Gerhard Fieseler Works
The Gerhard-Fieseler-Werke GmbH , in short "Fieseler-Werke" or "Fieseler", was an aircraft factory for the armaments industry in Kassel . At Fieseler, the Fieseler Storch liaison aircraft and the V1 cruise missile were developed and built. Until April 1, 1939, the company operated under the name of Fieseler Flugzeugbau Kassel .
history
Gerhard Fieseler took over Kegel-Flugzeugbau Kassel in Ihringshausen in 1930 and renamed it Fieseler Flugzeugbau Kassel in 1931 . For spatial and logistical reasons, operations were relocated to Lilienthalstrasse in Kassel-Bettenhausen in the autumn of 1933 to the vacant halls of the former Royal Prussian ammunition factory built between 1915 and 1916. In addition to this "Plant I" in Bettenhausen, "Plant II" was built in Lohfelden in the area of today's street "Am Fieseler Werk" and "Plant III" next to the Kassel-Waldau airfield , which was used as a works airfield.
In 1934 the Reich Aviation Ministry (RLM) gave Fieseler orders for civil aircraft and the development of a dive bomber . In 1936, the production of the short take-off and low-speed aircraft Fi 156 ("Fieseler Storch") began, and a short time later the production of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 under license . The large company, which has meanwhile grown to 5,300 employees, was named a "National Socialist Model Company" in 1938. On April 1, 1939, Fieseler Flugzeugbau Kassel changed its name to Gerhard-Fieseler-Werke GmbH (GFW).
On June 5, 1942, the Reich Ministry of Aviation gave the order to develop a "remote missile in the form of an airplane" - the Fieseler Fi 103 flying bomb (better known as "Vergeltungswaffe" V1 ) developed by Robert Lusser at Fieseler was sold to more than 50 Germans in March 1944 Arms factories in mass production. Of around 35,000 V1s, 9,251 were shot down against England (most of them on London ) and 6,551 against Antwerp . During the air raids on Kassel on July 28, 1943, the Fieselerwerke in Bettenhausen and Waldau were the target of a first attack by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) on Kassel. However, mostly residential areas and the neighboring Spinnfaser AG were hit . In another attack by the British Royal Air Force on Kassel on October 22, 1943, more than 10,000 people were killed and all industrial plants were badly damaged. The production figures required by the Luftwaffe were not achieved and Gerhard Fieseler was deposed as operator of the Fieseler works on March 29, 1944 . The successor Sachs, temporarily appointed by Albert Speer , doubled production and implemented death sentences for the slave laborers. On April 19, 1944, the refurbished Fieselerwerke were damaged again by the USAAF bombing raids. A prominent Fieseler employee before 1944 was the designer Erich Bachem , who then produced the first vertical take off manned rocket aircraft Bachem Ba 349 ("Natter") and later the caravan "Eriba" in his own company . His company later became part of Hymer, where Eriba is still a brand today.
On October 15, 1947, the Allied military governors announced that the Gerhard Fieseler works would be dismantled as part of their dismantling plan. To this day, the street name Am Fieseler Werk in Lohfelden is a reminder of the company's previous location.
Aircraft production at Fieseler
Fieseler built aircraft from its own development as well as under license from other manufacturers.
At times, more than 10,000 workers, including thousands of Dutch and French forced laborers , were employed in the three Fieseler plants in Kassel.
Developments from Fieseler
| designation | Surname | use | number of pieces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fieseler F 1 | Tiger Tern | Aerobatic plane | 1 |
| Fieseler F 2 | tiger | Aerobatic plane | 1 |
| Fieseler F 3 | wasp | Sports and touring aircraft | 3 |
| Fieseler F 4 | Sports and touring aircraft | 2 | |
| Fieseler F 5 | School, sport and touring aircraft | 51 | |
| Fieseler F 6 | School and sport aircraft | 1 | |
| Fieseler Fi 97 | Sports and touring aircraft | 5 | |
| Fieseler Fi 98 | Double Decker - Sturzkampfflugzeug | 3 | |
| Fieseler Fi 99 | Young tiger | Sports and touring aircraft | 1 |
| Fieseler Fi 103 | V1 | Flying bomb | around 35,000 |
| Fieseler Fi 156 | stork | Liaison aircraft | 2,867 |
| Fieseler Fi 157 | Test aircraft , unmanned target aircraft | 3 | |
| Fieseler Fi 158 | Test aircraft | 1 | |
| Fieseler Fi 166 | Project with Wernher von Braun | - | |
| Fieseler Fi 167 | Torpedo bombers | 14th | |
| Fieseler Fi 168 | Ground attack aircraft project | - | |
| Fieseler Fi 253 | sparrow | Sports and touring aircraft | 6th |
| Fieseler Fi 256 | Liaison aircraft | 6th | |
| Fieseler Fi 333 | Military multi-purpose transport aircraft project | - |
Licensed buildings
| designation | Surname | use | number of pieces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bf 109 | Fighter aircraft (in particular the Bf 109 T model, which was only produced by Fieseler and was intended for use on the German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin .) | ||
| Fw 190 | Fighter plane |
Gerhard Fieseler Foundation
The Gerhard Fieseler Foundation was established in Kassel on October 17, 1980 . The purpose is to promote existing non-profit institutions of the welfare system, sport, care for the elderly as well as art and culture.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Heinrich Peter - Pilot of the Superstorch ( Memento of the original from March 22, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Heinrich Peter: Radio interview from December 4, 2006 in: erinnerungen-im-netz.de
literature
- Thorsten Wiederhold: Gerhard Fieseler - a career. A business leader in the service of National Socialism. In: National Socialism in North Hesse - Writings on regional contemporary history. Volume 20, Jenior, Kassel 2003, ISBN 3-934377-98-X .
- Gerhard Fieseler: My path in the sky . (Autobiography). Bertelsmann Verlag, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-570-01192-5 .
- Wolfgang Gückelhorn, Detlev Paul: V1 - "Eifelschreck" kills, crashes and impacts of the flying bomb from the Eifel and the right bank of the Rhine 1944/45. Helios, Aachen 2004, ISBN 3-933608-94-5 .
