Hansa Brandenburg W.29

Hansa Brandenburg W.29 by MPM

1/72 scale
Kit No. 72058
Cost: $25.00
Decals: Two versions by Propagteam (include blue pattern naval lozenge markings)
Comments: Injection molded plastic; vacuform windscreen; photo-etch details; no rigging required

History

The Hansa-Brandenburg W.29 was a two-seat seaplane fighter primarily employed by the German Navy during World War I to patrol the coastal waters of Germany and the Netherlands as well as the North Sea. But it was also used by Turkey on the Black Sea, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire (as the license-bult UFAG Type C) on the Adriatic Sea during the conflict. After the war it would be operated by Japan and Norway. The W.29 originated as an improvement on Hansa-Brandenburg’s W.12 two-seater biplane seaplane. It was designed by engineer Hans Klemm in 1917 as a monoplane (although Ernst Heinkel also took credit for the concept, describing in his autobiography how he conceived the design on the back of a wine list in a Hamburg nightclub). While the W.12 fuselage, floats and tail unit were modified, the W.29 was otherwise similar to many biplanes of the day.

Flight tested in the Spring of 1918 and operational by the Summer, one of its earliest combat operations occurred on June 4, 1918 when five British flying boats were patrolling the North Sea to investigate wireless activity related to German Zeppelins, which at times caused near-panic in Britain with their bombing raids. The patrol consisted of four Felixstowe F.2a aircraft and an American Curtiss H-12. Five W.29’s appeared but retreated when the British formation turned toward them, only to reappear later with a total of 10 fighting seaplanes. An air battle ensued in which a W.29 was shot down, and a Felixstowe forced to land on the water, only to be shot up and set afire by the Germans. Two day’s later on June 6, a Curtiss H-12 was jumped by 5 W.29’s and shot down.

One spectacular W.29 attack carried out by aircraft led by Friedrich Christiansen and 1 Staffel severely damaged a British submarine on July 6, 1918. W.29’s strafed Submarine C-25 to the point that the hull was compromised, making it impossible to submerge. The Germans thought they sunk it, but it ultimately limped back to a British port with the Captain and five others dead.

While they did not tip the balance, W. 29’s proved a lethal hazard to Allied vessels and aircraft operating in the North Sea in the final months of the war, downing at least one British airship, C.27, as well as a number of large flying boats that were shot up, forced to make water landings, and in many cases set ablaze by gunfire and destroyed. Continued Allied concern about these aircraft, even after the end of the war, is demonstrated by the fate of many seaplanes that had been forced down during the war and interned for the duration. Per the terms of the Versailles Treaty, these aircraft were to be returned to Germany, or purchased by the nation with possession of them. Some were instead sold as scrap in violation of the treaty, with the proceeds going to the German government. Others met an unknown fate and were never again acknowledged by the interning governments.

The W.29’s utility is best marked by its continued use after the war in the hands of Denmark, Norway and Finland, as well as Japan. Japan received fifteen W.29 floatplanes as war reparations, including 4 that had been built illegally after the war, per the terms of the Versailles Treaty which forbade German aircraft production. In Germany, a small number of W.29’s were operated by Deutsche Luft Reederie (DLR), a civil airline.

The Kit

Released by MPM in 1997, the Hansa Brandenburg W. 29 is injection molded in dark grey and consists of 45 plastic parts on two sprues, along with a small photo-etch fret with a film insert for the instrument panel, a vacuform windscreen, and two decal sheets, one of which is dedicated entirely to the naval lozenge markings. The kit has a minor amount of flash, and many of the smaller parts (lesser support struts, engine, machine guns, control wheel and rudder pedals) will require some clean up. The kit has good stressed fabric effects over the wings and tail surfaces.

The floats have above average raised details, and about the only engraved detail can be found on the fuselage halves, particularly around the engine. Modelers can choose between one of two horizontal tails, one of which is the early production version and is more elliptical in shape with a larger surface area. A small sheet of clear plastic provides the vacuform canopy and a flat clear part for a window in the bottom of the fuselage below the cockpit, which facilitated the W.29’s attacks upon naval vessels as well as submarines and seaplanes it managed to catch on the ocean surface. The two-bladed propeller looks a bit thick and may require a bit of sanding. There is no rigging diagram as the W.29 was a monoplane lacking any support wires.

Markings

The markings are by Propagteam and are provided for two versions: 1) W.29 piloted by Oberleutnant Friedrich Christiansen as of July 6, 1918, martime number 2512, in a paint scheme of Mittelgrau/Light Blue Grey upper surfaces, with Clear Doped Linen/Cream under surfaces for the wings and tail, and Hellgrau/Light Grey for the undersides of the fuselage and floats; 2) W.29 bearing martime number 2532, with a paint scheme identical to Christiansen’s aircraft.

Conclusion

An interesting kit of a German WWI seaplane fighter, MPM’s Hansa Brandenburg W.29 provides a smaller scale alternative to the 1/48 scale kit by Flashback, and could be the template for the 1/72 kits by Toko and Eastern Express. It will require some clean-up and as always, a bit of patience, but with effort looks capable of being built-up into a first-rate model. The only criticisms would be that the molding of the engine is a bit soft, and the cockpit could be a bit more detailed, with a somewhat crisper rendition of the aircraft’s machine guns. But overall, an above-average short run kit that modeler’s have been glad to see in this scale.