Junkers A 50

The Junkers A50 ''Junior'' was a German sports plane of the 1930s.

Development

The Junkers A50 was the first sportsplane designed by Hermann Pohlmann in Junkers works. Krzyżan, Marian. ''Międzynarodowe turnieje lotnicze 1929-1934'' nternational aviation competitions 1929-1934 Warsaw 1988, It had the same modern all-metal construction, covered with corrugated duralumin sheet, as larger Junkers passenger planes. The first flight of the A50 took place on 13 February 1929. It was followed by further four prototypes, in order to test different engines.

Junkers expected to produce 5,000 aircraft, but stopped after manufacturing only 69, of which only 50 were sold. The high prices probably inhibited sales. Apart from Germany, they were used in several other countries and some were used by airlines. The purchase price in 1930 in the United Kingdom was between £840 or £885. Starting from the A50ce variant, the wings could be folded for easier transport.

Three German A50 took part in the Challenge international touring plane competition in July 1929, taking 11th place (A50be, pilot Waldemar Roeder) and 17th place. Three A50 took part also in the Challenge 1930 next year, taking 15th (A50ce, pilot Johann Risztics), 27th and 29th places. In June 1930 a series of eight FAI world records for altitude, range and average speed were set on a floatplane variant of A50 with the Armstrong Siddeley 59 kW (79 hp) engine. In 1931 Marga von Etzdorf flew an A50 solo from Berlin to Tokyo, the first woman to do so.

Design

Metal construction sports plane, conventional in layout, with low cantilever wings, stressed corrugated duralumin covered. Two-spar wings were folding rearwards or could be detached. Crew of two, sitting in tandem in separate open cockpits (if it flew without a passenger, one cockpit could be closed with a cover). Two-blade propeller. Conventional fixed split axle mainwheel landing gear, with a rear skid.

Variants

*A50 - Armstrong Siddeley Genet radial engine
*A50ba - Walter Vega radial engine (one built)
*A50be - Armstrong Siddeley Genet engine
*A50ce - Armstrong Siddeley Genet II engine or for export Genet Major I 74 kW, folding wings
*A50ci - Siemens-Halske Sh 13, radial engine, folding wings. Originally designed to be mass-produced as a "Volksflugzeug".
*A50fe - Armstrong Siddeley Genet II, engine, modified airframe, folding wings
*KXJ1 - A single Junkers A-50 supplied to the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service for evaluation.

The -ce and -ci variants were produced in the largest numbers with about 25 of each on the German civil register.
Due to their construction, the A50 were durable aircraft and they lasted long in service. The last plane was used in the 1960s in Finland. There is one A50 preserved in Deutsches Museum in Munich and another in Helsinki airport. One A50 (''VH-UCC'', c/n3517) is in airworthy condition in Australia.

Operators

;
*Argentine Air Force
;
*Royal Australian Air Force
;
*Bolivian Air Force - 3 A50s transferred from Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano during Chaco War - 3 A50s used for training and light transport
;
*Brazilian Air Force
;
*Finnish Air Force
;
*Reichswehr
;
*Luftwaffe
;
*Hungarian Air Force
;
*Imperial Japanese Navy
;
*Paraguayan Air Force
;
*Portuguese Air Force
;
*South African Air Force
*South African Airways operated three aircraft
;
*Swedish Air Force
;
*Swiss Air Force
;
*Royal Air Force
;
*Uruguayan Air Force

Surviving aircraft

An example is currently on display in Helsinki Airport. Registered as OH-ABB, it was flown by Väinö Bremer to Cape Town in a historic flight.

Specifications (A50ba)

See also

References

Bibliography

* Andersson, Lennart. "Chinese 'Junks': Junkers Aircraft Exports to China 1925-1940". ''Air Enthusiast'', No. 55, Autumn 1994, pp. 2–7.
*

External links

Junkers A50

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1920s German sport aircraft
A50
Low-wing aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1929