Country of origin:

Germany

Description:

Commercial transport

Power Plant:

(F 13ke)

One 231 kw (310 hp) Junkers L-5 six-cylinder upright in-line liquid-cooled engine

Specifications:

History:

The Junkers F 13 was a development of a series of light transports designed by Professor Hugo Junkers, all being all-metal monoplanes with corrugated skinning to provide strength. In 1919 the design of the J 12 was announced, this having a 119 kw (160 hp) Mercedes engine. However, this did not find favour and the J 13 was announced, having the forward fuselage and wing centre-section built as an integral unit.

The prototype F 13 (named ‘Annelise’ – c/n 533) made its first flight on 25 June 1919 flown by Emil Monz. It was able to carry six people and 40 kg (88 lb) of luggage. It had a take-off weight of 1,518 kg (3,347 lb). A second F 13 (c/n 531) was used for certification in July 1919.

The prototype set an altitude record on 13 September 1919, recording 6,750 m (22,146 ft) in 86 minutes; and a record for continuous flight was made at Mineola, Long Island, New York, USA, on 28 September 1921 when Eddie Stinson and Lloyd Bertaud in an American-built JL 6 fitted with a BMW IIIa engine flew 26 hours 5 mins 32 secs covering 4,270 km (2,653 miles).

The F 13 became an important machine in the development of air transport in Europe. In October that year the prototype set an unofficial record by carrying eight people to an altitude of 6,750 m (22,146 ft). There were 60 to 70 variants of the design, and a variety of engines was installed, including the Mercedes D.IIIa, Junkers L-2, Junkers L-5, BMW Hornet, Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar Major, Armstrong Siddeley Puma and Pratt & Whitney Wasp, ranging in power from 138 kw (185 hp) to 336 kw (450 hp).

It took some little time for sales of the type to get rolling, some operators using converted military aircraft at that time, and indeed the type was almost cancelled due to the Inter-Allied Aeronautical Commission of Control restricting the manufacture of aircraft in Germany after World War I. However, after a period of suspension, the development of aircraft was sanctioned on 5 June 1922 and the F 13 program proceeded.

In the meantime, in 1919 orders were received from Austria and Poland, and later that year an order was placed for six from the United States. In 1920 the orders continued to flow in. In 1921 Junkers was not permitted to operate the F 13 in Germany, but the Allies directed Junkers to build 23 examples as reparation following World War I, with seven being delivered to France, five each to England and Italy, three to Belgium and three to Japan.

In 1922 examples entered service in Europe with Danziger Luftpost and Lloyd Ostflug. F 13s were used by the United States Post Office on the New York to Chicago to Omaha and New York to San Francisco routes. Subsequently rights to build the type in America were acquired by Junkers-Larsen Corporation, these being known as the JL 6. One JL 6 was modified by Larsen and fitted with a V-12 Liberty engine and 12 machine guns, being offered to the United States Army as a ground attack aircraft, but no orders were forthcoming and there was no further production of this model.

In 1921 Junkers had set up its own airline, Junkers-Luftverkehr which, by 1923, had a fleet of 60 examples and in the following years no less than 16 European concerns in Austria, Danzig, Denmark, Esthonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Sweden and Switzerland were operating the F 13. Examples were exported to Iran where they were operated by Junkers-Luftverkehr Persien. Junkers Luftverkehr eventually was absorbed by Luft Hansa in January 1926.

By the time production concluded in 1932 some 322 examples had been delivered. Most production took place at the Company’s facility at Dessau but for a time production was transferred to plants at Danzig and Reval due to the Dessau production line being interrupted by the Disarmament Commission. It is believed a few were built at Fili near Moscow. Deutsche Lufthansa for many years had a fleet of up to 55 and these operated up to 43 domestic routes. Highest production output was in 1925 when 68 were delivered.

Three examples came to this region. An F 13ke VH-UTS (c/n 2074 – ex SE-AEC) was operated by the Lutheran Mission from 27 February 1935, later going to the Rheinische Mission in Dutch New Guinea in September 1939. The second aircraft, an F 13L, VH-UKW (c/n 2044), was imported by Eyre Peninsula Airways Ltd, arriving in Melbourne, VIC on 19 June 1929 from Hamburg. It was used on passenger services for a period, including a service to Broken Hill, NSW, which commenced on 15 January 1930. It was then used by Goldfields Air Navigation Ltd of Kalgoorlie, WA.

In December 1931 VH-UKW was obtained by Guinea Airways for passenger and mail services between the Goldfields and Port Moresby, PNG. At about this time the 287 kw (385 hp) Junkers L-5 engine was replaced by a 336 kw (450 hp) Bristol Jupiter engine for fleet standardisation. It continued in service in New Guinea but was not evacuated at the time of the Japanese attacks, being destroyed by enemy action in March 1942.

The third aircraft, also an F 13L, VH-UPL (c/n 2075), was imported by Bishop & O’Sullivan Aircraft Service which operated as Sky Travel (Australia) Pty Ltd. It arrived on board the ‘SS Tancred’ on 28 October 1930 and was assembled at Essendon, VIC. It was the first aircraft in Australia equipped for night flying. It was test flown on 1 November 1930 by Captains W Roethe and T R Young at Point Cook, VIC and, named ‘Glorious Queensland’, was flown to Brisbane, QLD, arriving on 1 November 1930.

VH-UPL was flown to Sydney, NSW, then back to Eagle Farm, QLD, and commenced a weekly passenger service from Brisbane to St George, QLD and twice weekly services to a number of other centres, at Goondiwindi, QLD using a salt pan for a landing strip. It also made joyflights to promote the service. However, services were suspended on 15 February 1931 due to lack of patronage and the aircraft was flown to Melbourne. Whilst flying in bad weather over the Bethungra Ranges on 28 August 1931 the magneto drive on the engine failed and a forced landing was made at Illabo, NSW, where repairs were effected. After arrival in Melbourne it was dismantled and shipped to South Africa, where it became ZS-ADR in June 1932 with Union Airways.

A small number of F 13s have survived. One (CH-59) has been preserved in the Kozlekedesi Museum in Budapest, Hungary. Another (D-366) has been placed on display in the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany, this being one of two located in Afghanistan, having served in the Royal Flight of King Amanullah from about 1928, being located in a hangar in Kabul in 1969. One has been placed on display in an Aviation Museum in Berlin, Germany. An American-built JL 6 has been displayed in the Musee de l’air near Paris, France, and an F 13a (SE-AAC – ex S-AAAC – c/n 715) has been displayed in the Technical Museum in Stockholm, Sweden.

A full size replica has been constructed at the Hugo Junkers Museum at Dessau, Germany. A replica has also been constructed by luggage manufacturer, Rimona, in Switzerland, the new prototype (HB-RIM) being displayed at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) event at Oshkosh in Wisconsin, USA, in July 2015. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior engine it made its first flight on 15 September 2016 at Dubendorf, Switzerland. Certification was awarded on 28 March 2018 and the Company announced it would place the replica in limited production during 2018 after receiving FAA Certification. It was also announced interest had been shown by prospective buyers in three aircraft.