1931-1938

Don't be surprised if you've never heard of the M.18, Willy Messerschmitt's first commercial design is far over shadowed by it's military cousins, but no less significant. The little all-metal M.18 was the first of over 40 transport airplanes designed by Willy Messerschmitt.
First flown in 1926, the M.18, manufactured at the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG (BFW) in Augsburg, could carry three or four passengers plus the pilot whose open cockpit was under the wing's leading edge. The M.18a, of which there may have been only four, was powered by the seven-cylinder Siemens & Halske Sh11, while the more numerous M.18b used the more powerful Sh12. Design changes to the fuselage and engine mounting lead to the M.18c and the last version, the M.18d was larger and more evolved.

CH-191 / HB-IME	Messerschmitt M 18 d # 476	26.3.1931 25.01.1938	Taken over from Ad Astra, who bought it for 95'000 CHF and only one of its kind in the Swissair fleet. In 1934 the tail-number was changed to HB-IME.. Sold in January 1938 to Farnerwerke in Grenchen (CH). They added Floaters, and it made its first flight as an amphibium on May 18th, 1938.

China	M 18 ?

• A Portrait of Willi Messerschmitt
• Histroy of Ad Astra

Last updated July 2007

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