The Focke-Wulf Fw 44 ''Stieglitz'' ("Goldfinch") is a 1930s German two-seat biplane. An early design by Kurt Tank, it was produced by the Focke-Wulf company as a pilot

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

and sports flying aircraft. It was also eventually built under license in several other countries.

Design and development

The Fw 44 was designed as a biplane with conventional layout and straight, untapered wings. Its two open cockpits were arranged in tandem, and both cockpits were equipped with flight controls and instruments. The Fw 44 had fixed

tailwheel landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft Landing gear, undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the Center of gravity of an aircraft, center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail ...

. It employed ailerons on both upper and lower wings. It did not use

flap Flap may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Flap'' (film), a 1970 American film * Flap, a boss character in the arcade game ''Gaiapolis'' * Flap, a minor character in the film '' Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland'' Biology and he ...

s. It was flown with a

Siemens-Halske Sh 14 The Siemens-Halske Sh 14 was a seven-cylinder air-cooled radial engine for aircraft produced in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s. First run in 1928, it was rated at 93 kW (125 hp). Applications * Albatros L 82 * Ambrosini SAI.3 * Amb ...

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ...

. The first prototype flew in 1932. After many tests and modifications to increase the plane's durability and aerodynamics, the final Fw 44 proved to have excellent airworthiness. A second version of the Fw 44 was the Fw 44B, which had an

Argus As 8 The Argus As 8 was a four-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline aircraft engine produced in Germany by Argus Motoren in the 1930s. Variants ;As 8A:Initial production version maximum for 5 minutes, continuous. ;As 8B:A more powerful variant de ...

four-cylinder inverted inline air-cooled engine of 90 kW (120 hp). The

cowling A cowling is the removable covering of a vehicle's engine, most often found on automobiles, motorcycles, airplanes, and on outboard boat motors. On airplanes, cowlings are used to reduce drag and to cool the engine. On boats, cowlings are a cove ...

for this engine gave the plane a more slender, aerodynamic nose. 20 Fw 44s purchased by China were modified for combat missions, and participated in the early stage of the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

until all were lost in action. The last series version was the Fw 44J, which was sold or built under license in several countries around the world. It was equipped with a seven-cylinder

radial engine.

Variants

;Fw 44B : ;Fw 44C :Main production version with minor equipment changes, powered by a seven-cylinder Siemens-Halske Sh 14a radial piston engine. ;Fw 44D : ;Fw 44E : ;Fw 44F : ;Fw 44J :Final production model, powered by a seven-cylinder

a radial piston engine.

Operators

; *

Argentine Air Force "Argentine Wings" , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 August (anniversary) 1 May (Baptism of fire during the Falklands War) , equipment = 139 aircraft , equipment_label = , battles = * Operation Independence * Operation Soberanía * Falkl ...

Argentine Naval Aviation ) Gulf War , anniversaries = , decorations = , battle_honours = , commander1 = President , commander1_label = Commander-in-Chief , commander2 ...

The aircraft was produced under license in 1937–1942 period ; *

Austrian Air Force (1927-1938) The Austrian Air Force (german: Österreichische Luftstreitkräfte, , Austrian Air Combat Force) is a component part of the Austrian Armed Forces. History The Austrian Air Force in its current form was created in May 1955 by the victorious A ...

– license production ; *

Bolivian Air Force The Bolivian Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Boliviana or 'FAB') is the air force of Bolivia and branch of the Bolivian Armed Forces. History By 1938 the Bolivian air force consisted of about 60 aircraft (Curtiss Hawk fighters, Curtiss T-32 Co ...

– one aircraft was delivered in November 1937 ; * Brazilian Air Force *

Brazilian Naval Aviation Brazilian Naval Aviation ( pt, Aviação Naval Brasileira; AvN) is the air arm of the Brazilian Navy operating from ships and from shore installations. History The Brazilian Naval Aviation branch was organized in August 1916, after creation of ...

– license production ; * Bulgarian Air Force – license production ; *

Republic of China Air Force The Republic of China Air Force, retroactively known by its historical name the Chinese Air Force and unofficially referred to as the Taiwanese Air Force, is the military aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces, currently based ...

; *

Chilean Air Force "With full speed to the stars" , colours = Indigo White , colours_label = , march = Alte Kameraden , mascot = , anniversaries = 21 March ...

– 15 aircraft delivered in February 1938 ; *

Colombian Air Force , "We are the Force" , colours = , colours_label = , march = Colombian Air Force Hymn , mascot = Capitan Paz , anniversaries = 8 November , ...

; * Czechoslovakian Air Force (Postwar) ; * ''Suomen Ilmavoimat'' ; *''

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

'' ; *

Hungarian Air Force The Hungarian Air Force ( hu, Magyar Légierő), is the air force branch of the Military of Hungary, Hungarian Defence Forces. The task of the current Hungarian Air Force is primarily defensive purposes. The flying units of the air force are or ...

; * Polish Air Force ; *

Royal Romanian Air Force The Air Force branch of the Royal Romanian forces in World War II was officially named the (ARR), or the Romanian Royal Aeronautics, though it is more commonly referred to in English histories as the (Royal Romanian Air Force, FARR), or simply ...

; *

Slovak Air Force (1939–45) The Slovak Air Force, known since 2002 as the Air Force of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic ( sk, Vzdušné sily Ozbrojených síl Slovenskej republiky), is the aviation and air defense branch of the Slovak Armed Forces. Operating 23 aircr ...

; * Spanish Air Force ; * Swedish Air Force – license productionPlane Encyclopedia Focke-Wulf Fw 44 Stieglitz
/ref> ; * Swiss Air Force ; : (1937–1962) ; *

SFR Yugoslav Air Force The Air Force and Air Defence ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Ратно ваздухопловство и противваздушна одбрана, Ratno vazduhoplovstvo i protivvazdušna odbrana ; abbr. sh-Cyrl-Latn, label=none, separator=/, РВ и ПВ� ...

– Postwar.

Specifications

Notes

Bibliography

* *

External links

Musee volant de l'Amicale Jean-Baptiste Salis

Biplanes.de's Fw 44 D-EMMI Stieglitz Photo Page
(in German)
YouTube's D-EMMI Stieglitz Takeoff at Eisenhardt airshow in 2010

Biplanes.de's 85th Anniversary of Focke-Wulf's founding Stieglitz Fly-In Page
(in German) {{Czech trainer aircraft Fw 044 1930s German military trainer aircraft World War II trainer aircraft of Germany Biplanes Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1932 Parasite aircraft