Focke-Wulf Fw 58 Weihe

Work on the Fw 58 commenced during the early 1930s; its development was closely paralleled by the Arado Ar 77, which was designed to fulfil the same specification. The Fw 58 featured welded steel tube construction across its fuselage along with mixed materials for its covering. This model featured the ability to carry bombs and could even be outfitted with floats; when in the latter configuration, the aircraft was designated as Fw 58BW. However, the definitive production model was the Fw 58C, which had a faired-in nose and could accommodate up to six passengers. ==Operational history==

A major customer for the Fw 58 was the Luftwaffe, a large number of its operational units were equipped with multiple aircraft, either Fw 58Bs or Fw 58Cs, for light transport and communications purposes. Between 1938 and 1939, eight aircraft in an airliner were supplied to the German flag carrier Deutsche Luft Hansa. Furthermore, a few aircraft were used for various experimental purposes, including early trials of aerial refuelling apparatus. Numerous private pilots, including the aeronautical engineer Kurt Tank (who had headed the design of the Fw 58), operated the type as a personal aircraft. ==Variants==

;Fw 58 V1 :First prototype, first flown in 1934 ;Fw 58 V2 :Second prototype. ;Fw 58 V3 :Third prototype. ;Fw 58 V4 :Fourth prototype. ;Fw 58 V14 :Fw 58 V14, D- OPDR, was fitted with Fowler flaps and boundary layer suction for high-lift experiments at AVA, Göttingen. The suction system was powered by a Hirth aircraft engine in the fuselage and the air exited through two circumferential, parallel rows of slots in the rear fuselage section. ;Fw 58B : ;Fw 58B-1 : ;Fw 58B-2 :This version had a glazed nose and was armed with a 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 15 machine gun. ;Fw 58C :Solid-nosed, the main wartime production variant, six passenger transport with 260hp Hirth HM 508D engines ;Fw 58W :Twin-float floatplane version. ;D2FW :Brazilian Navy designation for Focke-Wulf-built Fw 58B. ;D2AvN :Brazilian Navy designation for license-built Fw 58B. ==Operators==

; • Austrian Air Force ; • Argentine Air Force - three imported, (1938–1952) ; • Brazilian Navy - license-built from 1938 • Brazilian Air Force • Syndicato Condor • Varig ; • Bulgarian Air Force - eight imported in 1937-1939 ; • Croatian Air Force ; • Czechoslovak Air Force ; • Finnish Air Force ; • Luftwaffe ; • Hungarian Air Force - license production ; • Royal Netherlands Air Force ; • Royal Norwegian Air Force (Postwar) ; • Polish Air Force ; • Royal Romanian Air Force • Romanian Air Force (Postwar) • Transnistrian air section ; • Slovak Air Force (1939–1945) ; • Spanish Air Force ; • Swedish Air Force - four imported for aerial surveying under civil mapping agency contract ; • Turkish Air Force - at least six imported, received 1937 ; • Soviet Air Force ==Surviving aircraft==

The only Fw 58 on display is at Museu Aeroespacial in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Brazil used this airplane mainly for maritime patrols and the example on display was one of the 25 Fw 58B-2 units license-built in Brazil by Fábrica de Galeão, circa 1941. An Fw 58 C-2 is stored in the Norwegian Aviation Museum in Bodø. An Fw 58 C crashed on 30 March 1943 in the Lac du Bourget, France, after a low-flying training pass over the lake went wrong. Two of the four airmen on board were rescued by local fishermen. The wreckage lies at a depth of over 112 meters. Due to the dark and cold water, it is still fairly well preserved, though the canvas over the tube frame light structure is gradually deteriorating. A proposal has been made to raise the wreckage, but local divers are strongly opposed because of its status as a war grave, and the risks of damaging it. ==Specifications (Fw 58B)==