W.12 reconnaissance and mobile seaplane support

The two-seat W.12 combined fighter and reconnaissance duties, with a quoted endurance of three and a half hours and a range of 280 nautical miles. Its 160-horsepower Mercedes D.III engine offered the reliability needed for repeated maritime sorties. German naval planners valued floatplanes that ships could hoist aboard and support as operations moved. Mobile support allowed an aircraft's operating area to change with the fleet and the tactical situation. The Royal Naval Air Service placed greater emphasis on fixed seaplane bases for its anti-submarine patrol network, although the German navy also used shore facilities.