Blohm & Voss BV 222 Wiking

what is it?

The Blohm & Voss BV 222 Wiking (pronounced "Veeking") was a large six-engined German monoplane flying boat designed and built by the German aircraft manufacturer Blohm & Voss. It was the largest Axis flying boat to enter production and operation during the Second World War. The BV 222 was developed during the late 1930s as a commercial transport for the transatlantic and other long distance routes of the German flag carrier Luft Hansa.

🔎How to recognise it: 6 piston engines with propellers · 46 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 330 km/htop speed
• seats 92passengers
• size 49 tmax take-off weight
• built 13made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 86 years ago, in 1940.
• 🏎️Top speed is 2.5× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 46 m: about 10 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 8 African elephants (~6 t each).

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1940-09-07

introduced

1940

retired

1947

status

retired

number built

13

role

passenger, cargo or air ambulance flying boat

makers

Blohm+Voss

engines

6× Junkers Jumo 207C

crew

11

passengers

92

length

37 m

wingspan

46 m

height

10.9 m

max take-off weight

49 t

top speed

330 km/h

cruise speed

300 km/h

range

—

ceiling

7,300 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.