The Friedrichshafen FF.29 was an unarmed maritime reconnaissance floatplane built for the Imperial German Navy's () Naval Air Service () that was produced by Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen during World War I. The aircraft entered service in November 1914, mostly conducting maritime patrols over the North Sea and the English Channel, and played a small role in the Raid on Cuxhaven the following month. A FF.29 became the first aircraft to be transported by a submarine when it was used in experiments in January 1915. In May an emergency landing by a FF.29 was the cause of the action off Noordhinder Bank when German forces were searching for the floatplane when they encountered a superior British force. The aircraft was also involved in developing methods of controlling artillery fire from the air.
FF.29s were interned by both Denmark and the Netherlands, both of which were neutral powers during World War I. The Danes built five copies for their own use.
Background and description
The German Naval Air Service was pleased with the performance of the Friedrichshafen FF.19 floatplane and ordered a batch of 20 improved versions of the aircraft as the FF.29 from Friedrichshafen Flugzeugbau on 15 August 1914, a few weeks after the beginning of World War I. The primary difference between the two was that the FF.29 had a greater wingspan than the earlier aircraft and a larger wing. It also used the more powerful water-cooled Mercedes D.II straight-six engine. The aircraft made its first flight in November and when the Naval Air Service went to order more that same month, it had difficulties procuring enough engines because the Imperial German Army's Air Serviceto () had a higher priority for the Mercedes engines. The navy was able to place an order with Friedrichshafen for five FF.29s with the D.II engine, but was forced substitute the 120 PS Argus As II engine in the other seven aircraft. It also placed an order for fifteen FF.29As license-built by the Wilhelmshaven Imperial Shipyard () equipped with the same Mercedes D.I engine as used in the FF.19. Three of these FF.29As were later cancelled, making a total of forty-four German-built FF.29s of both types completed, with the last aircraft delivered in September 1915.
The FF.29 was a two-seat biplane with the engine positioned at the front of the fuselage. The two forward floats were attached to the fuselage by four pairs of V-shaped struts while the third float was connected directly to the tail structure. The wings were connected with six sets of interplane struts that gave the aircraft a three-bay configuration. The floatplane was unarmed, although some small bombs could be stored in the observer's cockpit.
Operational history
Four FF.29s were delivered to the Naval Air Service in November 1914; two of these were delivered to the newly established Naval Air Station Flanders I (, SFS I) at Zeebrugge in Occupied Belgium in early December and another was operational at the base on the island of Heligoland. The Zeebrugge pair made their first operational maritime reconnaissance patrol off the coast of Dunkirk, France, on 14 December. One aircraft made the type's first reconnaissance of the English coast on 25 December; engine problems forced a emergency landing in the Thames Estuary after having flown over Gravesend, Chatham, and having dropped a pair of bombs over Sheerness to no effect. The crew was able to take off again, but was soon forced to land again. Unable to take off because of damaged floats, the aircraft taxied across the North Sea for hours before exhausting its fuel and finally drifting ashore near German-controlled Wenduine, Belgium. As the war progressed more than one FF.29 had to taxi back to friendly territory.