In 1919, Deutsche Luft-Reederei, one of the forerunners of LuftHansa, operated a single ex-Imperial Navy W.29 as a package and mail plane. Mail was carried in the observer/gunner's compartment. The aircraft was used only for a short period before being replaced by more suitable aircraft. I know of only 2 photos of the plane, so much of the detail here is speculative.
All armament was removed, and the gun troughs were covered over. The kit's Benz Bz.III engine was replaced with a Bz.IIIa engine from WNW; despite the similar designations, the two engines are totally different. The observer/gunner's hatch was given a canvas cover, and the interior details were removed to make room for mail. Resin mail sacks were added for cargo.
If you haven't seen it, my build thread is here:
http://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=7649
This is the first WW1 aircraft I've built since the early 1970s, and it was quite a challenge. I learned several new skills, and enjoyed doing much research to figure out what would be plausible.
Peter
