Tag: Seaplane

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New Miniature: The Friedrichshafen FF.33e

The Friedrichshafen FF.33e was another in the long line of seaplanes, this one using the reliable 150hp Benz Bz.III engine. It is the first FF.33 model with a rear under-fin rather than a rear float. Like about half the FF.33 models, this plane was fitted with a radio (transmitter only) rather than a rear gun, though sometimes the radio was replaced with a rear flexible Parabellum. The FF33 was said to be easy to fly and it handled well on the water as well, and the FF.33e was the most common of the Friedrichshafen seaplanes.  The most famous FF.33e was number 841, the Wölfchen, which accompanied the SMS Wolf on its long raiding voyage through the Pacific and Indian oceans of November 1916 through February 1918.

The first three prototypes, where were ordered in March 1915, were originally named the Friedrichshafen FF.33c, but they were subsequently renamed as FF.33e’s as the production run began. In May 1917, 121 FF.33e seaplanes were in service.

A paintable 1:144 Friedrichshafen FF.33e miniature is now available from Great War Planes by Reduced Aircraft Factory.

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New Miniatures: Short 184 Seaplanes

The Short Seaplane, Admiralty Type 184 was designed to carry a torpedo. Long folding wings and the characteristic large fin of the Short seaplanes make it quickly recognizable. In the Dardanelles campaign, it became the first plane to sink an enemy ship with a torpedo when a Short 184 attacked a Turkish steamer on 12 June 1915. The weight of a torpedo, however, severely limited the plane’s range and operating conditions. More often the Type 184 ran patrol, bombing, and even anti-Zeppelin missions, including the Battle of Jutland. While most served in the North Sea and from seaplane-carriers, a few were sent to Mesopotamia in February 1916. As the war progressed, the original 225hp Sunbeam engine was replaced with more powerful Sunbeams and Renaults.

While Short Bros. produced many 184’s, a large number were subcontracted to other firms, including Mann Egerton, Phœnix Dynamo, Sage, Saunders, and Westland. They were still in production at the end of the war, but they were starting to be phased out by Fairey Campanias, Fairey IIIBs, and other types. During its long service life there were many experiments with alternative engines, wing adjustments, float shapes, and armament.

Their missions ran from anti-submarine patrols (especially as the war progressed) to bombing, patrol, and torpedo attack. Though underpowered for its size, the 184 served faithfully from the beginning of the war through the end and beyond, fighting in the Russian Civil War in 1919-1920. Some were taken by the Russians after they were abandoned by the British, and eight were given to Estonia, five to Chile, five to Greece, and one to Japan.

Two 1:144 Short 184 miniatures are now available from Great War Planes by Reduced Aircraft Factory: one with a loaded bomb rack and one carrying a torpedo.

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New Miniatures: The Sopwith and Ansaldo Baby

The Sopwith Baby was a Sopwith Schneider mounting the 110hp Clerget engine (and later the 130hp model). The change of the engine also forced a change from the pointed nose of the Schneider to a horseshoe cowling. While early Babys used the same gun mount as the Schneider: a top-wing Lewis angled upward to clear the propeller, later Babys used a synchronized Lewis that made for easier aiming.

Like the Schneider, the Baby performed a variety of missions from naval bases and from seaplane carriers in most theatres of the war. Fifty-eight to eighty were still on charge near the end of the war, giving this plane one of the longest service lifetimes of the war.

Ansaldo built a copy of the Baby under license, but by the time they were finished, the Ansaldo Babys were feeling their age, and they only saw limited action outside of training.

Five full-color and two paintable Sopwith or Ansaldo Baby 1:144 aircraft miniatures are now available from https://greatwarplanes.com.

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New Miniatures: The Albatros W.4

As a response to the rising threat of Entente flying boats, the German navy developed several Jagdeinsitzer Wasser (Seaplane fighting scouts) in 1916, including the Albatros W.4. Though it was derived from the Albatros D.I, many details were changed (beyond the obvious addition of floats), such as a wider wingspan and wider gap. Various types of floats were tried as production ran along, and 118 were built before they were supplanted by Brandenburg types.

The first W.4 was delivered in September 1916, but initial production was slow, with the first ten arriving in Feb-April 1917. Eventually 118 would be delivered, some with an offset wing radiator rather than ear radiators, and some with four-wing ailerons. They served mostly on the Flanders coast, but some were seen over the Aegean.

Two paintable and three full-color 1:144 Albatros W.4 miniatures are now available from Great War Planes by Reduced Aircraft Factory.

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New Miniatures: The Hanriot H.D.2

The Hanriot H.D.2 was a floatplane version of the Hanriot H.D.1 fighter with (on later models) an enlarged rudder and fin that extended below the waterline. Like the H.D.1, it started with a single Vickers gun, but later seaplane HDs were armed with twin Vickers guns because the corresponding loss in performance was not as critical to their mission. Likewise the heavier 130hp Clerget was preferred to the lighter Le Rhône. While Aviation Militaire had declined to build the HD.1, Aviation Maritime accepted deliveries of up to 130 HD.2’s.

The US Navy purchased twenty-six HD.2s to accompany their Donnet-Denhaut flying boats working out of Dunkerque. They flew over five hundred escort missions but did not encounter German seaplane-fighters.

Five full-color and paintable Hanriot H.D.2s are now available at https://greatwarplanes.com.

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