The Junkers K 16 was a small airliner produced in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in the early 1920s. It was a conventional, high-wing

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 ...

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 ...

of all-metal construction, equipped with fixed,

tailwheel undercarriage Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynami ...

. The pilot sat in an 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 ...

, while the two passengers were provided with an enclosed cabin within the

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 ...

. Shortly after the

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

flew, aircraft production in Germany was brought to a complete halt by the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

, and the K 16 was quickly evacuated to the Netherlands to avoid confiscation. There, it was stored by

Fokker Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names. It was founded in 1912 in Berlin, Germany, and became famous for its fighter aircraft in World War I. In 1919 ...

until the restrictions were relaxed and work recommenced at Junkers'

Dessau Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Roßlau ...

factory in 1924. By this time, however, the airline niche that the tiny K 16 had been intended to fill no longer existed, and the small number that were produced were mostly sold to private owners. Junkers entered two K 16s in the 1925 Deutsche Rundflug, with one machine winning second place in the competition.

Variants

* K 16 - initial version with

Siemens-Halske Sh 4 The Siemens-Halske Sh 4 was a five-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft built in Germany in the 1920s. First run in 1921, it was rated at 40 kW (55 hp). Applications * Albatros L 59 * Albatros L 71 * Caspar U.1 * Dietri ...

engine, later changed to Sh 5 ** K 16a - modified undercarriage and rear fuselage (modified from prototype) ** K 16b - production versions with new wing and a variety of engine choices: *** K 16ba -

Siemens-Halske Sh 5 The Siemens-Halske Sh 5 was a seven-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft built in Germany in the 1920s. First run in 1921, it was rated at 60 kW (80 hp). Applications * Albatros L 60 * Dietrich DP.IIa * Grulich S.1 * Jun ...

engine *** K 16bi -

Siemens-Halske Sh 20 The Bristol Jupiter was a British nine-cylinder single-row piston radial engine built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. Originally designed late in World War I and known as the Cosmos Jupiter, a lengthy series of upgrades and developments turn ...

engine *** K 16bo -

Walter NZ 120 The Walter NZ 120 was a nine-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft use built in Czechoslovakia by Walter Aircraft Engines in the 1920s. Using common cylinders and parts from the NZ (Novák-Zeithammer) range of engines the NZ 120 produ ...

engine ** K 16c - as K 16b but with modified nose section to accommodate engine change *** K 16ce -

Bristol Lucifer The Bristol Lucifer was a British three-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft. Built in the UK in the 1920s by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, it produced 100 horsepower (75 kW). The Lucifer was originally a Cosmos Engineering ...

engine

Specifications (K 16 prototype)

Junkers K16, skica (Letectví, August-September 1925)

References

* *
Hugo Junkers Homepage

{{Junkers aircraft 1920s German airliners K 16 High-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft