BV 138
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The Blohm & Voss BV 138 ''Seedrache'' (Sea Dragon) was a
trimotor A trimotor is a propeller-driven aircraft powered by three internal combustion engines, characteristically one on the nose and one on each wing. A compromise between complexity and safety, such a configuration was typically a result of the limit ...
flying boat A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy. Though ...
designed and built by the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
aircraft manufacturer
Blohm & Voss Blohm+Voss (B+V), also written historically as Blohm & Voss, Blohm und Voß etc., is a German shipbuilding and engineering company. Founded in Hamburg in 1877 to specialise in steel-hulled ships, its most famous product was the World War II battle ...
. It served as the ''
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
''s primary seaborne long-range
maritime patrol Maritime patrol or maritime reconnaissance is the task of monitoring areas of water. Generally conducted by military and law enforcement agencies, maritime patrol is usually aimed at identifying human activities. Maritime patrol refers to active ...
and naval reconnaissance aircraft operated by the ''
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
'' during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The BV 138 was a pre-war design by Dr Richard Vogt, originally developed under the company name of
Hamburger Flugzeugbau ''Hamburger Flugzeugbau'' (HFB) was an aircraft manufacturer, located primarily in the Finkenwerder quarter of Hamburg, Germany. Established in 1933 as an offshoot of Blohm+Voss, Blohm & Voss shipbuilders, it later became an operating division wit ...
, and thus it was initially designated ''Ha 138'' instead. It had an uncommon appearance due to its combination of unusual design features, such as its
twin boom A twin-boom aircraft has two longitudinal auxiliary spars, or “auxiliary booms” , that may contain ancillary components such as fuel tanks and/or provide a supporting structure for other items. Typically, twin tailbooms support the tail ...
tail unit, short
hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...
, and
trimotor A trimotor is a propeller-driven aircraft powered by three internal combustion engines, characteristically one on the nose and one on each wing. A compromise between complexity and safety, such a configuration was typically a result of the limit ...
engine configuration. In reference to the side-view shape of its fuselage, the aircraft was often referred to via the nickname ''Der Fliegende Holzschuh'' ("Flying
Clog Clogs are a type of footwear that has a thick, rigid sole typically made of wood, although in American English, shoes with rigid soles made of other materials are also called clogs. Traditional clogs remain in use as protective footwear in a ...
").Nowarra 1997, original German title of the Schiffer book. Originally designed to be powered using two engines, the trimotor configuration was adopted prior to flight testing due to engine difficulties. Development would be protracted due to multiple redesigns being enacted. Shortly after the
maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. In the early days of aviation it could be dange ...
of the first prototype (D-ARAK) on 15 July 1937, identified instabilities necessitated a redesign of the hull and tail booms to improve both
hydrodynamic In physics, physical chemistry and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids – liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including (the study of air and other gases in moti ...
and
aerodynamic Aerodynamics () is the study of the motion of atmosphere of Earth, air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dynamics and its subfield of gas dynamics, and is an ...
properties. The first production-standard aircraft, designated ''BV 138A-1'', performed its first flight during April 1940, by which point Germany was at war with multiple neighbouring nations. By December 1940, it has been introduced as a military naval reconnaissance aircraft by the ''
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
''. Despite concerns as to its structural strength, which was improved over time, it was adapted into various roles, including as a
radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
-equipped anti-shipping aircraft, an austere troop transport, and as an airborne aerial countermeasure to
naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel mine, anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are ...
s. The definitive ''BV 138C-1'' was introduced to service during March 1941. A total of 297 BV 138s were built between 1938 and 1943.


