The , or DFS , was formed in 1933 to centralise all

gliding Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sports, air sport in which pilots fly glider aircraft, unpowered aircraft known as Glider (sailplane), gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmospher ...

activity in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, under the directorship of Professor Walter Georgii. It was formed by the nationalisation of the

Rhön-Rossitten Gesellschaft The Rhön-Rossitten Gesellschaft (RRG) or Rhön-Rossitten Society was a German gliding organization, the first one in the world that was officially recognised. The Rhön-Rossitten Gesellschaft was mainly responsible for establishing gliding as a spo ...

(RRG) at

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

.Reitsch, H., 1955, The Sky My Kingdom, London: Biddles Limited, Guildford and King's Lynn, The DFS was involved in producing training sailplanes for the

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth ( , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth wing of the German Nazi Party. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. From 1936 until 1945, it was th ...

and

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

, as well as conducting research into advanced technologies such as

flying wing A flying wing is a tailless fixed-wing aircraft that has no definite fuselage, with its crew, payload, fuel, and equipment housed inside the main wing structure. A flying wing may have various small protuberances such as pods, nacelles, blis ...

s and

rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

propulsion. Notable DFS-produced aircraft include the

DFS 230 The DFS 230 was a German transport glider operated by the Luftwaffe in World War II. It was developed in 1933 by the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (DFS - "German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight") with Hans Jacobs as the he ...

transport glider (1600+ produced), the German counterpart to the British

Airspeed Horsa The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a British troop-carrying glider used during the Second World War. It was developed and manufactured by Airspeed Limited, alongside various subcontractors; the type was named after Horsa, the legendary 5th-century ...

glider, and the

DFS 194 The DFS 194 was a rocket-powered aircraft designed by Alexander Lippisch at the ''Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug'' (DFS - "German Institute for Sailplane Flight"). Design and development The DFS 194 was based on the Alexander Lippisc ...

, similar to the famous

Messerschmitt Me 163 The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet is a rocket-powered interceptor aircraft primarily designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt. It is the only operational rocket-powered fighter aircraft in history as well as ...

rocket fighter. In 1938, following a fatal accident at the

Wasserkuppe The Wasserkuppe (;) is the highest mountain in the Rhön Mountains, Rhön range and the tallest elevation in the Germany, German state of Hesse, standing at above sea level. It forms a prominent plateau within the Fulda district and is known as ...

, DFS held a competition to design a more effective

speed brake In aeronautics, air brakes, or speed brakes, are a type of flight control surface used on an aircraft to increase the drag on the aircraft. When extended into the airstream, air brakes cause an increase in the drag on the aircraft. When n ...

for gliders. The final design, produced by Wolfgang and Ulrich Hütter of

Schempp-Hirth Schempp-Hirth Flugzeugbau GmbH is a glider manufacturer based in Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany. History Martin Schempp founded his own company in Göppingen in 1935, with the assistance of Wolf Hirth. The company was initially called "Sport ...

, is used to this day and generally referred to as "Schempp-Hirth airbrakes".
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List of some major DFS aircraft projects

; DFS Model 6:Target glider (prototypes only), 1936 ; DFS Model 12 : see Argus As 292 1937 ; DFS 39 : Lippisch-designed tail-less research aircraft ; DFS 40 : Lippisch-designed tail-less research aircraft ;

DFS 193 The DFS 193 was a planned experimental German aircraft of the 1930s planned by Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (DFS). Designed by Professor Alexander Lippisch and a DFS employee named Roth, it resembled Lippisch's Storch IX and the Go ...

: experimental aircraft ;

: rocket-powered research aircraft, forerunner of Me 163 ;

DFS 228 The DFS 228 was a rocket-powered, high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft designed by the '' Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug'' (DFS - "German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight") during World War II. By the end of the war, the aircr ...

: HIGH-ALTITUDE rocket-powered reconnaissance aircraft (prototype only) ;

: transport glider (1600 produced) ; DFS 331 : transport glider (prototype) ; DFS 332 ;

DFS 346 The DFS 346 (''Samolyot 346'') was a German rocket-powered swept-wing aircraft which began development during World War II in Germany. It was designed by Felix Kracht at the ''Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug'' (DFS), the "German Insti ...

