World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe BV 138 Seedrache ("Sea Dragon") long range reconnaissance flying boats were built for the German air force Luftwaffe for maritime reconnaissance. After three prototype aircraft and six operational field testers, one A-1 variant aircraft operated in Norway during the German invasion in Apr 1940. In the following month, they officially entered military service with the B-0 variant design. The BV 138 Seedrache aircraft were powered by three engines (one on each wing and the third mounted on top of the fuselage) and had twin-boom tails, both characteristics were rather different than the usual designs of the era. Most of them were equipped with the FuG 200 Hohentwiel search radar for anti-shipping duties, while others used the room for passenger space (up to 10 passengers) or used the weight capacity for bombs or depth charges (up to 500-kilograms) instead. Aircraft of the special BV 138 MS variant carried degaussing devices to deal with naval magnetic mines. A total of 297 units were built between 1938 and 1943.

SPECIFICATIONS

B-1

Machinery	Three Junkers Jumo 205D diesel engines rated at 880hp each
Armament	2x20mm MG 151 cannons, 1x13mm MG 131 machine guns, 3x7.92mm MG 15 machine guns; optional 500kg of bombs or space for 10 passengers
Crew	6
Span	26.94 m
Length	19.85 m
Height	6.60 m
Wing Area	112.00 m²
Weight, Empty	8,100 kg
Weight, Loaded	14,700 kg
Speed, Maximum	275 km/h
Service Ceiling	5,000 m
Range, Normal	5,000 km

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