Junkers W 34f/fi

  • Period: Interwar (1919-1938)
  • Uses: Bush Flying
  • First Flight: 1926
  • Display Status: On the Museum Floor.

The Junkers W34 continued the line of all-metal Junkers aircraft going back to the Junkers J I. With its good flying characteristics and rugged construction, the Junkers W34 was considered by many to be the best bush plane of the 1930s and early 1940s. Only nine were imported to Canada due to the high cost of its metal construction and the heavy tariff imposed on German aircraft. Canadian Airways was the primary Canadian operator.

A Junkers W33 with a water-cooled engine flew the first east-west trans-Atlantic flight in 1928. It landed on Greenly Island in Labrador after a 37-hour flight.

The W34 was widely exported and up to the end of Second World War was the German Air Force’s standard instrument and navigation trainer. The Museum example was still flying up until its donation to the Museum in 1960. The handover ceremony in 1962 was the last flight of any of the Junkers F13/W33/W34 family of aircraft.

Museum Example

  • Registration #: CF-ATF
  • Manufacturer: Junkers Flugzeuwerke A.G., Germany
  • Manufacture Date: 1931
  • Construction #: 2718
  • Aquisition Date: 1962
  • Provenance: Donation from Mrs. J.A. Richardson

Made in 1931, the Museum example was owned by various Canadian operators until 1960 when it entered storage. In 1962, the aircraft was flown from Kamloops, British Columbia to the Museum.

Specifications

Wing Span:
17.8 m (58 ft 3 1/2 in)
Length:
10.3 m (33 ft 8 3/8 in)
Height:
3.2 m (10 ft 6 in)
Weight, Empty:
1,655 kg (3,649 lb)
Weight, Gross:
3,200 kg (7,055 lb)
Cruising Speed:
222 km/h (138 mi)
Max Speed:
264 km/h (164 mph)
Rate of Climb:
2,000 m (6,560 ft) / 9 min
Service Ceiling:
6,900 m (22,640 ft)
Range:
789 km (490 mi)
Power Plant:
one Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN-1 Wasp, 600 hp, radial engine