: supersonic research aircraft ; Stamer-Lippisch Zögling 1 : basic trainer ; DFS Hangwind : (Ridge Lift), basic trainer (

twin boom A twin-boom aircraft has two longitudinal auxiliary spars, or “auxiliary booms” , that may contain ancillary components such as fuel tanks and/or provide a supporting structure for other items. Typically, twin tailbooms support the tail ...

) ; DFS Professor : high-performance sailplane ; DFS E 32 : sailplane ; ''Einheitsschulflugzeug'' : (Standard Flight Trainer), glider, basic flight trainer (foldable tail) ; DFS Fliege IIa : (Fly), sailplane ; DFS Jacht 71 : Amphibious sailplane ; DFS Condor : high-performance sailplane ; DFS Rhönadler : (Eagle of the Rhön), high-performance sailplane ; DFS Stanavo : high-performance sailplane ;

DFS Weihe The DFS Weihe (English: ''Harrier'') is a German single-seat, high-wing, 18 metre wingspan, high-performance glider that was designed by Hans Jacobs in 1937-38. Design and development Jacobs designed the Weihe to be the pre-eminent performan ...

: high-performance sailplane ; DFS Zögling 33 : basic training glider ; DFS Hol's der Teufel : (To Hell With It!), training glider ; DFS Moazag'otl : high-performance sailplane ;

DFS Rhönbussard DFS may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Dancer Fitzgerald Sample, advertising agency, now Saatchi & Saatchi * DFS Furniture, a furniture retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland * DFS Group (Duty Free Shoppers), Hong Kong * DFS Program Exchan ...

: sailplane ; DFS São Paulo : high-performance sailplane ; DFS Präsident : (President), high-performance sailplane ;

DFS Rhönsperber The DFS Rhönsperber, otherwise known as the Schweyer Rhönsperber or Jacobs Rhönsperber (in English '' Rhön Sparrowhawk'') was a single seat competition glider designed in Germany by Hans Jacobs and first flown in 1935. For several years i ...

: high-performance sailplane ; DFS Zögling 35 : updated version of the Zögling basic trainer ;

DFS Habicht The DFS ''Habicht'' (German: "Hawk") is an unlimited aerobatic sailplane that was designed in 1936 by Hans Jacobs with support provided by the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug. Four planes were made available for the Olympic Games of ...

: aerobatic sail-plane ;

DFS Kranich The DFS Kranich is a type of German Glider (sailplane), glider. It was developed by Hans Jacobs for the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (DFS). History Series production of the Kranich (Crane) took place in the aircraft division of Ka ...

: (Crane), two-seat sailplane ; Schulgleiter 38 : basic training glider ; DFS B6 : high-performance sailplane ; DFS Ha III : high-performance sailplane ; DFS Reiher : high-performance sailplane ;

DFS Olympia Meise The DFS Olympia Meise (German: "Olympic Titmouse") was a German sailplane designed by the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (DFS) for Olympic competition, based on the DFS Meise. Design and development After the Olympic games in Berlin ...

: high-performance sailplane ; DFS Seeadler : (sea eagle), flying boat sailplane ; DFS Rammer :

aerial ramming Aerial ramming or air ramming is the ramming of one aircraft with another. It is a last-ditch tactic in air combat, sometimes used when all else has failed. Long before the invention of aircraft, ramming tactics in naval warfare and ground warfa ...

plane project powered by a solid rocket engine ; DFS Eber : parasite fighter project

Legacy of the DFS

The modern DLR still does research into gliding flight, as the DFS once did. An example of this is their enlarged 17-meter wingspan

Glaser-Dirks DG-300 The Glaser-Dirks DG-300 is a Standard Class single-seat high-performance glider built from glass-reinforced plastic. The DG-300 was designed by Wilhelm Dirks and manufactured by Glaser-Dirks Flugzeugbau's Slovenian partner company Elan (compa ...

''Elan'' high-performance glider, used to precisely set and measure comparative glider performance parameters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deutsche Forschungsanstalt Fur Segelflug Aerospace research institutes Defunct aircraft manufacturers of Germany Gliding in Germany Research and development in Nazi Germany Research institutes in Germany

List of some major DFS aircraft projects

Legacy of the DFS

See also

References