FF.48
A FF.48 with axles positioned underneath its floats
Role	Floatplane fighter Type of aircraft
Manufacturer	Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen
First flight	22 August 1917
Number built	3

The Friedrichshafen FF.48 was a German two-seat floatplane fighter of the 1910s produced by Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen.

Development and design

The FF.48, along with the smaller single-seat FF.43, was designed for defence of the floatplane bases, it was a biplane powered by a Maybach Mb.IV inline piston engine. The pilot and observer each had control of one 7.92 mm (.312 in) machine gun. Only three aircraft were built.

Specifications (FF.48)

Data from Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen GmbH^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: 2
• Length: 11.2 m (36 ft 9 in)
• Wingspan: 16.25 m (53 ft 4 in)
• Height: 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in)
• Wing area: 68 m² (730 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 1,591 kg (3,508 lb)
• Gross weight: 2,216 kg (4,885 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Maybach Mb.IV 6-cylinder water-cooled in-line piston engine, 180 kW (240 hp)
• Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

• Maximum speed: 153 km/h (95 mph, 83 kn)
• Cruise speed: 130 km/h (81 mph, 70 kn)
• Range: 740 km (460 mi, 400 nmi)
• Time to altitude:
  

1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 6 minutes 24 seconds

2,000 m (6,600 ft) in 14minutes 6 seconds

3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 23 minutes 6 seconds

Armament

• Guns: * 1 × fixed, forward firing 7.92 mm (0.312 in) LMG 08/15 machine gun ; 1 × 7.92 mm (0.312 in) Parabellum MG14 machine gun on pivoted mount in rear cockpit.