Anton Flettner
Encyclopedia
Anton Flettner was a German aviation engineer
and inventor. He made important contributions to airplane and helicopter design. He was born in Eddersheim (today a district of Hattersheim am Main
).
, Flettner developed the servo tab
/ anti-servo tab, and working under the aegis of Graf Zeppelin
, he worked on remote control and pilotless aircraft. This work culminated in the prototype Siemen Schuckert Werke 1000 kg wire guided air to surface missile of 1918.
Following World War I
, Flettner directed an aeronautical and hydrodynamic research institute in Amsterdam
.
In the 1920s, he bought a schooner
and added two rotating 50-foot cylinders onto it, and thus was the first to build a propulsion system based on the Magnus effect
. He came upon the idea while at the beach with his wife. He used sand, flowing over his rotating hand, to describe the Magnus effect and realized its potential on sail propulsion. The ship was named Baden-Baden
and crossed the Atlantic
in 1926. It could outsail normal schooners under moderate to heavy winds, but was destroyed by a storm in 1931. A commercial ship, the Barbara, was also built, and sailed to the United States.
, he headed Anton Flettner, Flugzeugbau GmbH, which specialized in helicopters.
Anton Flettner was also noted for his invention of the famous Flettner rotary ventilator, widely used on buses, vans, boats, campervans and trucks to assist cooling without the use of energy — modern derivatives of his ventilator are still manufactured in Britain by Flettner Ventilator Limited.
The helicopter invention was accomplished from his wealth from the ventilator business, whose success also depended on the skill of his wife, Lydia Freudenberg Flettner. Although Anton Flettner built his helicopters for the German military, primarily for navy spotter use, his wife was Jewish. He held a personal relationship with Himmler
who in turn had a lower ranked officer and his men escort her family safely to Sweden for the duration of World War II
. His partner and confidant was Dr. Kurt Hohenemser, a brilliant and thorough engineer who developed the details necessary for the helicopter's success. Dr. Hohenemser's father was also Jewish, yet the pair remained unharmed during their tenure together throughout the war as they worked to develop the helicopter for military use.
While the final product, the Flettner Fl 282 Kolibri
("Hummingbird"), could be factory-assembled, Flettner and Hohenemser insisted that they were the only ones who were capable of assembling the complex intermeshing rotor
gearbox assembly. However, plans for mass production for 1,000 examples by BMW
were made, which were disrupted by the destruction of the designated factory by allied bombing.
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Upon the war's conclusion, Anton Flettner was held in the "Dustbin" interrogation camp at Kransberg Castle
. According to his partner, Dr. Kurt Hohenemser, Anton Flettner was of "the first regular German immigrants after the war". After 1945, Flettner, along with many other aviation pioneers, moved to the United States, where he started Flettner Aircraft Corporation, which developed helicopters for the U.S. military. Flettner's company in the U.S. was not commercially successful, but his work was shared with the Army Air Corps. Many of the Flettner designs are found in Kaman
helicopters of later years. Flettner became the chief designer of Kaman. Flettner died at age 76 in New York City on December 29, 1961.
Aerospace engineering
Aerospace engineering is the primary branch of engineering concerned with the design, construction and science of aircraft and spacecraft. It is divided into two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering...
and inventor. He made important contributions to airplane and helicopter design. He was born in Eddersheim (today a district of Hattersheim am Main
Hattersheim am Main
Hattersheim am Main is a town in the Main-Taunus district, Hesse .-Neighbouring towns:Hattersheim borders the city of Frankfurt in the northeast, in the southeast with Kelsterbach, in the southwest with Raunheim...
).
World War I
During World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Flettner developed the servo tab
Servo tab
A servo tab is a small hinged device installed on an aircraft control surface to assist the movement of the control surface.-Servo tabs:...
/ anti-servo tab, and working under the aegis of Graf Zeppelin
Ferdinand von Zeppelin
Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin was a German general and later aircraft manufacturer. He founded the Zeppelin Airship company...
, he worked on remote control and pilotless aircraft. This work culminated in the prototype Siemen Schuckert Werke 1000 kg wire guided air to surface missile of 1918.
Following World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Flettner directed an aeronautical and hydrodynamic research institute in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
.
In the 1920s, he bought a schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
and added two rotating 50-foot cylinders onto it, and thus was the first to build a propulsion system based on the Magnus effect
Magnus effect
The Magnus effect is the phenomenon whereby a spinning object flying in a fluid creates a whirlpool of fluid around itself, and experiences a force perpendicular to the line of motion...
. He came upon the idea while at the beach with his wife. He used sand, flowing over his rotating hand, to describe the Magnus effect and realized its potential on sail propulsion. The ship was named Baden-Baden
Flettner ship
A rotor ship, or Flettner ship, is a ship designed to use the Magnus effect for propulsion. To take advantage of this effect, it uses rotorsails which are powered by an engine. The Magnus effect is a force acting on a spinning body in a moving airstream, which acts perpendicularly to the direction...
and crossed the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
in 1926. It could outsail normal schooners under moderate to heavy winds, but was destroyed by a storm in 1931. A commercial ship, the Barbara, was also built, and sailed to the United States.
World War II
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he headed Anton Flettner, Flugzeugbau GmbH, which specialized in helicopters.
Anton Flettner was also noted for his invention of the famous Flettner rotary ventilator, widely used on buses, vans, boats, campervans and trucks to assist cooling without the use of energy — modern derivatives of his ventilator are still manufactured in Britain by Flettner Ventilator Limited.
