Focke-Achgelis FA 223

The Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 Drache ("Dragon" in English) was a helicopter developed by Germany during World War II. Noted for being the first helicopter to attain production status, Allied offensive actions limited production and only approximately 20 were made. It was powered by a 1,000 hp Bramo 323 radial engine which drove two, three-bladed Template:Convert rotors mounted on twin booms on either side of the Template:Convert long cylindrical fuselage.

Although the Fa 223 could maintain a top speed of up to Template:Convert, speeds as high as Template:Convert were recorded, and altitudes of up to Template:Convert. The Drache could transport cargo loads of over Template:Convert at cruising speeds of Template:Convert and altitudes approaching Template:Convert.

Development

Henrich Focke had been removed from the company he had cofounded in 1936 by the Nazi regime. Though the ostensible reason was that he was "politically unreliable" there is reason to believe it was so that Focke-Wulf's manufacturing capacity could be used to produce Bf 109 aircraft. The company was taken over by AEG, but soon after this the Air Ministry was so impressed by the Focke-Wulf Fw 61 helicopter that it suggested Focke establish a new company dedicated to helicopter development and issued him with a requirement for an improved design capable of carrying a Template:Convert payload. Focke established the Focke-Achgelis company in 1937 in partnership with pilot Gerd Achgelis, and began development work at Delmenhorst in 1938.

They first produced an enlarged version of the Fw 61 which could carry up to 6 people, which was designated Fa 226 "Hornisse" ("Hornet"), contracting out development of the engine, transmission, and rotor hub to BMW's Berlin works. The Fa 226 was the world's first transport helicopter and was ordered by Lufthansa in 1938.

The Fa 226 attracted the attention of the Air Ministry who redesignated it Fa 223 in 1939 before the first prototype flew. The Navy was also interested in the Hornisse and briefly considered it as a replacement for their Schnellboote.

In September 1939 the first prototype, the V1, left the Delmenhorst factory. Now nicknamed "Drache" ("Dragon") it had a twin-rotor layout similar to the Fw 61, but had a fully enclosed cabin and load bay, with the single Bramo engine mounted in the middle of the tubular-steel body.

Initial hovering tests showed problems and the V1 was not to fly until 1940. The engine initially specified, a BMW Bramo 323D proved too fragile when run at high speed for any length of time, and was replaced with a more robust 1,000 hp Bramo 323Q3 in the later prototypes to improve reliability and lifting capability. The biggest problem, however, was the severe vibration caused by unbalanced driveshafts when the rotors moved out of phase, and this could only be fixed by greater attention to detail on the part of BMW.

First flight

The V1's first untethered flight was on 3 August 1940, after over 100 hours of ground testing. In October it was flown to the test centre at Rechlin to be demonstrated, and while there set a top speed of Template:Convert, a climb rate of Template:Convert per minute, and a maximum altitude of Template:Convert.

Despite this, the Drache was nowhere near ready for military service, and Focke-Achgelis were told to accelerate their development programme. An initial production order for 100 machines was promised.

Variants

Following the helicopter's demonstration at Rechlin, the Ministry issued specifications for five variants:

• Fa 223A - for anti-submarine warfare, to carry 2 x Template:Convert bombs or depth charges.
• Fa 223B - for reconnaissance missions; fitted with a jettisonable fuel tank.
• Fa 223C - for search and rescue duties, fitted with a steel winch cable.
• Fa 223D - freight variant, for resupplying mountain troops.
• Fa 223E - dual-control trainer.

In February 1941 the V1 was lost in an accident following engine failure at an altitude too low for an auto-rotative landing.

The V2 was completed shortly after, featuring a fully-glazed cockpit and a machine gun operated by the observer. It was, however, soon destroyed in an Allied air raid.

V3 prototype

By the time the V3 prototype appeared the Air Ministry had abandoned the idea of different variants and settled on a single multipurpose aircraft which could combine all the roles; the V3 reflected this new thinking and set the design features for all the models that followed and it incorporated dual controls and an electric winch.

Like its predecessors, the V3's body consisted of welded steel tubing covered with treated fabric to save weight and make repairs easier. Its interior was divided into four sections: the cockpit; the load compartment; the engine compartment; and the tail section. The engine and gearbox were centrally mounted and held in place by a series of tensioned steel cables, with the gearbox in front of the engine.

