The Akaflieg Berlin B2 Teufelchen was a glider built in Germany in the 1920s. It featured a high-wing, cantilever sailplane configuration of all-wood construction.
[Carsten Karge: Versuchsflugzeug 1923. In: Akademische Fliegergruppe (Hrsg.): Jahresbericht 2009/2010. Berlin 2011, DNB 013347667, S. 9–15. ]
Design and development
Kurt Tank
Kurt Waldemar Tank (24 February 1898 – 5 June 1983) was a German aeronautical engineer and test pilot who led the design department at Focke-Wulf from 1931 to 1945. He was responsible for the creation of several important Luftwaffe aircraft of ...
studied electrical engineering, but he also tried his hand at a home-built glider, nicknamed ''Teufelchen'' (en:Little devil). Anxious to compete at the Rossitten coastal gliding competition in 1923 Tank had the LFG-Stralsund works complete the glider in time for the competition; transporting the aircraft by horse-drawn cart.
The 'B2' was characterized by warping wing-tips, in the hope of dispensing with ailerons. Construction was mixed with wooden structure covered with aluminium sheeting, which earned the ''Teufelchen'' a prize for best construction.
After Tank crashed the B2 it was returned to Berlin and repaired at the Sablatnig works where it had been built. The B2 next attended the 4th Rhön meeting in August 1923, where Tank had a hard landing. The 2nd Rossitten coastal meeting saw many of the competitors flying over the dunes and sea, including the B2, which Möller was forced to land in and the B2 sank.
Specifications (B2)
See also
*
List of gliders
This is a list of gliders/sailplanes of the world, (this reference lists all gliders with references, where available)
Note: Any aircraft can glide for a short time, but gliders are designed to glide for longer.
By nationality
* List of Ameri ...
References
{{Akaflieg Berlin aircraft
1920s German sailplanes
Akaflieg Berlin aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1922
High-wing aircraft