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Junkers J1

1915 WORLD WAR 1 X-PLANE

History

German engineer Hugo Junkers advocated the idea of ??an all-metal aircraft to reduce the need for complex, induced drag common to most designs before and during the First World War (1914-1918). The need for external bracing and multiple wing elements.

He therefore concentrated his efforts on monoplanes, relying on corrugated iron sheets and steel understructures to produce his first all-metal aircraft - the seminal Junkers" J1" - believed to be the world's first practical all-metal aircraft. Junkers' involvement in the great war that swept Europe in the summer of 1914 inspired his work.

In July 1915, Junkers received permission to develop a two-seater all-metal aircraft based on his all-metal concept. Required specs include a top speed in excess of 80 mph. This work resulted in the J1, which incorporated many of the traditional aircraft elements of the time, including the nose engine (driving the twin-blade propeller), open-air cockpit, board-side fuselage, and wheeled fixed landing gear. Of note are the monoplane wings in the game, which are centrally mounted on the front side of the fuselage - without using any external supports.

The fins are conventional, with a single (moving) fin and a low level. Dimensions include a wingspan of 42.4 feet, a length of 28.3 feet, and a height of 10 feet. Curb weight is 2,030 lbs and MTOW is 2,380 lbs.

Power comes from a 120-horsepower, liquid-cooled, six-cylinder inline Mercedes D. II engine. The engine drives the two-bladed propeller on the nose in a conventional manner.

Testing of the aircraft began before the end of 1915, and the first flight was recorded on December 12 of the same year. A brief "bounce" action resulted in damage to one of the wings, establishing the design in January 1916.

A height of 260 feet was reached later that month, and other funding followed to advance the project further.

The J1 spent some time in the air as a technology demonstrator and never officially entered service in World War I. It was used to demonstrate Hugo Junkers' all-metal aircraft concept. Only one J1 aircraft was built.

The J1 prototype survived until it was destroyed in an Allied bombing in December 1944. At the time, the plane was on display at the Deutsches Museum in Munich.

In aviation history, the revolutionary J1 reached a top speed of 110 mph, and test pilots described its handling and stability as dependable. Performance is also slightly better than some of its contemporaries.