Production

Serial production of the Fa 223 began at the Focke-Achgelis factory in Delmenhorst in 1942. The site was struck soon after by an Allied air raid and destroyed along with the two surviving prototypes and the first 7 pre-production machines undergoing final assembly.

Attempts were made to restore production but were abandoned in 1943 after producing 8 machines, and a new plant was set up at Laupheim, near Stuttgart. The first Drache to emerge from the new factory, the V11, was flown by pilot Karl Bode for a series of information films made for the Air Ministry to demonstrate the Fa 223's abilities. Loads which included a complete Fiesler Storch aircraft and the fuselage of a Bf 109 were shown being lowered with great precision on to vehicles using the Drache's winch and special quick-release electrical cargo hook.

In the spring of 1944 a Dornier Do 217 crashed high up on the Vehner moor in Lower Saxony, between Osnabruck and Oldenburg, and it was decided to send the V11 to recover the wreckage. Unfortunately the V11 ended up crashing nearby before it could attempt to lift the Do 217's remains.

It was then decided to attempt to recover both using the V14. Flown by Karl Bode and Luftwaffe helicopter pilot Helmut Gerstenhauer, the operation was begun on 11 May 1944. A small team of Focke-Achgelis men and a Luftwaffe recovery company had already dismantled the V11, and the V14 made 10 flights carrying loads beneath it in a cargo net and setting them down where they could be loaded on to road vehicles. All the major parts of the V11 and the Do 217 were retrieved and much useful experience was gained.

Following this, the Air Ministry decided to evaluate the helicopter's potential as a transport in mountainous regions, and the V16 was assigned to the Mountain Warfare School at Mittenwald, near Innsbruck, with the V14 as a backup. The objective of the tests was to see how the Drache would perform as a general-purpose all-weather transport, and numerous landings were made at altitudes of over Template:Convert above sea level, plus experimental transportation of artillery guns to mountain troops. When the trials ended in October 1944, a total of 83 flights had been made, with a total flying time of 20 hours.

Only 7 machines had been constructed at Laupheim before an air raid halted production in July 1944 and wiped out the factory. At the time of the raid, the V18 prototype was ready for delivery, 13 Draches were in assembly, and there were enough components for a further 19. Following the raid the Air Ministry decided that it was useless to pursue the project any further and following the mountain trials Focke was assigned to Messerschmitt's staff.

Only weeks later, Focke received new orders, this time to return to the Focke-Achgelis company and to move the entire operation to Tempelhof Airport in Berlin where flight testing was to be resumed, and a production line established to produce 400 helicopters per month.

Operational service

The V12, after completing a long cross-country flight from Germany, was flown to Mont Blanc to perform a rescue of 17 people trapped on the mountain. Unfortunately, a mechanical link failure resulted in a rotor disintegrating, and, although the machine touched down on its wheels, it was hurled against an embankment and the crew was killed.

Danzig flight

The company had managed to keep hold of 2 of the 5 surviving Draches and managed to produce a new example at Tempelhof in February 1945. Almost immediately it was ordered on a "special order from the Fuehrer" to fly to Danzig on 25 February.

Flown by Gerstenhauer and two copilots, the Drache took off from Tempelhof on 26 February. It first headed northeast in the direction of Würzburg. Gerstenhauer lost his bearings in the bad weather and had to land at Crailsheim. Once the weather lessened, they set off again and landed at Würzburg to refuel then set off northeast the next day and flew nonstop to Werder, a distance of Template:Convert.

On the third day the Drache continued towards Stettin-Altdamm, but the bad weather again forced them to land, this time at Prenzlau. They attempted to resume the flight the next day, but the weather remained bad and they had to stop at Stolp, west of Danzig, for the night.

By 5 March the war situation had become very bad, and Gerstenhauer decided they had to leave Stolp before the Russians arrived. They took off and flew directly to Danzig right over the advancing Soviet army, reaching Danzig only to find that the city was already falling. They landed outside the city to wait for further orders, which when they came directed them to return to Werder. They did this via a lengthy flight along the Baltic coast via Garz, not reaching Werder until 11 March.

The entire flight had covered a record Template:Convert with a flight time of 16 hours 25 minutes.