Development

During the early 1930s, the
Blohm & Voss Blohm+Voss (B+V), also written historically as Blohm & Voss, Blohm und Voß etc., is a German shipbuilding and engineering company. Founded in Hamburg in 1877 to specialise in steel-hulled ships, its most famous product was the World War II battle ...
shipbuilding company in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
was suffering financial hardship due to a prolonged downturn in orders amid the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
affecting global demand; company officials opted to diversify via the creation of a new subsidiary company,
Hamburger Flugzeugbau ''Hamburger Flugzeugbau'' (HFB) was an aircraft manufacturer, located primarily in the Finkenwerder quarter of Hamburg, Germany. Established in 1933 as an offshoot of Blohm+Voss, Blohm & Voss shipbuilders, it later became an operating division wit ...
, which specialised in the design and manufacture aircraft. The BV 138, which was originally designated as the ''Ha 138'', originated out of the new company's interest in creating its first
flying boat A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy. Though ...
; the endeavour was considered a natural fit for the firm, being owned by a shipbuilding company meant that many staff already had good knowledge of the maritime environment and suitable construction practices thereof, while the company's main complex was sited on the
Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...
, permitting direct access to a large body of water.Smith and Kay 1972, p. 59. Design studies into various configuration were performed; one, referred to as ''P.12'', was selected for further development as a long range reconnaissance aircraft. In terms of its general configuration, it had a relatively short
hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...
, a high-mounted wing that incorporated not only a pair of engines but also floats, and
twin boom A twin-boom aircraft has two longitudinal auxiliary spars, or “auxiliary booms” , that may contain ancillary components such as fuel tanks and/or provide a supporting structure for other items. Typically, twin tailbooms support the tail ...
tail unit. During early 1935, a mock-up of the design was completed; shortly thereafter, an initial order calling for the construction of three prototypes was placed. Originally, each of these prototypes was powered by a different pair of engines, each to be capable of providing around 1,000hp; however, due to engine difficulties, the aircraft was redesigned into a
trimotor A trimotor is a propeller-driven aircraft powered by three internal combustion engines, characteristically one on the nose and one on each wing. A compromise between complexity and safety, such a configuration was typically a result of the limit ...
with the new third engine being positioned above the centre of the wing. In this guise, the aircraft was powered by an arrangement of three Junkers Jumo 205
diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...
s, each capable of 650hp. This stage of development was protracted, in part due to the need to address the original engine difficulties with an extensive redesign. On 15 July 1937, the first prototype performed its
maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. In the early days of aviation it could be dange ...
. It differed from subsequent aircraft in several ways, having a unique hull design. Several changes were made, particularly in the area of the vertical tail surfaces and the hull, on the second prototype after flight testing revealed both
hydrodynamic In physics, physical chemistry and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids – liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including (the study of air and other gases in moti ...
and
aerodynamic Aerodynamics () is the study of the motion of atmosphere of Earth, air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dynamics and its subfield of gas dynamics, and is an ...
instability.Smith and Kay 1972, pp. 59-60. A longer and reshaped hull was adopted along with stronger tail booms. A total of five pre-production aircraft, which were capable of carrying multiple defensive machine guns, were completed during the late 1930s.Smith and Kay 1972, p. 60. During April 1940, the first production-standard aircraft, designated ''BV 138A-1'', performed its first flight; shortly thereafter, it was rapidly introduced into ''
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
'' service in response to pressing wartime demands. In June 1940, quantity deliveries commenced to KüFlGr 506 and 906. In light of criticism that structural strengthening was required, the BV 138A-1 had a relatively short production run, being replaced by the ''BV 138B-1'' towards the end of 1940. Improvements included the adoption of the more powerful Jumo 205D diesel engine and armament changes.Smith and Kay 1972, p. 61. The strength of the structure was only fully addressed via the introduction of the improved ''BV 138C-1'' in March 1941; this model became the definitive version of the aircraft.Smith and Kay 1972, pp. 62-63. To address vibration-related concerns on the earlier models, the central engine of the BV 138C-1 drove a four-bladed propeller, while the other two engines were fitted with broader three-bladed counterparts; the central engine's
radiator A radiator is a heat exchanger used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...
arrangement was also revised.


