A german in the land of the Ottomans: DFS Habicht in turkish service. Part I.

"Fear not and don't be dismayed
This crimson flag shall never fade
I know it will always shine
My Nation's star and it is mine
It will always shine"

(Türkiye - Laibach)

The glider:

Conceived for the German Institute for Glider Research as the DFS 108-53E by one of the great german soaring designers, Hans Jacobs, the Habicht was a high performance machine, capable both of demanding aerobatics and long distance flights, becoming indeed one of the best known all-round prewar gliders in the world with its classic and yet advanced lines.

First produced by Schweyer, the following machines were modified and delivered by Wolf Hirth with a different canopy cover, longer fuselage, broader fin and air-brake equipped wings. This fine plan clarifies the many subtle and yet key differences between Schweyer and Wolf Hirth Machines.

In 1936 four machines were made available for chosen german pilots to perform a special display at the opening of the 1936 Summer Olympics, which at first was arranged to take place above the Stadium and soon moved inside the building's oval limits much to the amazement of the general public and government officials. The following video of a Habicht performing aerobatics hints to its unbelievable agility and control:

Habicht D-4-1209, depicted in the above video, is also one of the colour choices for the CMR kit, striking with its cream and blue striped wings and stabiliser. An interesting note of sorts, while belonging to the Wolf Hirth production series it sports an enclosed cockpit which is not included in CMR's kit.

THK-3, the Turkish connection:

An original Schweyer-built (Bu.N.152) arrived in late 1939 / early 1940, which can be seen in these photos.

It's very interesting to see the sort of stencilling applied to these inter-war gliders. It states not only the manufacturer, also the weights and limits. The serial number is applied to the centre of the stabiliser and adjacent to the aileron hinge line on both sides of it.

This single German Habicht glider was used for training but due to the long periods of intensive flying and hangar storage, there came a time when aerobatics were no longer allowed. What to do? Well, you extrapolate your own Turkish Hawk out of the original german one!

The Habicht came to reside in the workshop of the Turkish Aeronautical Association (Türk Hava Kurumu or THK), which had very competent engineers and personnel - mainly trained by the lads of the polish PZL firm, which had an agreement with KTF for the P.24 fighter - whose main goal was to produce an exact copy of the Habicht. Following the careful study of the structure and a static resistance test according to the German legislation, the series production was authorised under the designation THK-3.

You have to admire these people: the original test description, including the given weights and their distribution, was found in a German technical magazine. At first attempt, it was seen that the fuselage attachment points for the control mechanisms had cracked at partial load. They couldn't allow that to happen. After this part was strengthened, it was suitable for the glider's aerobatic performance.

But, an important and dangerous error occurred during the drawing stage. The control mechanisms of the Habicht were made of welded magnesium - aluminium alloy, which was introduced in Germany just before the war, and unknown to the PZL personnel. Since aluminium was widely known in Poland as a light alloy, the controls were made of sheet and pipes without considering the control mechanisms' durability. And so it happened that during the first flight the handle of the control column bent and the pilot landed with the unstable and unbalanced column firmly gripped in order to bring the ailerons and rudder to the neutral position. It was a dead-stick, endless landing for test pilot Yildiz Ali. After that the control column was replaced by a slanted one, to take the effort.

There's a website where the first THK-3's Register Entry is available. A notable feat by THK to have kept such high standards as noted in the entry. it's quite notable that the length measurement and fin design correspond fully to the Schweyer design they were copying.

Also, the colour scheme in White - Red Sunburst must have been striking. Maybe Cream was an option, but personally I'd gor for White.

Six THK-3s were built during 1945-46. At first identified with a black number on the rear fuselage, they soon got their civilian lettering and enjoyed many years of soaring until replaced by far more advanced and readily available gliders.

Their registration was as follows:

TC-PAL 002

TC-PAM 003

TC-PAU 006

TC-PAV 005

TC-PAY 004

TC-PAZ 001

The following are pictures from the web, showing the different aspects of the Turkish Habicht in all of its glory. They look to have been built to the highest quality grade possible.

 

Why write an article about a turkish knock-off of a relatively unknown german glider. Why. The answer is because. Because I liked the story behind the glider. Because I liked that spark of ingenuity which prompted the engineers to say "Yes, we can". Because i like gliders and their many iterations. Because it pleases me to write about it.

And I have some 1/72nd Warlord Habicht left to fool around and relax from all that 100 octane fuel and aviation creepies I like.

Till our next instalment, "Hoçca kalın".

TMU