Bücker Bü 181 Bestmann
| Bü 181 Bestmann | |
|---|---|
.jpg)
| |
| A restored Bü 181 performing at the Shoreham Airshow 2012 | |
| Role | trainer
|
| Manufacturer | Bücker
|
| First flight | February 1939 |
| Primary users | Luftwaffe Czechoslovakia Egypt Sweden |
| Number built | 3,400 |
The Bücker Bü 181 Bestmann is a twin-seat single-engine
The Bü 181 is closely related to the
Series production of the Bü 181 commenced during 1940. Several different production models, including the Bü 181B and Bü 181C, were produced, although there were only slight variations between then. Germany's wartime demands for aircraft exceeded Bücker Flugzeugbau's capacity, thus the aircraft was manufactured under license by numerous other companies, including Fokker Company, Hägglund & Söner AB, and the Zlin Aviation Works. Thousands of aircraft were operated by the Luftwaffe and other operators, typically as a trainer aircraft. In German wartime service, the Bü 181 would also be used for several roles beyond training, such as a liaison aircraft, a glider tow and even (when crudely armed with Panzerfaust anti-tank grenade launchers) as a ground-attack aircraft.[1]
Development
The origins of the Bü 181 are closely associated with that of the Bü 180 Student, a tandem twin-seat aircraft that was also Bücker Flugzeugbau's first low-wing monoplane design. Many of the construction techniques developed for the Bü 180 were shared with the company's next undertaking, the Bü 181.[2] Unlike the Bü 180, this newer aircraft made use of a side-by-side seating arrangement that was considered to be more well suited for training purposes that the traditional tandem arrangements. Despite this, as well as the company's established primary market being in the trainer sector, the Bü 181 had actually been designed with the intention of promoting it for sports and touring purposes instead.[2]
During February 1939, the first prototype, baring the civil registry D-ERBV, performed its maiden flight; it was flown by Chief Pilot Arthur Benitz.[3] It received a favourable official review, which promptly led to the Bü 181 being selected to become the next standard primary trainer of the Luftwaffe. Quantity production of the initial model, the Bü 181a, commenced during late 1940; the company produced many of these aircraft at its Rangsdorf facility outside Berlin.[1]
Due to the heavy wartime demands imposed upon the company, it became clear that Bücker Flugzeugbau could not produce the aircraft at a sufficiently high rate on its own.[1] Accordingly, the company was directed to issue production licenses for the Bü 181 to other aircraft manufacturers. One such company was the Netherlands-based Fokker Company, which commenced production of the type in 1942; by the end of the conflict, it has completed a total of 708 aircraft, having produced a combination of both the Bü 181B and the slightly modified Bü 181C.[1] Between 1943 and 1945, the Swedish manufacturing concern Hägglund & Söner AB produced 120 Bü 181s under license; these aircraft are often referred to using the Swedish military designation Sk 25.[1]
The Bü 181D was also built by
During the 1950s, the Heliopolis Aircraft Works of
Design
The Bücker Bü 181 Bestmann was a single-engine low-wing
The low-mounted wings of the Bü 181, which tapered sharply in both
The forward section of the fuselage was of a tubular
Its strength corresponded to Stress Group 5 with a limited load (single occupancy) and Stress Group 4 fully laden.[citation needed][clarification needed]
Operational history
Although flown by the Luftwaffe primarily in the trainer role, the type often used to perform various other duties, including as a liaison aircraft and as a glider tow.[1]
From March 1945, an order was issued to concentrate all available Bü 181s for conversion either to the "tank busting" role, for which each aircraft would carry four
Test pilot and
Variants
[9][unreliable source?] The Bü 181 evolved very little during the war, the differences between the B type and the C types were minimal, the most important being the increased autonomy of the C types. The main difference between the B-1 & C-1 and the B-2 and C-2 sub-types was the presence of pitot heating and position & cabin lights while the B-2 and C-2 types lacked any electrical system.
Bu 181V Prototype.
