Bölkow was a West 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 industry.
...
based in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
, Germany, and later
Ottobrunn
Ottobrunn () is a suburban municipality southeast of Munich, Bavaria, Germany, founded in 1955. Ottobrunn consists of mainly semi-detached and detached houses, as well as extensive garden areas. Ottobrunn is also the German Headquarters of Airbus ...
.
History
The company was founded in 1948 by
Ludwig Bölkow, who since 1955 with Emil Weiland had developed helicopters for Bölkow Entwicklungen KG.
In June 1968, Bölkow merged with
Messerschmitt
Messerschmitt AG () was a German share-ownership limited, aircraft manufacturing corporation named after its chief designer Willy Messerschmitt from mid-July 1938 onwards, and known primarily for its World War II fighter aircraft, in parti ...
to form Messerschmitt-Bölkow, a combination that created West Germany's largest aircraft company, with sales approaching $150 million (1968 dollars). The move was encouraged by the West German government.
"2 Aircraft Makers Merge In Germany"
''The New York Times''. June 12, 1968. Page 74. Retrieved March 15, 2011. In May 1969, the new company merged with Hamburger Flugzeugbau
''Hamburger Flugzeugbau'' (HFB) was an aircraft manufacturer, located primarily in the Finkenwerder quarter of Hamburg, Germany. Established in 1933 as an offshoot of Blohm+Voss, Blohm & Voss shipbuilders, it later became an operating division wit ...
(HFB), becoming Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm
Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) was a West Germany, West German aerospace manufacturer. It was formed during the late 1960s as the result of efforts to consolidate the West German aerospace industry; aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt AG merged ...
(MBB). MBB was bought by Daimler-Benz
Mercedes-Benz Group AG (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler, and Daimler) is a Germany, German Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive company headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is o ...
in the early 1990s, becoming part of DASA
DASA (officially Deutsche AeroSpace AG, later Daimler-Benz AeroSpace AG, then DaimlerChrysler AeroSpace AG) was a German aerospace manufacturer.
It was created during 1989 as the aerospace subsidiary arm of Daimler-Benz, Daimler-Benz AG (later D ...
, which became part of EADS
Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate defence and space and helicopter divisions. Airbus has long been th ...
in 2000.
Products
Aircraft
* Bölkow Bo 207
* Bölkow Bo 208 Junior
* Bölkow Bo 209 Monsun
* Bölkow Phoebus, variants A, A1, B, B1, B3, C gliders
Helicopter
* Bölkow Bo 46
* Bölkow Heidelbergrotor experimental rotor system
* Bölkow Bo 70 Project with experimental "Heidelberg Rotor"
* Bölkow Bo 102
The Bölkow Bo 102 Helitrainer was an unusual ground-based helicopter training aid that was developed and built by Bölkow of West Germany in the late-1950s. Designed to be mounted on a swivelling captive rig the Bo 102 allowed trainee pilots to ...
* Bölkow Bo 103
The Bölkow Bo 103 was an ultralight experimental helicopter flown in West Germany in 1961. It was designed for reconnaissance and command-control purposes and constructed by Bölkow Entwicklungen KG as part of a research order by the German Fed ...
* MBB Bo 105
The Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Bo 105 is a light, twin-engine, multi-purpose helicopter developed by Bölkow of Ottobrunn, West Germany. It was the first light twin-engine helicopter in the world, and the first rotorcraft that could perform ...
* MBB/Kawasaki BK 117
The MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 is a twin-engined light Utility helicopter, utility–transport helicopter. It was jointly developed and manufactured by Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) of Germany and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kawasaki of Japan. MBB ...
Joint project with Kawasaki
Missiles
* Cobra
COBRA or Cobra, often stylized as CoBrA, was a European avant-garde art group active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home countries' capital cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels ...
* HOT
* MILAN
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
* Roland
Roland (; ; or ''Rotholandus''; or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. The historical Roland was mil ...
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolkow
Manufacturing companies based in Stuttgart
Defunct aircraft manufacturers of Germany
Defunct helicopter manufacturers of Germany
Companies based in Bavaria
German companies established in 1948