The Gerhard Fieseler Werke (GFW) in Kassel was a German

aircraft manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology ind ...

of the 1930s and 1940s. The company is remembered mostly for its military aircraft built for the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

History

The firm was founded on April 1, 1930 as Fieseler Flugzeugbau Kassel by

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

flying ace and aerobatic champion

Gerhard Fieseler Gerhard Fieseler (15 April 1896 – 1 September 1987) was a German World War I flying ace, aerobatics champion, and aircraft designer and manufacturer. From birth to the 1918 armistice Born in Glesch (near Cologne), Fieseler joined the Air Serv ...

. Fieseler had been a manager for the Raab-Katzenstein, but when this company went bankrupt, Fieseler bought a sailplane factory in Kassel and quickly turned it to building sports planes. At the same time, Fieseler still custom-built sailplanes for some of Germany's most prominent designers and pilots, including Wolf Hirth's "Musterle" and Robert Kronfeld's "Wien" and "Austria" (for many years the largest sailplane ever built). In 1934, the company achieved prominence when Fieseler won the

World Aerobatics Championship The FAI World Aerobatic Championships (WAC) is a competition in sport aviation organized by CIVA (Commission Internationale de Voltige Arienne), the aerobatic commission of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, the world air sports federat ...

in an aircraft his company had built, the F2 Tiger. This was followed by the highly successful F5, generally regarded as a classic among sports planes. Even greater success was to follow in 1936 when an aircraft of Fieseler's own design won a tender over aircraft from both Messerschmitt and

Siebel Siebel was a German aircraft manufacturer founded in 1937 in Halle an der Saale.Gunston p.424 History It originated in the Klemm-Flugzeugwerke Halle that had been founded in 1934 as a branch of Leichtflugzeugbau Klemm in Böblingen. Its name ...

for a new

STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh condi ...

observation and liaison aircraft for the ''

''. It was designated the Fieseler Fi 156 ''Storch'' (Stork), and the company would produce over 3,000 during World War II. In 1937 Fieseler also produced the

Fieseler Fi 253 The Fieseler Fi 253 Spatz, (English: ''Sparrow''), was a light civilian aircraft, manufactured by the German company Fieseler in Nazi Germany. Only six units were produced, however, due to the Second World War. Development In January 1937 Majo ...

. On April 1, 1939 the company name changed to the Gerhard Fieseler Werke GmbH. Fieseler's other wartime production would largely consist of building other firms' aircraft under licence, including the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190. In 1941 however, a Fieseler project for an unpiloted flying bomb (Fi 103) attracted the attention of the RLM ('' Reichsluftfahrtministerium'' - "Reich Aviation Ministry"). This went into production as the Fieseler FZG-76 (''flakzielgerät'', antiaircraft targeting device), better known as the V-1. The Fieseler factory was the target of many Allied air raids, but continued production throughout the war. Following the War, part of the factory continued in business for a few years, producing automotive components. Its most famous products, the Storch and the V1, continued to be produced by foreign companies.

Aircraft

Fieseler aircraft included: * F2 Tiger acrobatic sportsplane, 1932 * F3 ''Wespe'' (Wasp) experimental flying wing, ca. 1931 * F5 acrobatic sportsplane + trainer, 1933 * Fi 97, competition and touring monoplane, 1934 * Fi 98, biplane fighter, 1936 * Fi 99, sport aircraft, * Fi 103 (V-1) * Fi 103 Reichenberg, piloted version of V-1 * Fi 156 ''Storch'' (Stork), STOL reconnaissance aircraft * Fi 157, unmanned anti-aircraft target drone * Fi 158, research aircraft * Fi 166, vertical launched jet fighter * Fi 167, ship-borne torpedo bomber and reconnaissance biplane * Fi 168, ground-attack aircraft * Fi 253, sport aircraft, * Fi 333 transport (concept)

Gliders

* Kassel 12, training glider,

References

{{Fieseler aircraft Defunct aircraft manufacturers of Germany

History

Aircraft

Gliders

See also

References