Bü 181B-0 Pre-production series with Hirth HM 504 A-2 engine
Bü 181B-1 With Hirth HM 500 A engine
Bü 181B-2 As B-1 but no electrics
Bü 181B-3 (Schlachtflugzeug): Night harassment version made from converted B-1s and C-1s carrying improved instrumentation, Revi gunsights and three ETC 50 bomb racks. Bomb loads; either three SC50 or three SD50 or three SD70 or three AB70 droppable clusters. Max. Bomb load 210 kilograms (463 lb).
Bü 181C-1 Increased range and Hirth HM 500B engine.
Bü 181C-2 As C-1 but no electrics
Bü 181C-3 (Panzerjäger): B-2 or C-2 subtypes modified for the antitank role carrying four wing mounted Panzerfaust 100 single-use antitank grenade launchers in pairs, two on each wing.[10]
Post war license built & developments
- Zlín Z.181
- Two-seat primary trainer aircraft. Czech production version of the Bu 181, built by Zlín in Czechoslovakia after the war.
- Zlín Z.281
- Two-seat primary trainer aircraft, powered by a Toma 4 piston engine.
- Zlín Z.381
- Two-seat primary trainer aircraft, powered by a 78 kW (105 hp) Walter Minor piston engine. Czech Air Force designation C-106.
- Gomhouria Mk 1
- Two-seat primary trainer aircraft, powered by a Walter Minor piston engine. Egyptian production version of the Zlín 381, built under licence in Egypt by the Heliopolis Aircraft Works.[11]
- Gomhouria Mk 2
- Two-seat primary trainer aircraft, powered by a 145 hp (108 kW) Continental C-145 piston engine.[11]
- Gomhouria Mk 3
- As Mk. 2, but with improved undercarriage.[11]
- Gomhouria Mk 4
- Increased fuel capacity.[11]
- Gomhouria Mk 5
- Similar to Mk 1, powered by Walter Minor, but with different engine mounting.[11]
- Gomhouria Mk 6
- Continental O-300 engine.[11]
- Sk 25
- Swedish Air Force designation of the license-built Bestmann.
Surviving aircraft
Of the over 4,000 Bü 181s originally built, only about 10 examples remain. One restored example of a Gomhouria 181 MK6 in Luftwaffe markings, registration G-TPWX, is known to be airworthy and in flying condition and can regularly be seen airborne over the Welland Valley in South Leicestershire, UK, usually with a chase plane. However a good number of license-built Sk 25s fly still today, as well as some Zlin examples and an increasing number of Egyptian Gomhouria. In January 2024 a batch of around 20 Gomhourias, plus engines and spares, was delivered from Egypt to a dealer in Germany.[12]
Cinema
A Bücker Bü 181 'Bestmann' was used in the movie The Great Escape. It was flown in the movie by James Garner with Donald Pleasence as his passenger.
Military operators
- Algerian Air Force – 12 Gomhourias delivered, starting in 1962[13]
- Czechoslovak Air Force – postwar
- Czechoslovakian National Security Guard – postwar
- Egyptian Air Force – 150 Gomhourias[14]
- Hungarian Air Force – postwar.
- Royal Jordanian Air Force – Gomhouria
- Libyan Air Force (1951-2011) – two Gomhourias donated by Egypt in 1962[15]
- Royal Moroccan Air Force - several Gomhourias donated by Egypt in the early 1960s.[16]
- – Postwar.
- Slovak Air Force (1939–45)
- Somali Air Force - two Gomhourias received in 1960[17]
- Sudanese Air Force – four Gomhourias[18]
- Swiss Air Force – 1 + 6 Bü-181B-1 from German Luftwaffe landed and were interned in 1944.
- SFR Yugoslav Air Force– postwar
Specifications
Data from The Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II [19]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 7.85 m (25 ft 9 in)
- Wingspan: 10.6 m (34 ft 9 in)
- Height: 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in)
- Wing area: 13.5 m2 (145 sq ft)
- Airfoil: root: NACA 23017; tip: NACA 4412[20]
- Empty weight: 480 kg (1,058 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 750 kg (1,653 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Hirth HM 500Aor 500B four-cylinder inverted air-cooled in-line piston engine, 78 kW (105 hp)
- Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: 215 km/h (134 mph, 116 kn) at sea level
- Cruise speed: 195 km/h (121 mph, 105 kn)
- Never exceed speed: 440 km/h (270 mph, 240 kn)
- Range: 800 km (500 mi, 430 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 5,000 m (16,000 ft)
See also
Related lists
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Smith and Kay 1972, p. 95.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Smith and Kay 1972, p. 94.
