The BFW M.27, sometimes known as the Messerschmitt M.27, was a German two-seat sports plane with a low,

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...

wing, open

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...

s and a fixed

undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...

sold in small numbers at the start of the 1930s.

Development

In the late 1920s and early 1930s,

Willy Messerschmitt Wilhelm Emil "Willy" Messerschmitt (; 26 June 1898 – 15 September 1978) was a German aircraft designer and manufacturer. In 1934, in collaboration with Walter Rethel, he designed the Messerschmitt Bf 109, which became the most importan ...

, working at '' Bayerische Flugzeugwerke'' (BFW) produced a series of low-wing sports

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

s with either one or two seats. These were the M.19, M.23, M.27, M.31 and M.35 with the M.23, the only one with sales of much over double figures. The ''M'' stood for ''Messerschmitt''. The M.27 was a two-seater, very similar to the M.23b but with a more rounded

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

and

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

assembly, a

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

stretched by about 1,400 mm (55 in) to accommodate luggage and a new, spatted undercarriage. Pilot and passenger sat in tandem in separate open cockpits. It was successfully raced, winning the Deutschland Competition in 1932 and coming second in the Zugspitz Circuit in 1933. Nonetheless, it was not sold in large numbers.

Variants

;M.27a:

Siemens Sh 12 The Siemens-Halske Sh 12 was a nine-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft built in Germany in the 1920s. First run in 1925, it was rated at 80 kW (110 hp). The Sh 12 was also produced in the United States by Ryan Aeronautic ...

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...

or Argus As 8B four-cylinder air-cooled inverted inline engine delivering (continuous). ;M.27b:

Argus As 8R The Argus As 8 was a four-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline aircraft engine produced in Germany by Argus Motoren in the 1930s. Variants ;As 8A:Initial production version maximum for 5 minutes, continuous. ;As 8B:A more powerful variant de ...

four-cylinder high-compression air-cooled inverted inline sport engine delivering (continuous).

Specifications (M.27b)

References

;Citations {{Messerschmitt aircraft 1930s German sport aircraft M 27 Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1930