1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. DFS Reiher auf den Luft Sport Tagen Bueckeburg 2013: Cornu1907· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The DFS Reiher (in English Heron) was a single seat competition glider designed in Germany by Hans Jacobs and first flown in 1937. The type won the last two German Rhön gliding championships before the start of World War II. Six were factory produced.
base stats
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 89 years ago, in 1937.
- Top speed is 1.5× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 19 m: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
no engine: No engine: it glides on rising air.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1937
- number built
- 10
- role
- single seat competition glider
- origin
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- makers
- Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug
- engines
- none (glider)
- length
- 7.8 m
- wingspan
- 19 m
- height
- 2.3 m
- max take-off weight
- 315 kg
- top speed
- 200 km/h
- range
- —
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q1153350, Wikipedia: DFS Reiher (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.