The KDW coastal-defense floatplane served over the North Sea from 1916 to 1918. Its ancestry ran through the D.I and B.I landplanes, while Phoenix built the 58 aircraft under licence in five batches. As the KDW entered service, Hansa-Brandenburg was already developing its successor through three W.11 prototypes. The W.11 retained the same interplane strut arrangement, intended to withstand hard maneuvers without damaging the wings. A 220-horsepower engine gave it a quoted top speed of 96 knots and a range of 189 nautical miles. Production of one design and development of its successor therefore proceeded together.
Chapter · 27:17-32:38
From KDW coastal fighter to W.11 prototype
Licensed KDW production overlapped with W.11 prototype work, which retained the earlier strut arrangement while pursuing greater naval capability.