Junkers F 13
The F13, developed and manufactured by Hugo Junkers in June 1919, was the first commercial all-metal aircraft ever produced. In the following years it became the first aircraft designed for the economical needs of the international air traffic. The very simple and cleanly designed aircraft successfully completed its first-flight on June 25, 1919 in Dessau, Germany.
A then novelty of the aerodynamic passenger aircraft was a trim-tank mounted in the tail of the aircraft: By means of filling it or emptying this fuel tank, a shift of the center of gravity could be adjusted during long distance flights. Thus, a pilot was relieved of permanently fighting the stick, since the required power for steering was reduced to zero. This type of aircraft trim is still applied today in Airbus aircraft and the Concorde.
After successful testing, this modern passenger aircraft established an altitude record of 6.750 meters on September 13, 1919. The first orders for delivery of the then well known airplane received Junkers from Poland.
The gate to the very promising North American market was opened by a contract for a total of 26 F-13 Hugo Junkers to the American businessman John M. Larsen, signed on November 27, 1919. Larsen performed his own marketing in the USA and Canada. In more than a dozen flights, he demonstrated to journalists the impressive performance of the "silver bird".
Due to the interdiction of aircraft manufacturing imposed on Germany by the Versailles peace treaties and the London ultimatum of May 5, 1921, Junkers used a joint venture, Junkers-Larsen Aircraft Corporation, to distribute the successful F-13 in the USA. The U.S. Post Office ordered F-13 aircraft, which were far more powerful than airplanes of American competitors, for 2.88 (converted) million Mark. Further F-13 airplanes were delivered to the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army Air Corps. But the triumphant process of the F 13 came to an halt in 1921 due to a series of accidents throughout the USA: the high-octance U.S. gasoline corroded the rubber collars of the fuel lines and thus caused fires and explosions.
At the same time, the commercial all-metal aircraft enjoyed a strong international demand. The F-13, for example, was the beginning of commercial air traffic in South American. The robust F-13 proved of its reliability and durability in the various climates zones in South America. In early 1923, the F-13 conquered the Japanese market, a short time later the Persian market, where a state-owned airline in which Junkers held a share was formed. In addition to China, thr first civil air services of Africa as well as Australia used F-13s. After the Deutsche Luft Hansa AG was founded on January 6, 1926, the F-13 flew almost 40 percent of all flights of the airline.
The F-13 was often the first one to pioneer on a new flight route. As many as 350 F-13s were built in series, and some remained in service for 20 years. Continuous technical developments made the aircraft, which had established several world records in the fields of transport of commercial payloads, flexible to fit for the needs of customers. Up to 1930, about twelve different types of the F-13 were manufactured, which demonstrated, with more than 300 changes of the first prototype, the technical progress in the first decade of the construction of all-metal aircraft.
Technical data
Junkers F13
| Power Plant | Mercedes D III a with 160 PS |
| Year of Development | 1919 |
Perfomance
| Maximum speed | 173 km/h |
| Cruising speed | 160 km/h |
| Climb speed | 2.40 m/sec |
| Range | 1,400 km |
Weight
| Empty weight | 951 kg |
| Maximum take-off weight | 1640 kg |
| Fuel | 279 l |
Dimensions
| Length | 9.59 m |
| Height | 3.50 m |
| Wing span | 14.80 m |
| Wing area | 34.50 qm |
| Crew | 2 persons |
| Passengers | 4 persons |
