Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug
Encyclopedia
The Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug, or DFS (German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight) was formed in 1933 to centralise all gliding
activity in Germany
. It was formed by the nationalisation of the Rhön-Rossitten Gesellschaft
(RRG) at Darmstadt
.
The DFS was involved in producing training sailplanes for the Hitler Youth
and Luftwaffe
, as well as conducting research into advanced technologies such as flying wing
s and rocket
propulsion. Notable DFS-produced aircraft include the DFS 230
transport glider (1600+ produced), the German counterpart to the British Airspeed Horsa
glider, and the DFS 194 forerunner of the famous Messerschmitt Me 163
rocket fighter.
In 1938, following a fatal accident at the Wasserkuppe
, DFS held a competition to design a more effective speed brake
for gliders. The final design, produced by Wolfgang and Ulrich Hütter of Schempp-Hirth
, is used to this day and generally referred to as the "Schempp-Hirth brake".
(note the two lists have not been synchronized (i.e. not all planes on both lists))
Developed under the name DFS
Gliding
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s...
activity in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It was formed by the nationalisation of the Rhön-Rossitten Gesellschaft
Rhön-Rossitten Gesellschaft
The Rhön-Rossitten Gesellschaft or Rhön-Rossitten Society was a German gliding organization, the first one in the world that was officially recognised...
(RRG) at Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
.
The DFS was involved in producing training sailplanes for the Hitler Youth
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
and Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
, as well as conducting research into advanced technologies such as flying wing
Flying wing
A flying wing is a tailless fixed-wing aircraft which has no definite fuselage, with most of the crew, payload and equipment being housed inside the main wing structure....
s and rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
propulsion. Notable DFS-produced aircraft include the DFS 230
DFS 230
|-See also:-External links:* http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/dfs230.html* http://www.luftarchiv.de/flugzeuge/dfs/dfs230.htm...
transport glider (1600+ produced), the German counterpart to the British Airspeed Horsa
Airspeed Horsa
The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a British World War II troop-carrying glider built by Airspeed Limited and subcontractors and used for air assault by British and Allied armed forces...
glider, and the DFS 194 forerunner of the famous Messerschmitt Me 163
Messerschmitt Me 163
The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, designed by Alexander Lippisch, was a German rocket-powered fighter aircraft. It is the only rocket-powered fighter aircraft ever to have been operational. Its design was revolutionary, and the Me 163 was capable of performance unrivaled at the time. Messerschmitt...
rocket fighter.
In 1938, following a fatal accident at the Wasserkuppe
Wasserkuppe
The Wasserkuppe is a high plateau , the highest peak in the Rhön Mountains within the German state of Hessen. Between the first and second World Wars, during the era of the so-called Golden Age of Aviation, great advances in sailplane development were made there.Remark: The German wording takes its...
, DFS held a competition to design a more effective speed brake
Air brake (aircraft)
In aeronautics, air brakes or speedbrakes are a type of flight control surface used on an aircraft to increase drag or increase the angle of approach during landing....
for gliders. The final design, produced by Wolfgang and Ulrich Hütter of Schempp-Hirth
Schempp-Hirth
Schempp-Hirth Flugzeugbau GmbH is a glider manufacturer based in Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany.-History:Martin Schempp founded his own company in Göppingen in 1935, with the assistance of Wolf Hirth. The company was initially called "Sportflugzeugbau Göppingen Martin Schempp"...
, is used to this day and generally referred to as the "Schempp-Hirth brake".
(note the two lists have not been synchronized (i.e. not all planes on both lists))
List of some major DFS aircraft projects (see list by year for a full listing)
(incomplete)- DFS HabichtDFS Habicht-External links:**...
- DFS KranichDFS KranichThe DFS Kranich is a German glider. It was developed by Hans Jacobs for the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug .- History :Series production of the Kranich took place in the aircraft division of Karl Schweyer AG in Mannheim. The two-seater was in its version 2, the most widely built glider in...
