Operators
Germany
Turkey
| SF-5 and SF-6 | |
|---|---|
| Role | Reconnaissance seaplane |
| National origin | Germany |
| Manufacturer | Sablatnig, LFG, LVG |
| First flight | 1917 |
| Primary user | Imperial German Navy |
| Number built | 91 |
The Sablatnig SF-5 was a reconnaissance seaplane produced in Germany during the First World War. [1]
Designed to meet a specification by the Imperial German Navy for a higher-powered replacement for the Sablatnig SF-2s then in service, the SF-5 was a very similar aircraft other than in its choice of engine. [2] [3] The first batch (serials 968–987) were delivered between January and May 1917, built in the Navy's HFT classification (unarmed reconnaissance aircraft equipped with wireless transmitter and receiver). [2] They were followed by two further batches (1224–1233 and 1352–1371) between July and September. [2] LVG built the type under licence as a trainer aircraft without any radio equipment, delivering 20 aircraft (1017–1036 and 1214–1223) during the second half of 1917. [2] LFG produced the type in the BFT category (unarmed reconnaissance aircraft equipped with wireless transmitter but not receiver), building ten examples (1459–1468) between September 1917 and February 1918. [2] Sablatnig also produced a single BFT-configured aircraft in February 1918. [2]
These machines served widely with seaplane stations throughout the North Sea and Baltic Sea. [2] The SF-5 was generally disliked by its aircrews, who dubbed it the "Lame Crow" on account of its poor banking and climbing performance and general sluggishness. [2] Crews found that the supposed cruising speed of production examples was in fact their top speed. [2] Some SF-5s perhaps saw action as bombers against Russian forces, but even those flying reconnaissance missions were easy prey for Russian fighters. [2] At least two SF-5s were captured by the Russians and put to use by them. [2]
A single SF-5 was fitted with wheeled undercarriage salvaged from another aircraft. [2] Designated SF-6 by the factory, and assigned the designation B.I by the Idflieg , it was intended to be a landplane trainer, but was not selected for production. [4]
Germany 
Turkey Data from Kroschel & Stützer 1994, p.156
General characteristics
Performance
Numbers 404 and 405 were the sole two examples of a unique seaplane design produced for the flying service of the Imperial German Navy during the First World War. By 1917, the output of the major German seaplane manufacturers was taken up producing machines for front-line service. As a consequence, the only machines available for training purposes were those that had been made obsolete or which had been damaged and rebuilt. In order to provide modern trainers for the Navy, the Kaiserliche Werft Danzig undertook the design and construction of two brand-new seaplanes between March and June, unarmed two-seat biplanes. These machines were supplied to the naval base at Putzig along with a batch of four trainers of a different design, numbered 467–470.
Numbers 467 to 470 were four examples of a unique seaplane design produced for the flying service of the Imperial German Navy during the First World War. These four aircraft were the subject of an order by the Navy for trainer seaplanes for the base at Putzig, at a time when most trainers were merely obsolete front-line types.
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Imperial German Navy seaplanes 461 and 462 were the only two examples of a seaplane design produced for the Navy's flying service during the First World War. Number 461 was built in October 1916 and Number 462 in September 1917 as the German seaplane bases searched for purpose-built training aircraft to supplement their collection of retired combat types.
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