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.

 

Manufacturer
Bayerische Flugzeugwerge AG, Augsburg (D)
Span
15.60 m
Length 
8.00 m
Height 
2.52 m
Power (HP)  
230
Cruising Speed
120 km/h
Passengers
4
Range
435 km
Area of Operation
Europe

 

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 ?

 

 


Last updated July 2007

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