Design

The Blohm & Voss BV 138 is a military trimotor flying boat. It had a relatively compact hull which, with its
hydrodynamic In physics, physical chemistry and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids – liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including (the study of air and other gases in moti ...
step beneath and flat sides, earned it the nickname, "''Fliegender Holzschuh''" (the flying clog). The booms of the twin tail unit, much like the smaller
Focke-Wulf Fw 189 The Focke-Wulf Fw 189 ''Uhu'' (Owl) is a twin-engine twin-boom tactical Aerial reconnaissance, reconnaissance and Liaison aircraft, army cooperation aircraft designed and produced by the Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Focke-Wulf. It was o ...
twin-engined reconnaissance monoplane, extended horizontally from the rear of the outer engine nacelles. For
hydrodynamic In physics, physical chemistry and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids – liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including (the study of air and other gases in moti ...
reasons, the hull featured a distinct "turn-down", or "beak" at the stern. While the first prototype had featured a
gull wing The gull wing, also known as Polish wing or Puławski wing, is an aircraft wing configuration with a prominent bend in the wing inner section towards the wing root. Its name is derived from the seabirds which it resembles and from the Polish a ...
, it was quickly determined that this wing could not generate sufficient lift, so the concept was abandoned on the second prototype. The airplanes had also a hardpoint for catapult launches from seaplane tenders. It was powered by a total of three
piston engine A reciprocating engine, more often known as a piston engine, is a heat engine that uses one or more Reciprocating motion, reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a Circular motion, rotating motion. This article ...
s. The central engine was mounted above the fuselage while the wing engines were lower. The pre-production
prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...
s and the ''BV 138A-01'' to ''BV 138A-06'', were powered by various makes of engines ranging from 485 to 746 kW (650–1,000 hp). The first standardized version, ''BV 138B-1'', was powered by three 880 PS (868 hp, 647 kW) Junkers Jumo 205D
two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a four-stroke engine which re ...
, opposed-piston aircraft diesel engines. The
engine cowling An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...
s also had an atypical appearance. Due to the unique nature of the vertical orientation of the six-cylinder opposed-piston engines, they resembled the cowlings of 4 or 6-cylinder inverted inline engines found on smaller civil and utility aircraft. The choice for diesel engines made it possible to refuel at sea from
U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
s, who also used diesel engines. When refuelling at sea, the airplane had to be fitted with a fuel filter as marine diesel fuel contained some condensation. There were three gun positions on the aircraft, including an enclosed powered gun turret armed with a single
MG 151/20 The ''Maschinengewehr'' (MG) 151 is a belt-fed autocannon for aircraft use, developed in Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1940 and produced by Waffenfabrik Mauser during World War II. It was originally produced in 15.1 mm caliber from 1940, with a ...
autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a automatic firearm, fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary ammunition, incendiary shell (projectile), shells, ...
on the bow. Due to the fields of fire being obstructed by the tail, especially the
horizontal stabilizer A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabilizer, is a small lifting surface located on the tail ( empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplan ...
, the defensive gun positions on the stern comprised one gun position low on the fuselage and a second one higher up, just aft of the central engine. The gun position behind the central engine, which could see over the horizontal stabilizer, was a fully open
Scarff ring The Scarff ring was a type of machine gun mounting developed during the First World War by Warrant Officer (Gunner) F. W. Scarff of the Admiralty Air Department for use on two-seater aircraft. The mount incorporated bungee cord suspension in el ...
-like emplacement which originally mounted a 7.92 mm
MG 15 machine gun The MG 15 was a German 7.92 mm machine gun designed specifically as a hand-manipulated defensive gun for combat aircraft during the early 1930s. By 1941 it was replaced by other types and found new uses with ground troops. History The MG ...
, although most aircraft had a 13 mm
MG 131 The MG 131 (shortened from German: Maschinengewehr 131, or "machine gun 131") was a German 13 mm caliber machine gun developed in 1938 by Rheinmetall-Borsig and produced from 1940 to 1945. The MG 131 was designed for use at fixed, flexible or ...
heavy machine gun A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require mounting onto a weapons platform to be operably stable or ...
. The lower gun position at the rear fuselage fired below the horizontal stabilizer. It too was left open and equipped with a machine gun on early aircraft, however, most later-built aircraft mounted an enclosed powered turret similar to the one on the bow.


