Focke-Achgelis Fa-330 Bachstelze Deutsches Museum

Focke-Achgelis & Co. G.m.b.H. was a German helicopter company founded in 1937 by

Henrich Focke Henrich Focke (8 October 1890 – 25 February 1979) was a German aviation pioneer from Bremen and also a co-founder of the Focke-Wulf company. He is best known as the inventor of the Fw 61, the first successful German helicopter. Biography ...

and

Gerd Achgelis Gerd Achgelis (16 July 1908 – 18 May 1991) was a German aviator, test pilot, and pioneer in the development of helicopters. Biography Achgelis was born in Golzwarden in Oldenburg, and after an apprenticeship as an electrician, began working ...

History

Henrich Focke was ousted in 1936 from the

Focke-Wulf Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG () was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft before and during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. It is one of the ...

company, which he had cofounded in 1924, due to shareholder pressure. There is reason to believe that Focke's removal was to allow Focke-Wulf's manufacturing capacity to be used to produce

Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

aircraft. The company was taken over by

AEG Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft AG (AEG; ) was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in Berlin as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte Elektricität'' in 1883 by Emil Rathenau. During the Second World War, AEG ...

, but soon after this the Air Ministry, which had been impressed by the

Focke-Wulf Fw 61 The Focke-Wulf Fw 61 is often considered the first practical, functional helicopter, first flown in 1936. It was also known as the Fa 61, as Focke began a new company—Focke-Achgelis—in 1937. Design and development Professor Henrich Fock ...

helicopter, suggested that Focke establish a new company dedicated to helicopter development, and issued him with a requirement for an improved design, capable of carrying a payload. Focke established the Focke-Achgelis company at

Hoykenkamp Hoykenkamp is a small village in Lower Saxony, Germany, north west of Delmenhorst. Hoykenkamp is part of the municipality of Ganderkesee and belongs to the district of Oldenburg. History Hoykenkamp's main claim to fame is to be the place whe ...

, Germany, on 27 April 1937, in partnership with pilot

, and began development work at

Delmenhorst Delmenhorst (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Demost'') is an urban district (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of 74,500 and is located west of downtown Bremen with which it forms a contiguous urban area, whereas the ...

in 1938.

Designs

Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 The Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 ''Drache'' () was a helicopter developed by Germany during World War II. A single Bramo 323 radial engine powered two three-bladed rotors mounted on twin booms on either side of the cylindrical fuselage. Although the ...

''Drache'' (Dragon), transport helicopter (20 produced) *

Focke-Achgelis Fa 225 The Focke-Achgelis Fa 225 was an experimental single-seat rotary wing glider built in Nazi Germany by Focke-Achgelis in 1942. Only a single example was constructed. Design and development In the first half of the Second World War, the DFS 230B ...

rotary wing glider (prototype), 1942 *

Focke-Achgelis Fa 266 Focke-Achgelis & Co. G.m.b.H. was a German helicopter company founded in 1937 by Henrich Focke and Gerd Achgelis. History Henrich Focke was ousted in 1936 from the Focke-Wulf company, which he had cofounded in 1924, due to shareholder pressure. ...

''Hornisse'' (Hornet), helicopter (prototype) *

Focke-Achgelis Fa 269 The Focke-Achgelis Fa 269 was a tiltrotor VTOL aircraft project designed by Henrich Focke. Development Conceived as a single-seat fighter, the Fa 269 project resulted from a design study order issued by the Reich Air Ministry to Focke-Achgelis ...

VTOL A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-win ...

aircraft (project only) *

Focke-Achgelis Fa 284 The Focke-Achgelis Fa 284 was a project to develop a large transport helicopter, designed in 1943 by Focke-Achgelis for use by the Luftwaffe. The helicopter was powered by two BMW 801 The BMW 801 was a powerful German air-cooled 14-cylinder- ...

, large transport helicopter (project only) *

Focke-Achgelis Fa 325 The Focke-Achgelis Fa 325 ''Krabbe'' was a proposed rotary wing transport designed in Nazi Germany by Focke-Achgelis in 1942. Design and development Heinrich Focke began designing the Fa 325 for the Kriegsmarine, which was interested in a torped ...

''Krabbe'' (crab), heavy transport

multicopter A multirotor or multicopter is a rotorcraft with more than two lift-generating rotors. An advantage of multirotor aircraft is the simpler rotor mechanics required for flight control. Unlike single- and double-rotor helicopters which use complex ...

(project only) *

Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 The Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 ''Bachstelze'' ( en, Wagtail) was a type of rotary-wing kite, known as a rotor kite. They were towed behind German U-boats during World War II to allow a lookout to see further. Development Because of their low profi ...

''Bachstelze'' (Wagtail),

rotor kite A rotor kite or gyrokite is an unpowered, rotary-wing aircraft. Like an autogyro or helicopter, it relies on lift created by one or more sets of rotors in order to fly. Unlike a helicopter, gyrokites and rotor kites do not have an engine poweri ...

, 1942 *

Focke-Achgelis Fa 336 Focke-Achgelis & Co. G.m.b.H. was a German helicopter company founded in 1937 by Henrich Focke and Gerd Achgelis. History Henrich Focke was ousted in 1936 from the Focke-Wulf company, which he had cofounded in 1924, due to shareholder pressure. ...

scout helicopter (prototype), 1944

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Focke-Achgelis Defunct aircraft manufacturers of Germany Helicopter manufacturers of Germany Defunct helicopter manufacturers of Germany

History

Designs

See also

References

External links