it wasErnst Udet of theReichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM/German Aviation Ministry) who suggested that the BV 144 could be built by the French aircraft manufacturerBreguet, based inBordeaux, who had no work following theFall of France to Germany in June 1940.[3] Accordingly, Breguet's designers went to work in the B&V offices to complete the airliner's detail design work.
Near to the end of the conflict, a pair of prototypes were completed. During August 1944, the first prototype, BV 144 V1, made itsmaiden flight.[4] however, Germany was in full retreat by this point and thus Blohm & Voss's involvement in the project effectively ceased when German forces were driven from France. Initially, French authorities elected to continue work on the project.[4] At least one aircraft receivedFrench Air Force markings. According to theaeronautical engineerHans Amtmann, one of these aircraft was used by PresidentCharles de Gaulle as his private aircraft for a time.[1] France ultimately opted not to proceed with quantity production of the type.[4]
The BV 144 was an all-metal cantilevermonoplane of broadly conventional layout with a high-mounted wing and twin tail fins. It was to have been typically operated by a crew of three; the pilot and copilot were located within a stepped cockpit while the radio operator was in a separate compartment just aft.[2] Behind the radio operator's compartment was the forward freight hold,toilet, passenger compartment, and the rear freight hold. The passenger compartment could seat up to 23 passengers in less spacious conditions than the 18-seat configuration favoured by Deutsche Luft Hansa.[2]
The BV 144 incorporated a particularly unusual feature for the era in the form of a variable-incidence wing; anelectro-mechanical mechanism would rotate the wing by its mainspar by up to 9°.[1][2] Accordingly, the wing'sangle of attack could be altered when flying at low speeds (such as on approach to landing) without impacting the attitude of the fuselage or negatively affecting airflow over the aircraft's twin-fin tail unit. Other advantages provided by the variable-incidence wing included favourable visibility for the pilot and the elimination of any blanketing of the flight control surfaces.[2] This wing mechanism had already been test flown on anHa 140 floatplane.[1] Furth features present to ease landings included the presence of lengthyslotted flaps, which were supplemented by drooping theailerons.[1][2]
Other atypical design choices included the early use of atricycle (nosewheel) landing gear arrangement, which ensured the comfort of the passengers by maintaining a level fuselage during takeoff and also allowed for the fuselage to sit relatively low to the ground for ease of boarding.[1] The main units landing gear would retract inwards into the wing. The adoption of ade-icing system (using heated air fed from an onboardoil burner) in theleading edges of both the wing and tail unit was another novel feature for the era.[2] The BV 144 was powered by a pair of wing-mountedBMW 801 MAradial engines, each one capable of generating up to 1,147 kW (1,538 hp).[2]
Data fromAircraft of the Third Reich,[5]Hitler's Luftwaffe[6]
General characteristics
Performance
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