Operational history

During the invasion of Norway in April 1940, two of the pre-production aircraft were pressed into service as troop transports. By December of that year, the BV 138 had been declared operational in the long-range reconnaissance role. The first unit to be equipped with the type being based in Western France.Smith and Kay 1972, pp. 60-61. In addition to its use in the maritime reconnaissance role, several aircraft were specially adapted to sweep
naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel mine, anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are ...
s; designated ''BV 138MS'', this role necessitated the deletion of all conventional armaments and the installation of a large (roughly diameter) dural hoop mounted horizontally under the wings, powered by an auxiliary motor generating an electric field which detonated magnetic mines. Early built aircraft often had issued related to insufficient structural strength.Smith and Kay 1972, pp. 61-62. In March 1941, the most successful variant of the aircraft, designated ''BV 138C-1'', entered ''Luftwaffe'' service. For naval reconnaissance, some aircraft carried FuG 200 ''Hohentwiel'' low-UHF band maritime search
radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
sets; this enabled the type to be effectively used to conduct anti-shipping missions. Dependent upon the mission role and equipment fitted, the crew could comprise as many as six personnel.Smith and Kay 1972, p. 63. Some BV 138s served with the specialist KG200, where they would often carry up to 10 fully armed infantry troops in place of a bombload. In preparation of a repeat of Operation Wunderland in 1943, the U-boat '' U-255'' was sent to the East coast of Novaja Zemlya where it teamed up with a BV 138. The ''U-255'' refuelled the BV 138 four times for reconnaissance flights over the
Kara Sea The Kara Sea is a marginal sea, separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and from the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. Ultimately the Kara, Barents and Laptev Seas are all ...
, up to the
Vilkitsky Strait : Vilkitsky Strait () is a strait between the Taimyr Peninsula and Bolshevik Island in the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago of Russia. The strait connects the Kara and Laptev Seas. The length of the Vilkitsky Strait is 128 km, the width approx. ...
. The BV 138 could not find any shipping however, that would make a mission for the German cruiser '' Lützow'' worthwhile, so the operation was cancelled. The BV 138 was tested with the
Walter HWK 109-500 The Walter HWK 109-500 was a Liquid-propellant rocket, liquid-fuelled rocket engine developed by Hellmuth Walter Kommanditgesellschaft, Walter in Germany during the World War II, Second World War. Description The 109-500 is a self-contained, ...
''Starthilfe''
RATO Rato is a village in the Cornillon commune in the Croix-des-Bouquets Arrondissement, Ouest department of Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jama ...
jettisonable rocket pod, used in pairs, for shorter takeoff performance. All rocket units were jettisoned after use; fitted with
parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...
s, they could be recovered after landing.


