World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseIn the summer of 1938, the Fi 167 torpedo bomber design defeated the Ar 195 design by rival Arado Flugzeugwerke in the competition to develop a carrier torpedo bomber force for the under-construction Graf Zeppelin aircraft carrier. Two prototypes were built, followed by 12 pre-production models, all exhibiting excellent slow speed capabilities and did not require a long air strip for landing, which was favorable for carrier operations. When Graf Zeppelin was not to be completed, however, the completed aircraft were assigned to the German Luftwaffe. When construction of Graf Zeppelin was resumed in 1942, Fi 167 bombers were seen as obsolete, while German no longer saw a great need for torpedo bombers. After some time in a coastal naval squadron in the Netherlands, between 8 and 12 units were sold to the Independent State of Croatia in Sep 1944, where they were used as small transports for ammunitions and other supplies. On 10 Oct 1944, one Croatian Fi 167 biplane was attacked by 5 British P-51 Mustang Mk III fighters of 213 Squadron RAF; the Fi 167 aircraft shot down one of the Mustang fighters before being destroyed, making possibly one of the last biplane kills of WW2. One or two of Fi 167 aircraft remained in Germany for testing landing gear configurations at Budweis, Czechoslovakia.

SPECIFICATIONS

Fi 167

Machinery	One Daimler-Benz DB 601B liquid cooled inverted V-12 engines rated at 1,000hp
Armament	2x7.92mm MG17 machine guns, 1x1,000kg bomb, 1x765kg torpedo
Crew	2
Span	13.50 m
Length	11.40 m
Height	4.70 m
Wing Area	45.50 m²
Weight, Empty	2,800 kg
Weight, Maximum	4,850 kg
Speed, Maximum	325 km/h
Speed, Cruising	250 km/h
Service Ceiling	8,200 m
Range, Normal	1,500 km

Photographs