Siebel Si 204
The
Siebel Si 204 was a small twin-engined transport aircraft developed for the during
World War II. It was based on the
Fh 104. Originally designed in response to a
Lufthansa order in
1939, it was eventually produced for the
Luftwaffe.
A clean, low-wing monoplane of all-metal construction, the Si 204 was a modern aircraft at the time of its first flight in May
1941, and the Luftwaffe's first interest in it was as a twin-engine trainer to replace the
Focke-Wulf Fw 58. The aircraft was fitted with a glazed nose to allow navigators and bombardiers to be trained alongside pilots and ordered into production. However, the Siebel factory was being used to manufacture
Junkers Ju 88s and had no capacity available for another type. Production was therefore allocated to aircraft factories in occupied territories. In France,
SNCAC manufactured 150 examples of the
Si 204A and
Si 204D as the
NC 702 and
NC 700 respectively. In
Czechoslovakia,
Aero built it as the
C-3 and
C-103 (although sometimes confused, the
Aero A.204 was a completely unrelated and indigenously-developed aircraft of similar configuration) and other production was undertaken by
Praga and
Walter. Late in the war, with material shortages looming, Siebel prepared to construct a batch of aircraft that replaced some of the structure with wood, but these were not completed by the end of the war.
Up to 1945, 1,175 examples were built, with licence production by SNCAC and Aero continuing for some years after the war. Post-war SNCAC versions are known as the
NC 701 MartinetSi 204s undertook a variety of training, transport, liaison, and air ambulance roles. Some were converted "in the field" to carry turrets that could be used for gunnery training (a dedicated armed version never entered mass production) and others to carry the
FuG 217 and
FuG 218 radars. It is also possible that some prototype Si 204Es were used as night bombers in
Belarus.
After the war, captured Si 204s flew in a variety of roles in the
Soviet Union, including with
Aeroflot and
TsAGI, but were all quickly phased out of service as local aircraft manufacturing was re-established.
General characteristics
*
Crew: one or two pilots
*
Capacity: up to 8 passengers or up to 1,650 kg (3,638 lb) cargo
*
Length: 13.00 m (42 ft 8 in)
*
Wingspan: 21.33 m (70 ft 0 in)
*
Height: 4.25 m (14 ft 0 in)
*
Wing area: 46 m² (495 ft²)
*
Empty: 3,950 kg (8,709 lb)
*
Loaded: kg ( lb)
*
Maximum takeoff: 5,600 kg (12,348 lb)
*
Powerplant: 2x
Argus 411 A1, 441 kW (592 hp) each
Performance
*
Maximum speed: 364 km/h (228 mph)
*
Range: 1,400 km (875 miles)
*
Service ceiling: 6,400 m (20,992 ft)
*
Rate of climb: 360 m/min (1,181 ft/min)
*
Wing loading: kg/m² ( lb/ft²)
*
Power/Mass: kW/kg ( hp/lb)
* Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Sweden (NC-701),
* Aeroflot,
ČSA (Aero C-103) ,
Related development:Siebel Fh 104Comparable aircraft:Designation sequence:Si 201 -
Si 202 -
DFS 203 -
Si 204 -
Fw 206 -
Me 208 -
Me 209