TS/40

In January 1945 the Air Ministry assigned the other 3 Draches to Transportstaffel 40 (TS/40) at Mühldorf, Bavaria, the Luftwaffe's only operational helicopter squadron. TS/40 relocated to various sites before ending up at Ainring in Austria, where one of the Draches was destroyed by its pilot to prevent it being captured and the other two were seized by US forces.

Cross-Channel flight

The US intended to ferry captured aircraft back to the USA aboard a ship, but only had room for one of the captured Draches. The RAF objected to plans to destroy the other, the V14, so Gerstenhauer, with two observers, flew it across the English Channel from Cherbourg to RAF Beaulieu on 6 September 1945, the first crossing of the Channel by a helicopter.

The V14 later made two successful test flights at RAF Beaulieu before being destroyed on 3 October when a driveshaft failed. The accident was thought to be due to a failure to correctly tension the steel cables which secured the engine, despite warnings from Gerstenhauer.

Postwar

• In France, the Sud-Ouest company constructed the SE-3000 as a development of the Fa 223, assisted by Focke. Designed for transport purposes, it had accommodation for four passengers and was powered by a 720 hp Bramo "Fafnir" engine. Three were built, the first flown on 23 October 1948.

• Two Fa 223s were completed by the Ceskoslovenske Zavody Letecke (formerly Avia) factory in Czechoslovakia in 1945-1946 from salvaged components, and designated VR-1.

Variants

A hybrid Fa 223 was proposed by Focke with two bodies joined inline to form a four-rotor heavy lift helicopter. An unfinished central joining section was found by Allied troops at Ochsenhausen.

Operators

Template:Country data Germany

• Luftwaffe
  • Transportstaffel 40

Post War

Template:CZS

• Czechoslovak Air Force received 2 built post war, designated as VR-1.

Template:FRA

• French Air Force received 1 built post war, designated as SE-3000.

Specifications (Fa 223)

General characteristics

• Crew: 1 Pilot + 3 Aircrew (Opt. for Anti-Submarine, Rescues & Searches)
• Capacity: Pilot & Aircrew + 8 Soldiers or 4 litters for Evac of wounded Soldiers.
• Length: 12.25 m (40 ft 2 in)
• Rotor diameter: 12.00 m (39 ft 4 in)
• Height: 4.35 m (14 ft 3 in)
• Empty weight: 3,180 kg (7,000 lb)
• Loaded weight: 3,860 kg (8,500 lb))
• Useful load: 2,204 lb (1,000 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 4,309 - 4434 kg (9,500 - 9775 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× BMW-Bramo 323 D 9 Cylinder Radial Engine, 746 kW (1,000 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 175 km/h (94.5 kn, 109 mph)
• Cruise speed: 121 km/h (65.3 kn, 75 mph)
• Range: 700 km (378 NM, 435 mi)
• Service ceiling: At Max take-off weight - 2,400 m (7,874 ft)
• Rate of climb: 4 m/s (13 ft/s)

Armament

1 - MG 15 manually aimed from the nose. 2 - 250 kg (551 lb.) bombs.

See also

Related development

• Focke Achgelis Fa 61
• Focke Achgelis Fa 266

Comparable aircraft

• Sikorsky R-4
• V22

References

Bibliography

• Coates, Steve and Carbonel, Jean-Christophe. Helicopters of the Third Reich. Crowborough, UK: Classic Publications Ltd., 2002. ISBN 1-903223-24-5.
• Nowarra, Heinz J. German Helicopters, 1928-1945. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 1990. ISBN 0-88740-289-5.
• Polmar, Norman; Floyd D. Kennedy (1981). Military Helicopters of the World: Military Rotary-wing Aircraft Since 1917. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870213830. 
• Smith, J. Richard. Focke-Wulf, an Aircraft Album. London: Ian Allan Ltd., 1973. ISBN 0-7110-0425-0.
• Smith, J. Richard and Kay, Anthony. German Aircraft of the Second World War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd. 1972 (3rd edition 1978). ISBN 0-370-00024-2.
• Witkowski, Ryszard. Rotorcraft of the Third Reich. Redbourn, UK: Mushroom Model Publications, 2007. ISBN 978-83-89450-43-2.

External links

• Fa 223 Drache entry at the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission website

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Focke-Achgelis FA 223".