The DFS Weihe (English: ''Harrier'') is a German single-seat,

high-wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing config ...

, 18 metre wingspan, high-performance glider that was designed by Hans Jacobs in 1937-38.

Design and development

Jacobs designed the Weihe to be the pre-eminent performance glider of its era and indeed it captured many championships and set many records, until its performance was surpassed at the end of the 1950s. Even today it is considered one of the "classic sailplane designs". The Weihe is of wooden construction with

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...

covering on the wing trailing edges and the control surfaces. The spar is built from Baltic Pine, with a birch leading edge D-box,

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

and the fixed portions of the tail surfaces. The airfoil is a modified Gö 549-M.2 section. Early versions took off from a dolly and landed on a fixed skid, while later versions has a fixed wheel and skid undercarriage. Originally fitted with DFS-style airbrakes, some were later modified for Schempp-Hirth style brakes instead. The aircraft incorporates a unique rigging system which was widely copied in later gliders. Initially the aircraft was produced by Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (DFS) (English: ''German Research Institute for Soaring Flight'') and later by Jacobs-Schweyer. Post

World War II 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 ...

it was produced by

Focke-Wulf Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG () was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft before and during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. It is one of the ...

as well as in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. Production of the Weihe totaled over 400 aircraft.

Operational history

The Weihe won the

World Gliding Championships The World Gliding Championships (WGC) is a gliding competitions, gliding competition held roughly every two years by the FAI Gliding Commission. The dates are not always exactly two years apart, often because the contests are always held in the sum ...

in 1948 and 1950. It was used to set many world and national records, including the world record for altitude gain in 1959 of . Dick Johnson won the US National Soaring Championships in 1959, flying a Weihe.

Variants

;DFS Weihe :Original production version. ;Jacobs-Schweyer Weihe :Second production version, before World War Two. Had a larger canopy and longer nose. ;Focke-Wulf Weihe 50 :Post war production version, with a blown canopy and a fixed wheel. ;VMA-200 Milan :Post war French production of the Weihe, by '' Minie'', Saint-Cyr .

Aircraft on display

* Lasham Airfield Gliding Heritage Centre * Museo del Aire,

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

* US Southwest Soaring Museum

Specifications (Weihe 50)

Notes

References

* * * * *

External links

Image of a Weihe
{{Swedish military aircraft designations 1930s German sailplanes Weihe Glider aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1938