Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) was a

West German West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republic after its capital c ...

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

. It was formed during the late 1960s as the result of efforts to consolidate the West German aerospace industry; aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt AG merged with the civil engineering and aviation firm Bölkow in 1968, while rival aircraft manufacturer Hamburger Flugzeugbau was acquired by the company in the following year. The company was responsible for the development and manufacture of various aircraft during its existence. Among its best-known products were the MBB Bo 105 light twin-engine helicopter and its enlarged derivative, the MBB/Kawasaki BK 117. MBB was also a key early partner on the

Airbus A300 The Airbus A300 is Airbus' first production aircraft and the world's first Twinjet, twin-engine, double-aisle Wide-body aircraft, (wide-body) airliner. It was developed by ''Airbus Industrie GIE'', now merged into Airbus SE, and manufactured f ...

, a wide-body twin-jet

airliner An airliner is a type of airplane for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. The modern and most common variant of the airliner is a long, tube shaped, and jet powered aircraft. The largest ...

; the company's involvement in the A300's development and production led to it forming a key component of the multinational

Airbus 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 Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...

consortium. It was also involved in numerous experimental aircraft programmes, such as the MBB Lampyridae, an aborted

stealth aircraft Stealth aircraft are designed to avoid detection using a variety of technologies that reduce reflection/emission of radar, infrared, visible light, radio frequency (RF) spectrum, and audio, collectively known as stealth technology. The F-117 Ni ...

. The ownership and assets of MBB changed drastically throughout its roughly two decades of existence. The company was bought by Deutsche Aerospace AG (DASA) in 1989; following several mergers and restructures, the assets of what was MBB presently form a part of

History

On 6 June 1968, Messerschmitt AG merged with the small civil engineering and civil aviation firm Bölkow, becoming Messerschmitt-Bölkow. The following May, the firm acquired Hamburger Flugzeugbau (HFB), which had originated as a branch of Blohm+Voss. To reflect the latter's acquisition, the company changed its name to ''Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm'' (MBB). Upon its formation, 51% of the shares in MBB was owned by the Blohm family, Willy Messerschmitt and Ludwig Bölkow; 22.07% was owned by the German State of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, 17.05% by the state of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, 7.16% by

Thyssen AG Thyssen was a major German steel producer founded by August Thyssen. The company merged with Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp to form ThyssenKrupp in 1999. History On 29 September 1891, August Thyssen and his brother Joseph Thyssen came to ...

, 7.16% by

Siemens AG Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the posit ...

, 7.13% by Allianz Versicherungs-AG, 7.13% by Robert Bosch GmbH and 6.15% by Friedrich Krupp GmbH. Perhaps the most successful product produced primarily by MBB was the Bo 105 helicopter. This rotorcraft, the design of which was headed by German engineer Ludwig Bölkow, made use of a revolutionary

hinge A hinge is a mechanical bearing that connects two solid objects, typically allowing only a limited angle of rotation between them. Two objects connected by an ideal hinge rotate relative to each other about a fixed axis of rotation, with all ...

less main rotor composed of

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass c ...

.Rieck, Joan M
"Bölkow's Bo105."
''Flight International'', 18 May 1967, p. 794. On 13 October 1970, the German Civil Aviation Authority certified the Bo 105; initial deliveries for the first customers, ADAC Air Rescue and the Bavarian State Police, took place shortly thereafter. During 1972, an improved version of the rotorcraft with more powerful engines, the Bo 105C, was developed, this model quickly superseded the Bo 105A.Gotzhein, Christina
"Eurocopter Celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the Maiden Flight of the BO105, the World's First Light Twin-Turbine Production Helicopter."
''Eurocopter'', 15 February 2007. Following its introduction to service in 1970, the Bo 105 quickly proved to be a commercial success. Production continued until 2001; by the end of production, 1,406 rotorcraft had been manufactured and delivered to operators in 55 nations worldwide. It served as the basis for several derivatives, such as the MBB/Kawasaki BK 117.McCellan 1986, p. 64. Having established a reputation for reliability and safety, MBB, along with one of its major

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of corporate stock refers to an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the ...

s, Boeing Vertol, began studying options during the 1970s for producing an enlarged version to accompany the Bo 105.McCellan 1986, pp. 64, 66. However, Boeing withdrew from the venture, leading to MBB search for another partner; this was found in the form of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese company

Kawasaki Heavy Industries is a Japanese Public company, public multinational corporation manufacturer of motorcycles, engines, Heavy equipment (construction), heavy equipment, aerospace and Military, defense equipment, rolling stock and ships, headquartered in Minato, To ...

