Focke-Achgelis
| Focke, Achgelis & Co GmbH | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Company with limited liability |
| founding | April 27, 1937 |
| resolution | Spring 1944 |
| Reason for dissolution | Takeover by Weser-Flugzeugbau GmbH on RLM instruction |
| Seat | Hoykenkamp (today Ganderkesee ) near Delmenhorst |
| Branch | Helicopter manufacturer |
The Focke, Achgelis & Co GmbH , shortly Focke-Achgelis was a helicopter manufacturers in the defense industry in Hoykenkamp (now Ganderkesee ) in Delmenhorst .
history
On April 27, 1937, Henrich Focke founded the company in Hoykenkamp near Bremen together with the German master in aerobatics, Gerd Achgelis . Here he found suitable production facilities in an old iron foundry and a former margarine factory. The company's task was to develop the Fw 61 helicopter . First and foremost, it was about the development and testing of prototypes, for which building licenses could then be issued. The company owned an engine plant in Varel and a production facility in Berlin-Spandau at Brandenburgische Motorenwerke (Bramo, from 1939 BMW-Flugmotorenwerke Brandenburg ) and later a branch in Laupheim near Ulm. The Fw 61, which was converted into a kind of "flying laboratory", was tested in Hoykenkamp and at Delmenhorst Air Base.
In August 1939 a new helicopter left the factory, the prototype of the Fa 223 . At the beginning of 1942 this transport helicopter was ready for series production; By the end of the war, the Focke-Achgelis group of companies was producing 20 of these in the Delmenhorst, Berlin and Laupheim plants. When the war broke out in 1939, the group of companies had ten Fa 224 "Libelle" machines under construction. You should u. a. can be used for helicopter training. After the beginning of the war, the work was stopped and the parts were scrapped in 1940. Also in 1939, the Focke-Achgelis company designed and built three models of the Fa 266 “Hornisse” , the civilian version of which Lufthansa was interested in. This program, too, was eventually stopped and the three machines were scrapped. In contrast, the submarine war in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean brought new sales opportunities. On behalf of the Reich Aviation Ministry (RLM), Focke-Achgelis designed and built the gyroplane Fa 330 "Wagtail" for use on submarines from the beginning of 1942 .
After the Hoykenkamp plant was largely destroyed by a bomb attack on July 4, 1942, Focke-Achgelis relocated helicopter development and assembly to Laupheim and Ochsenhausen , where production could start in January 1943. The series production of the Fa 330 "White Wagtail" remained at the Delmenhorst plant from spring 1943, because the gyrocopter were so light that they could be carried into the basement in the event of an air raid. The factory produced over 100 machines of this type. As a result of a shift in priorities in favor of the Me 163 , Focke-Achgelis had to leave workplaces and personnel to the Messerschmitt development team. Repairs and the production of spare parts for the Me 163 stationed at the Zwischenahn air base near Rostrup were also carried out here.
In the spring of 1944, Weser-Flugzeugbau took over Focke-Achgelis on instructions from RLM, who employed 419 workers at the time.
Aircraft production at Focke-Achgelis
Focke-Achgelis also produced the Fw 190 , Fw 200 and the dive bomber Ju 87 under license . The main business, however, remained the development and construction of helicopters.
Production list
| designation | Surname | use | number of pieces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fa 61 | Experimental helicopter | 2 | |
| Fa 223 | Dragons | helicopter | 40 |
| Fa 224 | dragon-fly | helicopter | The construction of 10 copies was canceled. |
| Fa 225 | Experimental helicopter | 1 | |
| Fa 266 | hornet | civil helicopter | 3 |
| Fa 269 | Wooden dummy | - | |
| Fa 283 | Project | - | |
| Fa 284 | prototype | 1 | |
| Fa 330 | wagtail | Gyroplane | about 200 |
| Fa 336 | prototype | 1 |
Web links
literature
- From Zeppelin to Airbus, aviation in northwest Germany . Delius Klasing Verlag, ISBN 978-3-7688-1966-4 .