Variants

Ha 138 V1 (''D-ARAK'') : First prototype, developed under
Hamburger Flugzeugbau ''Hamburger Flugzeugbau'' (HFB) was an aircraft manufacturer, located primarily in the Finkenwerder quarter of Hamburg, Germany. Established in 1933 as an offshoot of Blohm+Voss, Blohm & Voss shipbuilders, it later became an operating division wit ...
designation. First flight on 15 July 1937. Ha 138 V2 (''D-AMOR'') : Second prototype, developed under
Hamburger Flugzeugbau ''Hamburger Flugzeugbau'' (HFB) was an aircraft manufacturer, located primarily in the Finkenwerder quarter of Hamburg, Germany. Established in 1933 as an offshoot of Blohm+Voss, Blohm & Voss shipbuilders, it later became an operating division wit ...
designation. First flight in August 1937. Ha 138 V3 : Third prototype, developed under
Hamburger Flugzeugbau ''Hamburger Flugzeugbau'' (HFB) was an aircraft manufacturer, located primarily in the Finkenwerder quarter of Hamburg, Germany. Established in 1933 as an offshoot of Blohm+Voss, Blohm & Voss shipbuilders, it later became an operating division wit ...
designation. Construction abandoned due to redesign. BV 138A-01 to 06 : Pre-production operational test beds ; six built. First flew February 1939 BV 138A-1 : First serial production, 25 built. Standard engine is the 605 PS Junkers Jumo 205 C. BV 138B-0 : Pre-production operational test beds, in service by October 1940 ; 10 built. BV 138B-1 : Entered service in November 1940 ; 21 built. Engines are upgraded to 880 PS (868 hp, 647 kW) Junkers Jumo 205D
two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a four-stroke engine which re ...
, opposed-piston aircraft diesel engines. BV 138C-1 : From this version on, the central motor was fitted with a four-blade
propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...
, while the wing engines kept a three-blade propeller, but the blades were reinforced and wider ; 227 built. BV 138 MS : ''Minensuch'' (mine-search) minesweeping version; all MS variants were converted from existing aircraft and had their armament removed; the turrets and gun positions were covered. They carried magnetic field-generating
degaussing Degaussing, or deperming, is the process of decreasing or eliminating a remnant magnetic field. It is named after the gauss, a unit of magnetism, which in turn was named after Carl Friedrich Gauss. Due to magnetic hysteresis, it is generally not ...
equipment, which included a hoop antenna with a diameter equal to the length of the fuselage, which encircled the hull and wings Many German aircraft had Umbau sets available for modifications in the field. For the BV 138 there was an Umbau set for adding a bomb rack under the port wing. With such an Umbau the bomb payload could be doubled. As per German nomenclature, such aircraft held a suffix '/U'. A BV 138 C-1 aircraft with the Umbau modification would become BV 138 C-1/U1.


Surviving aircraft

No complete BV 138s remain in existence. However, the wreck of one aircraft, sunk after the war in a British air show, was raised from the seabed of the
Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; ; ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Denmark–Sweden border, Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width var ...
Sound in 2000, and is on display at the Danish Technical Museum in
Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; ), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a coastal city in northeastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 63,953 on 1 January 2025, making it the 23rd most populated municipality in Denmark. Helsin ...
. In 2012, the wreck of a BV 138 was discovered in Lake Siutghiol at a depth of 5 m by two divers, and initially thought to be a Savoia-Marchetti S.55. The wreck, together with that of a He 114 also discovered there, were recovered by
Romanian Navy The Romanian Naval Forces () is the principal naval branch of the Romanian Armed Forces and operates in the Black Sea and on the Danube. It traces its history back to 1860. History The Romanian Navy was founded in 1860 as a river flotilla on ...
divers in October of the same year. The wrecks are stored at the National Museum of the Romanian Navy in
Constanța Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...
. In June 2013, a vessel from the Norwegian Geological Survey filmed a Blohm & Voss BV 138 at a depth of 35 m in
Porsangerfjorden The Porsangerfjorden (; ; ) is a fjord in Finnmark county, Norway. Name The fjord is officially named ''Porsangerfjorden'' in Norwegian. It is also known informally as ''Porsangen'', but that is not an official name. The official Northern Sami ...
, Norway, not far from the WWII German seaplane harbour in Indre Billefjord.NRK Nordnytt 14 June 2013
/ref> Another wreckage of a BV 138 was identified by the Norwegian Mapping and Cadastre Authority on the seabed near
Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...
in 2022.Kartverket 9 June 2022
/ref>


Specifications (BV 138C-1)


See also


References


Notes


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * *


External links









{{DEFAULTSORT:Blohm and Voss Bv 138 BV 138 1930s German military reconnaissance aircraft Flying boats Trimotors Twin-boom aircraft High-wing aircraft Diesel-engined aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1937