The Bücker Bü 133
Jungmeister (Young master) was an advanced trainer of the Luftwaffe
in the 1930s. It was a single-engine, single-seat biplane of
wood and tubular steel construction and covered in fabric. The
Bü 133 was a development of the Bücker Bü 131
Jungmann two-seat basic trainer. First flown in 1935 (by Luise
Hoffmann, the first female works pilot in Germany), it was slightly
smaller than the Bü 131. The prototype, D-EVEO, was powered
by a 140 hp (104 kW) Hirth HM506 inverted, air-cooled inline-6
engine.
The aircraft showed "astonishing
agility" at its first public appearance, the 1936 International
Aerobatic Championship at Rangsdorf, but the Bü 133A garnered
no orders; only two Bü 133Bs, with 160 hp (119 kW) version
of that same Hirth HM506 inline-6 engine, were built. The main
production type was the 160 hp (119 kW) Siemens-Bramo Sh 14A
radial powered Bü 133C, which had a distinctive cowling
and a 13 cm (5.1 in)-shorter fuselage, and the same fine aerobatic
performance as the Bü 133A. Fifty-two were manufactured
under licence by Dornier for the Swiss Air Force (which kept
it in service until 1968),. A similar number were built for the
Spanish Air Force by CASA, and were designated the CASA 1-133.
CASA-built 1-133C Jungmeister
at Blackpool (Squires Gate) Airport in 1957
The Bü 133C racked up numerous victories in international
aerobatic competition, and by 1938 was the Luftwaffe's standard
advanced trainer. At the Brussels meet that year, a three-man
Luftwaffe team made a strong impression on Reichsmarschall Hermann
Göring, who ordered a nine-man team be formed. It dazzled
the crowds at the International Flying meet in Brussels the next
year. The Jungmeister design remained competitive in international
aerobatic competition into the 1960s. |
