Blohm & Voss BV 142 was a German four-engine, long-range land-based transport and mail aircraft developed by Blohm & Voss in 1937 for Deutsche Luft Hansa (DLH). Based on the Ha 139 seaplane fuselage, it featured a retractable main landing gear, double tail wheels, and was powered by four BMW 132H engines designed to carry up to 500 kg of transatlantic mail to Africa and Asia. Four prototype units (V1–V4) were built and operated briefly on transatlantic routes until the outbreak of World War II in August 1939, when they were requisitioned by the Luftwaffe. The second prototype (V2) was converted into a long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft and provisional bomber (BV 142 V2/U1) featuring an extended fuselage, an internal bay for eight 50 kg bombs, and five defense MG 15 machine guns, making its first flight on May 13, 1940. Another unit (V1) was fitted with a nose section from a Heinkel He 111H-6, but disappointing operational performance prevented similar conversions for V3 and V4. Ultimately, all four aircraft were deployed as military transports during the invasion of Norway and briefly on the Eastern Front before being retired and scrapped in 1942 due to a lack of spare parts.
