German 1916 retractable seaplane fighter prototype question

[chris ballance]

Was the 1916 Oskar Ursinus retractable float seaplane fighter prototype based on the wings and fuselage of an existing aircraft or was it totally new? Was the crash that destroyed it due to a fault in the design?

 

[SaparotRob]

Another new one for me.

 

[GrauGeist]

Ursinus was a designer for Gotha, the WD.10 prototype was a "clean sheet" design.
It is unfortunate that the prototype was damaged during testing, causing the project to be abandoned but it was not because of the machine's design.
During taxiing trials, a wave caused the floats to "dig in" and the aircraft nosed over, causing it to sink.

 

[chris ballance]

Thanks GrauGeist for posting the name of the aircraft, a description of the mishap with the prototype, and the fact it was a "clean sheet" design. The only sources I have on German WW1 aircrafts are a few Osprey titles and the Smithsonian book on their Albatross restoration.

 

[GrauGeist]

You're most welcome.

The WD.10 had a great deal of potential and may have caused alot of grief for the Allies, but as was the case for many prospective aircraft projects conceived during wartime, it was being developed at a time when Germany was feeling pressure and needed to stay focused on manufacturing proven types.

The WD.10 was built in 1916 but wrecked in 1917.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Never heard of this one before, so thanks! I had to go look it up, and found this photo of it with floats extended at flyingmachines.ru:

Gotha WD.10 Ursinus Seaplane

A remarkably clean design for the era.

 

[SaparotRob]

That picture of it really does show off a cleaner looking design.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

It's odd, though, that flyingmachines.run states that the WD-10 never flew, but the OP has what is presumably a photo of it in flight.

lol, also ... wait for it ... it was mid-engined with an extension shaft turning the prop.

I'm getting the hell outta this thread before it hits 3197 pages!

 

[SaparotRob]

Daguerreotype-shop?

 

[GrauGeist]

It was a brilliant design and like I mentioned a bit ago, could have been a real troublemaker for the Allies.

Not only did it have a powerful engine, but the engine was set back in the fuselage to provide a better CoG.

 

[GrauGeist]

It's odd, though, that flyingmachines.run states that the WD-10 never flew, but the OP has what is presumably a photo of it in flight.

I beleive that image is just conceptual art.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

I beleive that image is just conceptual art.

Doh, of course! There's no pilot in it, that should have been my clue.

Time for another cup of coffee, pronto.