- ^ Smith and Kay 1972, pp. 94-95.
- ^ Smith and Kay 1972, pp. 95-96.
- ^ Mark Felton (23 March 2019). Last Ditch German Tank Busters 1945 (YouTube) (YouTube). Mark Felton Productions. Event occurs at 2:15 to 3:00. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ISBN 978-3-86933-030-3. [page needed]
- ^ url=http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/schiller.html
- ^ Gerhard, Bracke (2016). Melitta Gräfin Stauffenberg, das Leben einer Fliegerin (in German). F.A. Herbig Verlagsbuchhandlung. [page needed]
- ^ Based on the Bü 181 B & C parts list of April 1944 and other primary sources
- ^ "Luftwaffe USAAF bomber rammers - April 1945 missions | Key Aero". key.aero.
- ^ a b c d e f Taylor 1965, p.29.
- ^ "Egyptian Bestmann cache arrives in Germany". Aeroplane Monthly. 52 (612): 10. April 2024.
- ^ Cooper & Grandolini 2018, p. 34
- ^ "Trade Registers". Armstrade.sipri.org. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
- ISBN 978-1-909982-39-0.
- ^ Cooper & Grandolini 2018, p. 30
- ^ Cooper et al. 2011, p. 95
- ^ Cooper et al. 2011, p. 111
- ^ Mondey 1996, p.30.
- ^ Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
Bibliography
- Bénichou, Michel (August 1985). "La restauration d'un Bücker 181" [Restoration of a Bücker 181]. Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (189): 13–16. ISSN 0757-4169.
- Cooper, Tom; Grandolini, Albert (2018). Showdown in Western Sahara, Volume 1: Air Warfare Over the Last African Colony, 1945-1975. Warwick, UK: Helion & Company Publishing. ISBN 978-1-912390-35-9.
- Cooper, Tom; Weinert, Peter; Hinz, Fabian; Lepko, Mark (2011). African MiGs, Volume 2: Madagascar to Zimbabwe. Houston, US: Harpia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9825539-8-5.
- Donald, David; Lake, Jon (1996). Encyclopedia of World Military Aircraft (Single ed.). London, UK: Aerospace Publishing. ISBN 1-874023-95-6.
- König, Erwin. Bücker Bü 181 "Bestmann" (Flugzeug Profile 30) D-86669 (in German). Stengelheim, Germany: Unitec Medienvertrieb e.K.
- König, Erwin (1987). Die Bücker-Flugzeuge (The Bücker Aircraft) (in German). Martinsried, Germany: Nara Verlag. ISBN 3-925671-00-5.
- König, Erwin (1979). Die Bückers, Die Geschichte der ehemaligen Bücker-Flugzeugbau-GmbH und ihrer Flugzeuge (in German).
- Meurillon, Louis (March 1980). "Les merveilleuses machines volantes d'un drôle de promoteur (1)" [The Marvelous Flying Machines and Their Strange Promoter, Part 1]. Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (124): 20–23. ISSN 0757-4169.
- Mondey, David (1996). The Hamlyn Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II. London, UK: Chancellor Press Ltd. ISBN 1-85152-966-7.
- Munson, Kenneth (1978). German Aircraft Of World War 2 in colour. Poole, Dorsett, UK: Blandford Press. ISBN 0-7137-0860-3.
- Smith, John Richard; Kay, Anthony L.; Creek, Eddie J. (1972). German Aircraft of the Second World War. London, UK: Putnam and Company Ltd. ISBN 978-1-55750-010-6.
- Taylor, John W. R. (1965). Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1965–66. London, UK: Samson Low.
- Wietstruk, Siegfried (1999). Bücker-Flugzeugbau, Die Geschichte eines Flugzeugwerkes D-82041 (in German). Oberhaching, Germany: Aviatik Verlag. ISBN 3-925505-28-8.
- Wood, Tony; Gunston, Bill (1977). Hitler's Luftwaffe: A pictorial history and technical encyclopedia of Hitler's air power in World War II. London, UK: Salamander Books Ltd. p. 140. ISBN 0-86101-005-1.
External links