The helicopter invention was accomplished from his wealth from the ventilator business, whose success also depended on the skill of his wife, Lydia Freudenberg Flettner. Although Anton Flettner built his helicopters for the German military, primarily for navy spotter use, his wife was Jewish. He held a personal relationship with Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
who in turn had a lower ranked officer and his men escort her family safely to Sweden for the duration of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. His partner and confidant was Dr. Kurt Hohenemser, a brilliant and thorough engineer who developed the details necessary for the helicopter's success. Dr. Hohenemser's father was also Jewish, yet the pair remained unharmed during their tenure together throughout the war as they worked to develop the helicopter for military use.
While the final product, the Flettner Fl 282 Kolibri
Flettner Fl 282
|- References :NotesBibliography* Coates, Steve and Jean-Christophe Carbonel. Helicopters of the Third Reich. Crowborough, UK: Classic Publications Ltd., 2002. ISBN 1-903223-24-5....
("Hummingbird"), could be factory-assembled, Flettner and Hohenemser insisted that they were the only ones who were capable of assembling the complex intermeshing rotor
Intermeshing rotors
Intermeshing rotors on a helicopter are a set of two rotors turning in opposite directions, with each rotor mast mounted on the helicopter with a slight angle to the other, in a transversely symmetrical manner, so that the blades intermesh without colliding. The arrangement allows the helicopter to...
gearbox assembly. However, plans for mass production for 1,000 examples by BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
were made, which were disrupted by the destruction of the designated factory by allied bombing.
Postwar
Kransberg Castle
Kransberg Castle is situated on a steep rock near Kransberg , a village with about 800 inhabitants in the Taunus mountains in the German province of Hesse. The medieval building, which acquired its current appearance in the late 19th century, served military and intelligence purposes in World War...
. According to his partner, Dr. Kurt Hohenemser, Anton Flettner was of "the first regular German immigrants after the war". After 1945, Flettner, along with many other aviation pioneers, moved to the United States, where he started Flettner Aircraft Corporation, which developed helicopters for the U.S. military. Flettner's company in the U.S. was not commercially successful, but his work was shared with the Army Air Corps. Many of the Flettner designs are found in Kaman
Kaman Aircraft
Kaman Aircraft is a U.S. aerospace company, with headquarters in Bloomfield, Connecticut. It was founded in 1945 by Charles Kaman. During the first ten years the company operated exclusively as a designer and manufacturer of several helicopters that set world records and achieved many aviation...
helicopters of later years. Flettner became the chief designer of Kaman. Flettner died at age 76 in New York City on December 29, 1961.
See also
- AutogyroAutogyroAn autogyro , also known as gyroplane, gyrocopter, or rotaplane, is a type of rotorcraft which uses an unpowered rotor in autorotation to develop lift, and an engine-powered propeller, similar to that of a fixed-wing aircraft, to provide thrust...
s - Flettner shipFlettner shipA rotor ship, or Flettner ship, is a ship designed to use the Magnus effect for propulsion. To take advantage of this effect, it uses rotorsails which are powered by an engine. The Magnus effect is a force acting on a spinning body in a moving airstream, which acts perpendicularly to the direction...
, a Magnus effectMagnus effectThe Magnus effect is the phenomenon whereby a spinning object flying in a fluid creates a whirlpool of fluid around itself, and experiences a force perpendicular to the line of motion...
powered schooner - Flettner airplaneFlettner airplaneA flettner or rotor airplane is an airplane that has no wings but instead uses the Magnus effect to create lift. Thus it is similar to the Flettner rotor used in a Rotor ship...
, a Magnus effectMagnus effectThe Magnus effect is the phenomenon whereby a spinning object flying in a fluid creates a whirlpool of fluid around itself, and experiences a force perpendicular to the line of motion...
powered airplane - Flettner Fl 184Flettner Fl 184The Flettner 184 was a German night reconnaissance and anti-submarine autogyro developed during the 1930s.- Design :Its designer, Anton Flettner, designed the Fl 184 to have a single, torqueless rotor. This was done with two 30 hp engines that drove small propellers attached to the rotor...
helicopter-gyroplane hybrid - Flettner Fl 185Flettner Fl 185The Flettner Fl 185 was an experimental German helicopter developed by Anton Flettner.This helicopter was developed in 1936 with support of the German Navy. It was powered by a BMW-Bramo Sh 14 A radial piston engine with forced-air cooling, mounted at the nose...
helicopter - Flettner Fl 265Flettner Fl 265-References: Nowarra, Heinz J.: Die Deutsche Luftrüstung 1933-1945, Bernard & Graeffe Verlag, Koblenz 1993, ISBN 3-7637-5464-4-External links:*...
helicopter - Flettner Fl 282Flettner Fl 282|- References :NotesBibliography* Coates, Steve and Jean-Christophe Carbonel. Helicopters of the Third Reich. Crowborough, UK: Classic Publications Ltd., 2002. ISBN 1-903223-24-5....
"Kolibri" helicopter - Flettner ventilator
- Gyrodynes and HeliplanesGyrodynes and HeliplanesA Gyrodyne is a rotorcraft with a rotor system that is normally driven by its engine for takeoff and landing—hovering like a helicopter and has either one or two propellers mounted on wingtips, for propulsion and for torque correction. In response to a Royal Navy request for a helicopter, Dr...