Udet U 12

A slightly out of focus picture of an unidentified Udet U 12 Flamingo two-seat sports and training aircraft. Unfortunately, only the "D" portion of the aircraft's markings is visible, but the insignia on the vertical tail narrows the time frame in which the photo was taken. It is likely that this is a U 12 manufactured by Udet Flugzeugbau GmbH's successor Bayerische Flugzeugwerke.

This U 12 displays the varnished wood colour scheme typical for this aircraft type, and the photo shows the laminated nature of the wooden propeller beautifully. Equally visible are the distinctive enlarged vertical tail surfaces characteristic for all but the first few U 12 aircraft built. Exact date and location currently unknown. (German Aviation 1919-1945 collection)

Udet U 11

The sole Udet U 11 Kondor [condor] Grossverkehrsflugzeug [large airliner], Werknummer 243, photographed in January 1926 at Oberschleissheim airfield north of Munich, with test pilot Harry Rother. The aircraft is still in pristine condition and devoid of any markings; it would later be assigned the fuselage code D-828. First flown by Rother on January 19, 1926, the U 11 was powered by four Siemens & Halske Sh 12 air-cooled radial engines with aerodynamic fairings, extended driveshafts (necessitated due to the pusher configuration), and two-blade propellers.

The U 11 was the largest aircraft produced by Udet Flugzeugbau, München-Ramersdorf, following an order by Deutscher Aero Loyd. As is beautifully illustrated by the photos, it was an open-cockpit design with side-by-side seating for the two pilots. The navigator's station was located in the very front of the aircraft, ahead of the pilots. The fuselage was constructed from Duralumin profiles and covered by Duralumin sheets. It could seat eight passengers and also contained a toilet and a luggage compartment.

The wings, featuring two main spars, were manufactured from wood, with fabric covering and a plywood-reinforced leading edge. The empennage consisted of Duralumin tubing and profiles, also covered with fabric. The landing gear was fitted with a then rather common rubber suspension system and 1100 by 220mm main wheels.

Rother's test flights revealed significant design shortcomings, and the aircraft's service career with Deutsche Lufthansa (successor to Deutscher Aero Loyd) was correspondingly brief. The U 11 subsequently crashed during the delivery flight to Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule [German air transport school]. The failure of the U 11 was among the reasons for the financial failure of Udet Flugzeugbau and its eventual acquisition by Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG (BFW). At least one of the above photos appears to have been an official release by BFW, as it bears a company stamp on the rear.

Enlargements of sections of the second photo posted above reveal a number of interesting details (below).

[Entry amended January 20, 2020]

Udet U 12

Ernst Udet's specially modified personal Udet U 12 aerobatics biplane, D-822, Werknummer 269. Aircraft was painted all red, with white trim. The two detail enlargements of the photo show the covered front seat as well as the Siemens Motor, Mobiloel, and Bayer. Flugzeugwerke AG Augsburg logos.

As can be seen in the lowermost detail enlargement, the person standing on the left in the main photo all but obscures the white flamingo painted on the fuselage between Udet's name and the aircraft's registration.

D-822 was entered in the German Luftfahrzeugrolle [aviation registry] in February 1928. It was converted from U 12 a (Spezial) to U 12 b (Spezial) standard in June of 1933, and its engine was upgraded twice, from a Siemens Sh 11 to an Sh 14 and then an Sh 14 a. The exact date of the photo and the location are currently unknown to me. (German Aviation 1919-1945 collection)

Entry amended June 9, 2015, and January 31, 2020.