.McCellan 1986, p. 66. On 25 February 1977, MBB and Kawasaki signed an agreement to cooperate on the development of a new rotorcraft. Under the terms of this agreement, the two corporations merged their previously separate projects to produce twin-engined general purpose helicopters, these being the ''Bo 107'' by MBB and the ''KH-7'' from Kawasaki.''Air International'' April 1989, p. 163. Separate elements were assigned to each company; MBB were responsible for developing the

rotor ROTOR was an elaborate air defence radar system built by the British Government in the early 1950s to counter possible attack by Soviet bombers. To get it operational as quickly as possible, it was initially made up primarily of WWII-era syst ...

s (these were based on the rigid rotor system previously used on MBB's Bo 105), tailboom, flight controls and

hydraulic Hydraulics () is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counterpart of pneumatics, which concer ...

system while Kawasaki undertook the development of the

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for taxiing, takeoff or landing. For aircraft, it is generally needed for all three of these. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, s ...

airframe The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe. This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage, undercarriage, empennage and wings, and excludes the propulsion system. Airframe design is a field of aeros ...

, main transmission, electrical system and other minor components. Each company established its own final assembly line for the type, on which they produced the rotorcraft to meet demands within their respective local markets.''Air International'' April 1989, p. 164. An even more advanced derivative of the Bo 105, initially designated by MBB as the ''Bo 108'' began development during the 1970s. The company developed it in partnership with France's

Aérospatiale Aérospatiale () was a major French state-owned aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and arms industry, defence corporation. It was founded in 1970 as () through the merger of three established state-owned companies: Sud Aviation, Nord Aviation ...

; the Bo 108 was originally intended to be a technology demonstrator, combining attributes of the successful Bo 105 with new advances and an aerodynamically streamlined design.Pope, Stephen
"Eurocopter EC 135"
. ''Flying Magazine'', 18 May 2012.Benenson, Tom
"The EC135: Melding form & Function."
''Flying Magazine'', April 2004. Vol. 131, No. 4. pp. 86–91. Technologies included the first full-authority digital engine controls (

FADEC A full authority digital engine (or electronics) control (FADEC) is a system consisting of a digital computer, called an "electronic engine controller" (EEC) or " engine control unit" (ECU), and its related accessories that control all aspects of a ...

) on a helicopter, a hingeless main rotor, and the adoption of a new transmission. First flown on 17 October 1988, a production version was introduced as the

Eurocopter EC135 The Airbus Helicopters H135, formerly Eurocopter EC135, is a twin-engine civil light utility helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters. It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules (IFR) and is outfitted with a digital automatic flig ...

during the early 1990s which, like its Bo 105 ancestor, achieved similar commercial success. Perhaps the most important partnership that MBB was involved in was the

. On 26 September 1967, the British, French, and West German governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding to start development of the A300.Simons 2014, p. 38.Endres 2004, p. 43.Pitt and Norsworthy 2012, p. 57. At this point, the A300 was only the second major joint aircraft programme in Europe, the first being the Anglo-French

Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...

. Under the terms of the memorandum, Britain and France were each to receive a 37.5 per cent work share on the project, while Germany received a 25 per cent share. France's

Sud Aviation Sud Aviation (, 'Southern Aviation') was a French state-owned aircraft manufacturer, originating in the merger of Sud-Est ( SNCASE, or ''Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques du sud-est'') and Sud-Ouest ( SNCASO or ''Société nat ...

was recognized as the lead company for A300, while

Hawker Siddeley Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in list of aircraft manufacturers, aircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series of mergers ...

was selected as the British partner company."Early days (1967–1969)."
''Airbus'', Retrieved: 28 February 2016. On 29 May 1969, during the

Paris Air Show The Paris Air Show (, ''Salon du Bourget'') is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in France. Organized by the French aerospace industry's primary representative body, the ''Groupement des industries frança ...

