what is it?
The Friedrichshafen G.III (factory designation FF.45) was a heavy bomber designed and manufactured by Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen. They were used by the German Imperial Air Service during World War I for tactical and limited strategic bombing operations. After the end of the war a number of Friedrichshafen bombers were converted into transport aircraft while a small number also saw service as dedicated airliners.
How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · biplane · 23.9 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 109 years ago, in 1917.
- Wingspan of 23.9 m: about 5 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
- 1917-04-17
- introduced
- 1917
- number built
- 734
- role
- bomber
- origin
- German Empire
- makers
- Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen
- engines
- 2× Mercedes D.IVa
- crew
- 3
- passengers
- 3
- length
- 12.7 m
- wingspan
- 23.9 m
- height
- 4.1 m
- max take-off weight
- 3,795 kg
- top speed
- 140 km/h
- range
- 525 km
- ceiling
- 4,500 m
- wings
- biplane
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q323763, Wikipedia: Friedrichshafen G.III (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.