DFS Weihe
German single-seat glider, 1938
title: "DFS Weihe" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1930s-german-sailplanes", "dfs-aircraft", "glider-aircraft", "high-wing-aircraft", "aircraft-first-flown-in-1938"] description: "German single-seat glider, 1938" topic_path: "geography/germany" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DFS_Weihe" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary German single-seat glider, 1938 ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox aircraft"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Weihe |
| image | Weihe DFS D-0700 EDMB 02 20050925.jpg |
| aircraft_type | Glider |
| national_origin | Germany |
| manufacturer | Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (DFS) |
| Jacobs-Schweyer | |
| Focke-Wulf | |
| designer | Hans Jacobs |
| status | No longer in production |
| number_built | More than 400 |
| construction_date | 1938-after World War II |
| introduction | 1938 |
| first_flight | 1938 |
| :: |
| name = Weihe | logo = | logo_size = | image = Weihe DFS D-0700 EDMB 02 20050925.jpg | alt = | caption = | long_caption = | other_names = | aircraft_type = Glider | aim = | outcome = | related = | national_origin = Germany | manufacturer = Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (DFS) Jacobs-Schweyer Focke-Wulf | design_group = | designer = Hans Jacobs | builder = | issuer = | status = No longer in production | owners = | primary_user = | more_users = | service = | major_applications = | proposals = | prototypes = | number_built = More than 400 | construction_number = | civil_registration = | military_serial = | radio_code = | requirement = | aircraft_carried = | flights = | total_hours = | total_distance = | construction_date = 1938-after World War II | introduction = 1938 | retired = | first_flight = 1938 | initiated = | in_service = | last_flight = | expected = | developed_from = | variants = | developed_into = | preservation = | fate = | predecessors = | successors = | concluded = The DFS Weihe (English: Harrier) is a German single-seat, high-wing, 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 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 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 it was produced by Focke-Wulf as well as in France, Spain, Sweden and Yugoslavia. Production of the Weihe totaled over 400 aircraft.
Operational history
The Weihe won the World Gliding Championships in 1948 and 1950. It was used to set many world and national records, including the world record for altitude gain in 1959 of 9665 m.
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{{cite web |title=Gliding Heritage Centre |url=http://www.glidingheritage.org.uk/collection.htm |access-date=5 March 2015 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402155042/http://www.glidingheritage.org.uk/collection.htm |url-status=dead
- Museo del Aire, Madrid, Spain
- US Southwest Soaring Museum
Specifications (Weihe 50)
|ref=Sailplane Directory and Soaring Magazine |prime units?=met General characteristics
|genhide= |crew=1 |capacity= |length m=8.135 |length ft= |length in= |length note= |span m=18.0 |span ft= |span in= |span note= |height m= |height ft= |height in= |height note= |wing area sqm=18.34 |wing area sqft= |wing area note= |aspect ratio=17.7 |airfoil=modified Gö 549 - root, Gö 549 - mid, M.12 - tip |empty weight kg=215 |empty weight lb= |empty weight note= |gross weight kg= |gross weight lb= |gross weight note= |max takeoff weight kg=335 |max takeoff weight lb= |max takeoff weight note= |more general= Performance
|perfhide= |max speed kmh= |max speed mph= |max speed kts= |max speed note= |cruise speed kmh= |cruise speed mph= |cruise speed kts= |cruise speed note= |stall speed kmh=55 |stall speed mph= |stall speed kts= |stall speed note= |never exceed speed kmh=170 |never exceed speed mph= |never exceed speed kts= |never exceed speed note=
- Winch launch speed max: 90 km/h
- Aerotow speed: 110 km/h |g limits= |roll rate= |glide ratio=29:1 at 70 km/h |sink rate ms=0.58 |sink rate ftmin= |sink rate note=at 60 km/h |lift to drag= |wing loading kg/m2=18.25 |wing loading lb/sqft= |wing loading note= |more performance= |avionics=
Notes
References
References
- Activate Media. (2006). "Weihe Jacobs Schweyer".
- Said, Bob. (November 1983). "1983 Sailplane Directory". Soaring Magazine.
- Museo del Aire. "AISA Weihe (EC-RAB)".
- US Southwest Soaring Museum. (2010). "Sailplanes, Hang Gliders & Motor Gliders".
- Shenstone, B.S.. (1958). "The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs du Monde". Organisation Scientifique et Technique Internationale du Vol a Voile (OSTIV) and Schweizer Aero-Revue.
- Simons, Martin. (1986). "The World's Vintage Sailplanes 1908–45". Kookaburra Technical Publications Pty. Ltd..
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::