Flettner Fl 265

Last updated
Fl 265
Flettner Fl 265.jpg
Flettner Fl 265 in flight
RoleExperimental helicopter
Manufacturer Flettner
Designer Anton Flettner
First flight 1939
Primary user Luftwaffe
Number built6
Variants Flettner Fl 282

The Flettner Fl 265 was an experimental helicopter designed by Anton Flettner.

Contents

Design and development

This helicopter, developed in 1938 with the support of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine , made it possible, for the first time, to transition from powered rotary-wing flight to autorotation and back again, making it the safest helicopter of its time. In contrast to the Fl 185, the Fl 265, believed to be the pioneering example of a synchropter, had two intermeshing rotors 12 m in diameter, powered by a 160 hp (119 kW) BMW-Bramo Sh 14 A radial engine in the nose of the fuselage, fitted with a fan to assist cooling. Six helicopters were constructed, but series production was curtailed in favour of the Flettner Fl 282. [1]

In 1939 the helicopter was tested by test pilot Richard Perlia. A second test pilot alongside Perlia unfortunately had a fatal accident during a test flight. [2]

Operators

Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg  Germany

Specifications (Fl 265)

Data from [3]

General characteristics

Performance

Flettner Fl 265 in scale of 1 : 4,6 as shown at the Helicopter Museum of Buckeburg Flettner Fl 265 Modell im Hubschraubermuseum.jpg
Flettner Fl 265 in scale of 1 : 4,6 as shown at the Helicopter Museum of Bückeburg

See also

Notes

  1. Ford, Roger (2013). Germany's Secret Weapons of World War II. London, United Kingdom: Amber Books. p. 224. ISBN   9781909160569.
  2. Flettner Fl 265 (in German)
  3. Green, William (2010). Aircraft of the Third Reich. Vol. 1 (1st ed.). London: Aerospace Publishing Limited. pp. 328–329. ISBN   978 1 900732 06 2.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Focke-Wulf Fw 61</span> First practical, functional helicopter, first flown in 1936

The Focke-Wulf Fw 61 is often considered the first practical, functional helicopter, first flown in 1936. It was also known as the Fa 61, as Focke began a new company—Focke-Achgelis—in 1937.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dornier Do 11</span> Type of aircraft

The Dornier Do 11 was a German heavy bomber, developed in secret in the early 1930s. It was originally called the Dornier F before being renamed by the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) in 1933, and was considered a heavy bomber at the time. It came into service in 1932, a continuation of a line of bomber designs from the Dornier Do P in 1930, and the Dornier Do Y in 1931. The line would continue to develop with the Dornier Do 13 and Dornier Do 23.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bramo 323</span>

The Bramo 323 Fafnir is a nine-cylinder radial aircraft engine of the World War II era. Based heavily on Siemens/Bramo's earlier experience producing the Bristol Jupiter under licence, the Bramo 323 saw limited use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 Drache</span> 1940 helicopter series by Focke-Achgelis

The Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 Drache was a helicopter developed by Germany during World War II. A single 750-kilowatt (1,010 hp) Bramo 323 radial engine powered two three-bladed 11.9-metre (39 ft) rotors mounted on twin booms on either side of the 12.2-metre-long (40 ft) cylindrical fuselage. Although the Fa 223 is noted for being the first helicopter to attain production status, production of the helicopter was hampered by Allied bombing of the factory, and only 20 were built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaman HH-43 Huskie</span> Helicopter with intermeshing rotors in use by the US military from the 1950s to the 1970s

The Kaman HH-43 Huskie is a helicopter developed and produced by the American rotorcraft manufacturer Kaman Aircraft. It is perhaps most distinctive for its use of twin intermeshing rotors, having been largely designed by the German aeronautical engineer Anton Flettner.

The Flettner 184 was a German night reconnaissance and anti-submarine autogyro developed during the 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flettner Fl 282</span> Type of aircraft

The Flettner Fl 282 Kolibri ("Hummingbird") is a single-seat intermeshing rotor helicopter, or synchropter, produced by Anton Flettner of Germany. According to Yves Le Bec, the Flettner Fl 282 was the world's first series production helicopter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fieseler Fi 157</span> Type of aircraft

The Fieseler Fi 157 was an unsuccessful attempt at developing a radio-controlled, full-sized anti-aircraft target.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siemens-Halske Sh 14</span> Seven-cylinder air-cooled radial engine for aircraft

The Siemens-Halske Sh 14 was a seven-cylinder air-cooled radial engine for aircraft produced in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s. First run in 1928, it was rated at 93 kW (125 hp).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arado Ar 195</span> Prototype torpedo bomber by Arado

The Arado Ar 195 was a single-engine prototype carrier-based torpedo bomber, built by the German firm Arado for service on the German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin, during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beneš-Mráz Beta-Scolar</span> 1930s Czechoslovakian light aircraft

The Beneš-Mráz Be.252 Beta-Scolar was an aerobatic aircraft manufactured in Czechoslovakia shortly before World War II. Based on the Beneš-Mráz Beta-Minor, it had a structure considerably strengthened for aerobatics and a more powerful radial engine in place of the Beta-Minor's inline engine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flettner Fl 185</span> Type of aircraft

The Flettner Fl 185 was an experimental German gyrodyne developed by Anton Flettner, a machine which could fly both as a helicopter and as a gyroplane.

The Siemens-Halske Sh 22 was a nine-cylinder aircraft radial engine manufactured by Siemens & Halske in Germany in the 1930s. Following the reorganization of its manufacturer and change in military nomenclature, the engine became known as the Bramo 322.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kellett XR-8</span> Type of aircraft

The Kellett XR-8 was a helicopter built in the United States during World War II. It was a two-seat machine intended to demonstrate the feasibility of a twin-rotor system and, while it accomplished this, it also demonstrated a number of problems that prevented further development of this particular design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henschel Hs 122</span> Type of aircraft

The Henschel Hs 122 was a German army cooperation/reconnaissance aircraft of the mid-1930s, radial-engined and with a parasol wing. Though only pre-production variants entered service, the Hs 122 led on to the Hs 126 which was produced in large numbers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fieseler Fi 158</span> Type of aircraft

The Fieseler Fi 158 was a civilian research aircraft designed and built in Germany from 1938.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doblhoff WNF 342</span> Type of aircraft

The Doblhoff/WNF 342 was an early experimental tip jet helicopter designed and produced by Wiener-Neustädter Flugzeugwerke. It was the first helicopter to take off and land using tip jets to drive the rotor.

The Arado Ar 69 was a two-seat German beginner's school and sport biplane with an open cockpit, developed in 1933 by Arado Flugzeugwerke.

The Flettner Gigant was an experimental helicopter built in Germany during the early 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SNCAC NC.2001 Abeille</span> Type of aircraft

The SNCAC NC.2001 Abeille was a single engine, twin intermeshing rotor helicopter designed and built in France in the late 1940s. Three were completed but only one flew, development ending when SNCAC was closed.

References