1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Swiss Air Force C-3603-1: Sandstein· Public domain
what is it?
The EKW C-36 is a Swiss multi-purpose combat aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s, built by the Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette. It was a single-engined monoplane with a crew of two. It entered service during World War II in 1942, and despite being obsolete, remained in front line use until the early 1950s, and as a target tug until 1987.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 13.7 m wingspan
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 87 years ago, in 1939.
- Top speed is 3.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 13.7 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1939-05-15
- introduced
- 1942
- number built
- 175
- role
- ground-attack aircraft
- origin
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland
- makers
- Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette
- engines
- 1× Hispano-Suiza 12Y-51
- length
- 10.2 m
- wingspan
- 13.7 m
- height
- 3.3 m
- max take-off weight
- 4,085 kg
- top speed
- 476 km/h
- range
- 680 km
- ceiling
- 8,700 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q676367, Wikipedia: EKW C-36 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.