, French transport minister Jean Chamant and German economics minister Karl Schiller signed an agreement officially launching the Airbus A300, the world's first twin-engine widebody airliner. The project intended to produce an aircraft that was smaller, lighter, and more economical than its three-engine American rivals, the

McDonnell Douglas DC-10 The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 was intended to succeed the Douglas DC-8, DC-8 for long-Range (aeronautics), range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; i ...

and the

Lockheed L-1011 TriStar The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar (pronounced "El-ten-eleven") is an American medium-to-long-range, wide-body trijet airliner built by the Lockheed Corporation. It was the third wide-body airliner to enter commercial operations, after the Boeing 747 ...

."First order, first flight (1970–1972)."
''Airbus'', Retrieved: 28 February 2016. Shortly after the Paris Air Show agreement, it was decided that, to provide effective management of responsibilities, a

Groupement d'intérêt économique A (abbreviated ''GIE''; in English Economic Interest Grouping or Economic Interest Group, abbreviated ''EIG'') is a Francophone consortium of related businesses, companies, foundations, organisations or institutes which are formally pooling the ...

would be established, allowing the various partners to work together on the project while remaining separate business entities; this would be the origins of the Airbus Group. On 18 December 1970, Airbus Industrie was formally established following an agreement between

(the newly merged Sud Aviation and

Nord Aviation Nord-Aviation () was a state-owned French aircraft manufacturer. The bulk of its facilities were based on the site of Bourges airport, in the département of Cher, in central France. On 1 October 1954, Nord Aviation was created as a result of ...

) of France and the antecedents to Deutsche Aerospace of Germany, each receiving a 50 per cent stake in the newly formed company.Simons 2014, p. 39.Bowen 2010, p. 50. On 15 March 1974,

type certificate A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). Certification confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production is in compliance w ...

s were granted for the A300 from both German and French authorities, clearing the way for its entry into revenue service. Ten years after the official launch of the A300, the company had achieved a 26 per cent market share in terms of dollar value, enabling Airbus Industries to proceed with the development of its second aircraft, the

Airbus A310 The Airbus A310 is a wide-body aircraft, Aircraft design process, designed and manufactured by Airbus Industrie GIE, then a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers. Airbus had identified a demand for an aircraft smaller than the Airbus ...

."Champagne ... and drought (1973–1977)."
''Airbus'', Retrieved: 28 February 2016. During 1981, MBB acquired rival company

Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke (VFW; English: "United Aviation Engineering Works") was a West German aerospace manufacturer. The company was formed by the 1964 merger of two German aerospace firms, Focke-Wulf and Weser Flugzeugbau GmbH (Weserfl ...

(VFW), which itself had been formed via the merger of the aircraft manufacturers Focke-Wulf,

Focke-Achgelis 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 pressur ...

, and Weserflug. During the following year, MBB acquired the astronautics company Entwicklungsring Nord (ERNO; to reflect this change, the company was rebranded as ''MBB-ERNO''. In 1989, MBB was taken over by Deutsche Aerospace AG (DASA), which was renamed "Daimler-Benz Aerospace" in 1995. Following the 1998 merger of the German industrial group Daimler Benz and the American company

Chrysler Corporation FCA US, LLC, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of ...

, the aerospace division was renamed

DaimlerChrysler Aerospace 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 AG (later DaimlerChrysle ...

AG on 7 November 1998. As part of the prevailing trend of European defense consolidation of the late 1990s saw DASA being merged with Aerospatiale-Matra of France and Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) of Spain to form the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) during 2000. The former assets of the DaimlerChrysler Aerospace, for the most part, presently operate as "Airbus Germany".Answers.com (n.d.)

Retrieved 22 March 2007.

Subsidiaries

* MBB-Liftsystems AG, which produces lifting systems for trucks and vans * MBB-Sondertechnik (today FHS Förder– und Hebesysteme GmbH), developed wind rotors in the 1980s and 1990s, and lifting systems for military use. * MBB Gelma GmbH, produces timekeeping units and machine control units (today owned by DORMA, DORMA KG) * MBB Group AG

Products

Aircraft

* MBB Lampyridae * MBB Bo 102 * MBB Bo 103 * MBB Bo 105 * MBB Bo 106 * MBB Bo 108 - became the Eurocopter EC 135 * MBB Bo 115 * MBB Bo 209 * MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 * MBB 223 Flamingo * MBB/ Hamburger Flugzeugbau HFB-320 Hansa Jet * MBB F-104G/CCV (CCV Program)

Partnerships

* Airbus A320 family * Eurofighter Typhoon *

Panavia Tornado The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multi-role combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany. There are three primary #Variants, Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS ...

