Developed to meet the requirements of the German meteorological service, the two seat, open cockpit prototype Focke-Wulf A 47 weather reconnaissance aircraft was first flown in June 1931 by Cornelius Edzard. Powered by a 164kW Argus As 10 engine, the A 47 was a parasol-wing monoplane with a wing of wood construction and a fabric-covered steel-tube fuselage. It was tested extensively by the Reichsverband der Deutschen Luftfahrtindustrie (predecessor of the present BDLI, or Federation of the German Aerospace Industries) and then evaluated operationally at the Hamburg weather centre, beginning in December 1932. Successful completion of the programme led to production orders, delivered between 1934 and 1936, and used by the meteorological service all over Germany.

Engine: Argus Aces 10, 220 hp
Prop: two-blade variable pitch 2,80 m diameter
Wingspan: 17,76 m
Length: 10,50 m
Height: 3,04 m
Wingarea: 35,00 sq.m
Empty weight: 950 kg
MTOW: 1475 kg
Fuel: 2xX 75 lt
Wing loading: 42,142 kg/sq.m
Pwr loading: 6,704 kg/hp
Vmax: 172 km/h
Stall: 77 km/h
ROC: 1000 m in 6 min, 2000 m in 13,3 min, 4000 m in 34 min