Austrian Fw 44 Stieglitzes

[Petrusja]

Hello,

It's strictly speaking not an Axis subject, I know, but I wonder if anyone has information about Austria's Focke-Wulf Fw 44 Stieglitzes.

The easily found information is that 10 were ordered from Germany in 1936, and 40 more were built by Hirtenberger, which I understand is the former Hopfner factory in Wiener Neustadt. And the type served with the Schulstaffel at Graz - Thalerhof.

The Golden Years Register gives, however, 64 Fw 44s with OE-T.. registrations and three or four digit military serials, including some with low construction numbers and 12 with high, apparently Focke Wulf, c/ns. There is also one aircraft registered to Hirtenberger, OE-DHP.

The only two photos I found, in an old Flugzeug Profile by Bernd Vetter, show a few Fw 44s in the snow, including OE-TGS (c/n 1915 /serial 497 according to above source) and OE-THS (1916 / 498).

Vetter mentions ten different construction numbers for the German-built aircraft: 2253 through 2262, and for the Hirtenberger aircraft he mentions serials (although he says construction numbers) 437-445, 460-470, 490-499 and 4001-4012, partially not matching with the register information.

Aviation Safety Network gives two crashes, for OE-TCS and OE-TDI.

That's all I can find. Apart from the confusion over the exact numbers, it seems a large number of trainers for a small air force and the Schulstaffel. Does anyone know more? I take it these aircraft were absorbed by the Luftwaffe in 1938?

Thanks

Peter