Hi all,
This is the fleet standard observation plane, officially entitled the Fleet Observation Corps Model 1937, mod 39 (as in "1939", not "39th"), known universally as "Gewächshaus" or "Greenhouse" due to the acreage of glass. Powered in initial versions by a license-built copy of the BMW 132 radial and in later versions by the 700-kW variant of the
Modula 9 series radial engines. Armament is rather underpowered, with a pintle-mounted MG81Z aft and a fixed MG81Z forward. Crewed by a pilot, navigator and radio operator \ rear gunner, the replacement of the bomb bay in the centreline float with an extended-range fuel tank in the Ausf.39 permitted this a long reach and longer loiter times when used for gunnery spotting. Almost entirely unarmoured and woefully under-armed, Greenhouse pilots learned early on not to engage, well, anything, particularly as the only way to re-load the front MG81 if the pilot should be fortunate enough to survive any length of time in combat was for the rear gunner to cease defending the rear of the aircraft, turn, and reload the belts by hand!
Despite these significant shortcomings, the Greenhouse remained in production for the duration of the war due to the sheer simplicity of the airframe and the impressive endurance the plane offered, these being regarded as the key points in a scout plane.
Regards,
Adam
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