Rara avis: Dittmar HD-153 Motor-Moewe

[papermodelfan]

So here is an odd little bird - one of the first (if not the first) civil aircraft to be built in Germany after the war, by Heini Dittmar, a glider pilot. He based it on the 2 seat glider HD-53, adding a small motor. Lehrmittelinstitut (now Wilhelmshavener Jade Verlag) published it in 1956, as one of their first offerings. Never reprinted, and rarely seen, though other models of early post war civil aircraft in the same series continue to be sold by WHV.

One sheet has two models. Scale is 1:50. The design is not unusual, except that it calls for wire for the undercarriage, which is not typical of later WHV. The nosewheel is on a strut that is very well anchored in the fuselage. The tailfin is attached to the fuselage by an unusual and clever little piece that took me a while to figure out. The motor cowl seems to be a two sizes two large , but that is what the real machine looked like.

Here are some of the steps in construction

[papermodelfan]

I first built the wing with a scored sharp leading edge, and found that too harsh . A picture of the real plane shows that it was much more rounded. Here I hae dry fitted both wings - first the scored leading edge, and then with the soft rounded one, along with the old photo. I chose the second option. Then the little half wheels go on, and a few lead sinkers into the cowl to make it sit on its legs properly.

[papermodelfan]

And finally, a little touch up with colored pencils, and the little ship is finished. Tiny, even at 1:50 scale.

[bob martin]

Hey Rob, Look like a nice little model. Looking forward to seeing the completed one. BTW, Was nice to see you at the convention

[bob martin]

Hee Hee, Just as I posted the other response.......Zip......It's finished.
Look great!!! I had no real feel for the size until I saw it in your hand. A lot smaller that I had thought.

[Leif Ohlsson]

The things you learn watching people dig out their old treasures and actually build them. Thank you!

In return, could I offer you a link I immediately looked up, plus four interesting photos from that site:

Apparently, the Möwe started out as a rather quaint glider, with a strong taste of the Grunau Baby:



This way of transporting the glider might seem quaint, but is actually quite effective:



A nice photo of the designer in his own aircraft:



And of course the aircraft itself:



Reading more in a Google Book version of "50 Jahre Deutsche Motorflugzeuge: von der Dittmar Möwe zum Airbus 380" (50 years of German powered aircraft: From Dittmar Möwe to Airbus 380), I learned that there was of course a reason for the quaint look of the original glider - it was forbidden until 1955 to build powered aircraft in Germany. So Dittmar designed and built a glider that could immediately be converted to a powered aircraft once that was allowed.

I also learned that Dittmar held one glider world record in 1937, and that he was involved in test-flying the Me-163 rocket aircraft during the war. He was the first human reportedly to exceed the 1000 km/h limit.

Thanks again, I enjoyed this!

Leif

[bob martin]

Nice followup Leif. Very interesting real information about the paper model

[Leif Ohlsson]

Just a correction - Dittmar's gliding world records were from 1934:

In 1934 Dittmar together with Hanna Reitsch and Wolf Hirth were members of the German glider expedition to Argentina, where he achieved a new world record for altitude for gliders at about 4,350 metres (14,270 ft). In 1934 Dittmar achieved a new world record for long-distance with the Fafnir II and was awarded the Hindenburg Cup. In 1936 he achieved the first crossing of the Alps in a glider. Dittmar crowned his career as a glider pilot with his victory in the 1st Rhoen international competition in 1937 as first Gliding World Champion.

During and after the Second World War Dittmar worked as an aircraft designer and test pilot. On 2 October 1941 Dittmar became the first human to fly faster than 1,000 kilometres per hour (620 mph) in the Me-163 A . This record was achieved over the FAI specified 3 km distance and measured with an Askania theodolite. On 6 July 1944 Dittmar reached a speed of 1,130 kilometres per hour (700 mph) with the Me 163 Komet BV18.

He died in a crash in 1960, when on a test flight of a light aircraft of his own design, the HD-153 Motor-Möve, in the vicinity of the Essen/Muelheim airport. (Source: Wikipedia)

This photo shows Dittmar in Argentina 1934 with his Fafnir Glider:

(Source: Luftarchiv.de - Segelflugzeuge/DFS)

Finally a couple of more interesting photos of the Dittmar Möwe, both the glider and powered version:

(Source: Retroplane.net - wonderful graphic background on that page!)

It is sad to learn that Dittmar died 1960 while testflying this totally peaceful and unique little civilian aircraft, after having survived testflying the Me 163 Komet with its lethal fuel mixture under wartime conditions.

Leif

[papermodelfan]

Thanks for the further historical details, Leif. The aircraft is a curious little footnote to aviation history. The model was well designed and unique. Wonder if there would be enough of a market for Herr Wolters, who runs WHV now, to be interested in reprinting it.

[Alcides]

Rob very nice build for a very interesting plane.