The Dittmar HD 153 Motor-Möwe was a West German light aircraft that was first flown in November 1953.

Design and development

The Motor-Möwe, designed by Heini Dittmar who had designed the Dittmar HD 53 Möwe sailplane, was a motorized development of this sailplane and was initially designed to be powered by engines of . The HD 153 prototype was a two-seat side-by-side high wing monoplane powered by a Continental A65 engine and was of wooden construction with detachable wing and tail assemblies to facilitate road transportation when needed. A second prototype aircraft was fitted with a

Hirth Hirth Engines GmbH is an engine manufacturer based in Benningen, Germany. It is currently a part of the UMS Aero Group. Hirth began manufacturing aero engines in the 1920s, was taken over by Heinkel in WWII to develop the Heinkel-Hirth jet en ...

engine.

Operational history

The aircraft was designed for private and club use and served as a trainer and glider tug. Heini Dittmar, the aircraft’s designer, was killed in 1960 when his Motor-Möwe crashed near Essen/Mulheim airport. Small numbers of the type were completed by the end of 1960 and on 1 January 1961 four HD 153 and four HD 156 Motor–Möwen appeared in the West German civil aircraft register. I 1965 four HD 153 and five HD 156 Motor-Möwen were registered in West Germany. By 2007, no examples were known to be active.

Variants

; HD 153 : two-seat aircraft :;HD 153A-1:production two-seaters ; HD 156 : three-seat aircraft fitted with additional side windows

Specifications (HD 153 with C90 engine)

References

External links

28-APR-1960 Heini Dittmars fatal test flight

11-APR-1959 wing separated during descent after glider towing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dittmar HD 153 Motor-Mowe 1950s German civil utility aircraft High-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1953