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2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. German Messerschmitt M 18 (30510951572): National Museum of the U.S. Navy· Public domain
- 2. Messerschmitt M.18b Les Ailes December 15,1927: Les Ailes newspaper· Public domain
what is it?
The Bayerische Flugzeugwerke M 18 (BFW M 18), (later known as Messerschmitt M 18) was an airliner, produced in Germany in the late 1920s.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · shoulder wing · 15.8 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 100 years ago, in 1926.
- Top speed is 1.6× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 15.8 m: about 4 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
- 1926
- introduced
- 1926
- number built
- 24
- role
- airliner
- origin
- German Reich
- makers
- Messerschmitt
- engines
- 1× Wright R-975 Whirlwind / Lynx / Sh 12 / Siemens-Halske Sh 11
- crew
- 1
- passengers
- 7
- length
- 9.4 m
- wingspan
- 15.8 m
- height
- 2.8 m
- max take-off weight
- 1,760 kg
- top speed
- 212 km/h
- cruise speed
- 180 km/h
- range
- 630 km
- ceiling
- 5,300 m
- wings
- shoulder wing
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q951471, Wikipedia: Messerschmitt M 18 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.