Junkers A48
see also: Junkers A48 / K47 Production List
2 seater cantilever monoplane Sport, Training and Fighter Aircraft , F/F 15 Sep 1929
developed by Junkers Flugzeugwerke in Dessau by Plauth and Pohlmann
Junkers A48 Civil Version
Historical Background:
The Junkers A48 was originally designed by Plauth during 1927. The design was made to fullfill a request of the Turkish Government for a fast two or single seated fighter aircraft and a top speed of 260 km/h. Plauth was an experienced pilot and flew fighter aircraft during WW I. Plauth's idea was the developement of an optimized fighter aircraft, nevertheless the aircraft was officially dedicated for sports and training missions. Instead of the corrugated Duralumin structure of all Junkers aircraft, the A48 became the first postwar Junkers aircraft with smooth metal structure and the second at all following the Junkers J2. Just the wings and the tail unit still remained in corrugated structure. While most Junkers military aircraft were initially designed as civil aircraft, which were later equipped with military equipment, the A48 was directly designed for the pickup of weapons. On Nov. 1st 1927 Plauth was killed during crash of an A32, which he presented on a flight show. Pohlmann, who had already assisted Plauth in the A48 design, continued the further developement work. Meanwhile Turkey lost interest in the A48, however in 1928 the Soviet Union was willing to order the aircraft, when it has proven its performance during test flights. The flight tests of the A48 were started on Sept. 15th 1929 by Neuenhofen.
It seems, as if a total of seven civil A48 were built at Dessau. A lot of experimental flight tests were performed with these aircraft and several engines were tested on them. As both seats were equipped with flight control sticks, a lot of work had to be performed on the synchronisation of this double control feature. Experiences were also gathered regarding the utilization of a double tail unit, which was standard on the A48 and single tail units, of which one was adapted in D-2185 for experimental flights. The wings of D-2012 got a V-swept and during 1930/31 D-2284 was used for the world's first dive bomber experiments at Breslau using automatic controls of Bofors and Askania. Pohlmann gained massive knowledge about dive bomber construction from the K47, which he later used in his Ju87 design. 
Junkers/A.B. Flygindustri K47
At A.B. Flygindustri in Limhamn the A48 was equipped with the military equipment. The militarized version is designated K47. While the A48 was also used for dive bomber testings, the K47 came on the market as a fighter aircraft. Like the A48, the K47 is offered with a lot of different engines. A.B. Flygindustri managed to sell 12 K47 to China in 1929. A further two to three K47 were sold to Russia and probably one to Japan. Some of the civil A48 were later sold to DVL in Germany, where dive bombing flights were trained. Nevertheless, the Reichswehr was not interested in the A48/K47. So a total of 23 aircraft were built between 1929 and 1932.
Technical Data:
| Aircraft | year | engine | length in m | span in m | wing area im sqm | net weight in kg | payload in kg | seats | speed in km/h | range in km |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A48 | 1929 | n.a. | 8,55 | 12,40 | 22,80 | 1090 | 560 | 2 seats | 265 | 500 |
| K47b | 1929 | Bristol Jupiter VII (323kW) | 8,55 | 12,40 | 22,80 | 1035 | 600 | 2 seats | 290 | 480 |
Junkers A48 Designators:
- A48, civil prototype from Dessau
- K47, Military Version converted at Limhamn
Weblinks:
- Histaviation.com - A48/K47 Story, Photos, Serials
- Airwar.ru - A48 Brief Story, Photos (Russian)
- Airwar.ru - K47 Story, Photos, Data (Russian)
- Junkers.de - A48 Story, Data
- Junkers.de - K47 Story, Data
- Wikipedia.org - K47 Story, Data
- Latvianaviation.com - K47 in Latvia
Literature:
- Lennart Andersson
Junkers K47 L'Ancetre du Stuka
Download PDF here: NASA.GOV
introduced Jul 1996, transfered Jul 2017
http://hugojunkers.bplaced.net/
contents last updated 14 Mar 2004