Blohm and Voss Bv 238 Flying Boat Aircraft

Specifications

Year: 1944
Status: Cancelled
Manufacturer(s): Blohm and Voss - Germany
Production: 1
Capabilities: Navy/Maritime;

Crew: 12
Length: 142.26 ft (43.36 m)
Width: 197.41 ft (60.17 m)
Height: 43.96 ft (13.4 m)
Weight (Empty): 120,593 lb (54,700 kg)
Weight (MTOW): 187,393 lb (85,000 kg)

Power: 6 x Daimler-Benz DB 603 V-12 engines developing 1,750 horsepower each.

Speed: 277 mph (446 kph; 241 kts)
Ceiling: 23,950 feet (7,300 m; 4.54 miles)
Range: 4,474 miles (7,200 km; 3,888 nm)

Operators: Nazi Germany

The mammoth Blohm & Voss Bv 238 was the next evolution in the Blohm & Voss flying boat series for Germany during World War Two. The system was built as the largest aircraft ever produced by any of the Axis powers and was to provide The Reich with extended flying boat capabilities should the series have entered full-scale production. In the end, all the BV 238 project had to show for itself was one damaged prototype and two planned production prototypes started but never finished.

The Bv 238 was powered by a series of six Daimler-Benz piston engines producing upwards of 1,750 each. The powerplants were mounted on a high monoplane wing design with three engines per wing. The initial Bv 238 prototype was airborne by 1944, though it would later be damaged and sunk by allied fighter aircraft while the Bv 238 lay docked. The Bv 239 offered up tremendous range, payload capabilities and respectable speeds for an aircraft of this size and in this role.

Armament

Not Available.

Variants / Models

• BV 238 - Base Series Designation of which one was constructed but damaged while docked; two planned prototypes were started but never finished production.
• BV 238 V-1