Friedrichshafen FF.40

FF.40
A FF.40 with axles underneath its floats
General information
Type	Three-seat coastal patrol floatplane
Manufacturer	Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen
Number built	1
History
First flight	April 1916

The Friedrichshafen FF.40 was a German three-seat floatplane of the 1910s produced by Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen.

Development and design

The FF.40 was designed to meet a German Imperial Navy requirement for a three-seat patrol seaplane. It was a biplane but had an unusual powerplant design. The Maybach Mb.IV was fitted in the fuselage and drove two tractor propellers mounted just forward of and between the wings on each side. Only one aircraft was built.

Operators

 German Empire

• German Imperial Navy

Specifications (FF.40)

Data from Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen GmbH[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: 3
• Length: 12.43 m (40 ft 9 in)
• Upper wingspan: 21 m (68 ft 11 in)
• Lower wingspan: 19 m (62 ft 4 in)
• Height: 4.45 m (14 ft 7 in)
• Wing area: 88.9 m^2 (957 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 1,879 kg (4,142 lb)
• Gross weight: 2,539 kg (5,598 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Maybach Mb.IV 6-cylinder water-cooled in-line piston engine, 180 kW (240 hp)
• Propellers: 2-bladed fixed pitch tractor propeller driven by transmission shafts and gearboxes

Performance

• Maximum speed: 125 km/h (78 mph, 67 kn)
• Range: 750 km (470 mi, 400 nmi)
• Time to altitude:
  

560 m (1,840 ft) in 8 minutes

800 m (2,600 ft) in 8 minutes

1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 10.5 minutes

Armament

• Guns: 1 × 7.92 mm (0.312 in) Parabellum MG14 machine gun for observer

See also

Related lists

• List of military aircraft of Germany
• List of flying boats and floatplanes

References

1. Kober, Theodor von; Borzutzki, Siegfried. Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen GmbH (in German) (1. Aufl ed.). Burbach. pp. 130–131. ISBN 978-3927513600.

Bibliography

• Borzutzki, Siegfried (1993). Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen GmbH: Diplom-Ingenieur Theodor Kober [Friedrichshafen Aircraft Company: Diploma-Engineer Theodore Kober] (in German). Berlin: Burbach. ISBN 3-927513-60-1.
• Herris, Jack (2016). Friedrichshafen Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes. Great War Aviation Centennial Series. Vol. 21. n.p.: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-935881-35-3.

Further reading

• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985). Orbis Publishing.