Hansa-Brandenburg W.33

Hansa-Brandenburg W.33 was a German two-seat, low-wing single-engined seaplane, which had been designed by Hansa und Brandenburgische Flugzeugwerke in the 1920s. Although the W.33 was built in relatively small numbers, the design was widely recognized as successful and numerous copies and license built versions were built by the hundreds after World War I.

History
The Hansa-Brandenburg W.33 aircraft was designed in 1916 by Ernst Heinkel and entered German service in 1918. 26 aircraft were built of this design, but only six before the collapse of the German empire. Noticeably superior to the FF.33L, it proved to be an excellent aircraft. The Hansa-Brandenburg monoplanes considerably influenced German seaplane design; several copies appeared in 1918, such as the Friedrichshafen FF.63, the Dornier Cs-I, the Junkers J.11, and the L.F.G. Roland ME 8. After the war a version of the W.29 was used by Denmark, while Finland obtained a license for to manufacture of the W.33.

Finland purchased a number of W.33 and W.34 aircraft from Germany. In 1921, Finland also obtained the manufacturing license for the W.33. The first Finnish-built Hansa made its maiden flight on 4 November 1922, and was called IVL A.22 Hansa. This aircraft was the first industrially manufactured aircraft in Finland. During the following four years a total of 120 aircraft were manufactured. This aircraft would become the second most numerous aircraft that had been built in Finland for the Finnish Air Force through the ages (the PIK-20 gliders had been manufactured in greater amounts in the 1970s).

The Finnish Air Force used the aircraft in maritime service until 1936.

Variants

 * Hansa-Brandenburg W.33
 * 26 built


 * IVL A.22 Hansa
 * Finnish license manufactured W.33, 120 built


 * Hansa-Brandenburg Make
 * Norwegian license manufactured W.33, 41 built:
 * 6 Make I
 * 24 Make II
 * 11 Make III built at Kjeller Flyfabrikk and known as Kjeller F.F.8 Make III.


 * Yokosuka Navy Type Hansa Reconnaissance Seaplane
 * Approximately 310 aircraft directly derived from the W.33, built by Nakajima and Aichi for the Imperial Japanese Navy

Operators

 * Finnish Air Force
 * Finnish Air Force


 * German Empire
 * German Imperial Navy


 * Imperial Japanese Navy
 * Imperial Japanese Navy


 * Latvian Navy
 * Royal Norwegian Navy
 * Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service
 * Royal Norwegian Navy
 * Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service

Survivors
There is one Hansa in the Finnish Aviation Museum.