Caspar U.1

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Caspar U.1, also known as Caspar-Heinkel U.1, was a German patrol floatplane from the 1920s designed by Ernst Heinkel and built by Caspar-Werke for the Reichsmarine. It was designed to be carried by a submarine, fitting inside a cylindrical container 7.40 meters long and 1.70 meters in diameter so it could be quickly launched from underwater. To speed up assembly, the U.1 was a cantilever biplane, meaning it didn’t need rigging with wires and struts. It had two single-step floats and a front-mounted 55 horsepower Siemens radial engine, with the pilot in an open cockpit behind the upper wing for a clear forward view. Tests claimed that four men could remove the aircraft from its container and assemble it in about 1 minute and 3 seconds. Three U.1s were built in total. The United States Navy bought two for evaluation, delivering them to Naval Air Station Anacostia in late 1922 for testing in 1923; one aircraft was damaged beyond repair while mounted on a truck for a parade.