* Rockwell-MBB X-31 * Transall C-160 * MPC 75

Missiles

* AS.34 Kormoran *

Cobra (missile) The Cobra was a Swiss/West Germany, West German anti-tank missile designed by the Oerlikon-Contraves and Bölkow GmbH companies. It entered service with the German Army in the late 1950s. It was followed by the Cobra 2000 and Mamba missile system ...

Partnerships

HOT (missile) The HOT (French: ''Haut subsonique Optiquement Téléguidé Tiré d'un Tube'', or High Subsonic, Optical, Remote-Guided, Tube-Launched) is a second-generation long-range anti-tank guided missile system. It was developed originally to replace the ...

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 (missile)

Space hardware

Uncrewed spacecraft

Helios (spacecraft) ''Helios-A'' and ''Helios-B'' (after launch renamed ' and ') are a pair of probes that were launched into heliocentric orbit to study solar processes. As a joint venture between German Aerospace Center (DLR) and NASA, the probes were launch ...

* Symphonie * EURECA * Shuttle pallet satellite

Crewed spacecraft

Spacelab Spacelab was a reusable laboratory developed by European Space Agency (ESA) and used on certain spaceflights flown by the Space Shuttle. The laboratory comprised multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier, ...

Saenger (spacecraft) Saenger or Sänger was a West German concept design for a two-stage-to-orbit spaceplane. It is named after Eugen Sänger, who had been a key figure in the development of the concept for aerospace company Junkers.Hallmann, Willi and Ley, W. (Eds.) ...

Other

MBTA Commuter Rail The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA's) transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track on 12 lines to 142 stations. It ...

BTC-3 and CTC-3 rail cars * DB Class 420 commuter trains *DB

ICE 1 The ICE 1 is the first batch-produced German high-speed train and the first of now several within the Intercity Express family. Revenue service at speeds up to started in 1991, it was raised to in May 1995. Trainsets consist of two pow ...

high-speed trains *Alpenflug, a suspended roller coaster File:Db-420414-00.jpg, DB Class 420 commuter trainsets in Stuttgart File:Hugh llewelyn 401 566 (5954451934).jpg, DB ICE 1 (Class 401) high-speed trainset in Munich File:MBB Cab Car (2210073028).jpg, MBTA CTC-3 cab car at Ruggles station

References

Citations

General sources

* "BK 117...a Terrestrial Space Ship". ''

Air International ''AIR International'' is a British aviation magazine covering current defence aerospace and civil aviation topics. It has been in publication since 1971 and is currently published by Key Publishing Ltd. History and profile The magazine was fir ...

'', Vol. 36, No. 4, April 1989. Bromley, UK: Fine Scroll. . pp. 163–170. * Bowen, John T. ''The Economic Geography of Air Transportation: Space, Time, and the Freedom of the Sky''. Business & Economics, 2010. . * * * McCellan, J. Mac
"Paramedic"
'' Flying'', February 1986. Vol. 113, No. 2. pp. 62–67. . * Pitt, Ivan L. and John Randolph Norsworthy. ''Economics of the U.S. Commercial Airline Industry: Productivity, Technology and Deregulation''. Springer, 2012. . * Senguttuvan, P. S. ''Fundamentals of Air Transport Management''. Excel Books India, 2006. . * Simons, Graham. ''The Airbus A380: A History''. Pen and Sword, 2014. .

External links

Airbus Group

MBB Industries AG

MBB Group AG

MBB Projects GmbH

MBB Palfinger GmbH

MBB KOMET, the first high-speed maglev

{{DEFAULTSORT:Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm Aerospace companies of Germany Aircraft manufacturers of Germany Companies based in Bavaria Defence companies of Germany Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Germany Helicopter manufacturers of Germany Messerschmitt