- DFS 108 Weihe
- DFS Mo 6, target glider (prototypes only), 1936
- DFS Mo 12, see Argus As 292Argus As 292-References:# Holsken, Dieter, V-missiles of the Third Reich the V-1 and V-2 , pp. 46–49, 343. Primary source for much of the information are the personal documents of Fritz Gosslau....
, 1937 - DFS 39, Lippisch-designed tail-less research aircraft
- DFS 40DFS 40The DFS 40 was a tail-less research aircraft designed by Alexander Lippisch in 1937 as a follow-on to his Delta IV aircraft...
, Lippisch-designed tail-less research aircraft - DFS 194, rocket-powered research aircraft, forerunner of Me 163Messerschmitt Me 163The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, designed by Alexander Lippisch, was a German rocket-powered fighter aircraft. It is the only rocket-powered fighter aircraft ever to have been operational. Its design was revolutionary, and the Me 163 was capable of performance unrivaled at the time. Messerschmitt...
- DFS 228DFS 228-See also:-Bibliography:* Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970 . ISBN 0-356-02382-6.* Myhra, David. DFS 228. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-76431-203-0....
, rocket-powered reconnaissance aircraft (prototype only) - DFS 230DFS 230|-See also:-External links:* http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/dfs230.html* http://www.luftarchiv.de/flugzeuge/dfs/dfs230.htm...
, transport glider - DFS 331DFS 331|-See also:...
, transport glider (prototype) - DFS 332DFS 332-References:* Vom Höhenaufklärer bis zum Raumgleiter 1935-1945 - Geheimprojekte der DFS, Horst Lommel, Motorbuch Verlag, 2000. ISBN 3-613-02072-6...
- DFS 346DFS 346The DFS 346 was a German rocket-powered swept-wing vehicle subsequently completed and flown in the Soviet Union after the World War II. It was designed by Felix Kracht at the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug , the "German Institute for Sailplane Flight"...
, supersonic research aircraft
DFS aircraft on RLM-Gl/C (1933-1945) list of the Luftwaffe
(incomplete)- DFS 6, target glider (prototypes only), 1936
- DFS 39, Lippisch-designed tail-less research aircraft
- DFS 40DFS 40The DFS 40 was a tail-less research aircraft designed by Alexander Lippisch in 1937 as a follow-on to his Delta IV aircraft...
, Lippisch-designed tail-less research aircraft - DFS 194, rocket-powered research aircraft, forerunner of Me 163
- DFS 228DFS 228-See also:-Bibliography:* Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970 . ISBN 0-356-02382-6.* Myhra, David. DFS 228. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-76431-203-0....
, rocket-powered reconnaissance aircraft (prototype only) - DFS 230DFS 230|-See also:-External links:* http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/dfs230.html* http://www.luftarchiv.de/flugzeuge/dfs/dfs230.htm...
, transport glider - DFS 331DFS 331|-See also:...
, transport glider (prototype) - DFS 332DFS 332-References:* Vom Höhenaufklärer bis zum Raumgleiter 1935-1945 - Geheimprojekte der DFS, Horst Lommel, Motorbuch Verlag, 2000. ISBN 3-613-02072-6...
- DFS 346DFS 346The DFS 346 was a German rocket-powered swept-wing vehicle subsequently completed and flown in the Soviet Union after the World War II. It was designed by Felix Kracht at the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug , the "German Institute for Sailplane Flight"...
, supersonic research aircraft (incomplete prototype only)
List of aircraft by year
originally developed under the name RRG- 1926
- Stamer-Lippisch Zögling 1 basic trainer
- 1927
- DFS Hangwind (Ridge Lift), basic trainer (twin boomTwin boomTwin-boom aircraft have their tailplanes and vertical stabilizers mounted on the tail of either two fuselages or on two booms fixed to either both sides of the single fuselage, the wings or the engine nacelles.The reason for this design choice may be:...
)
- DFS Hangwind (Ridge Lift), basic trainer (twin boom
- 1928
- DFS Professor I, high-performance sailplane
- 1929
- DFS Professor II, high-performance sailplane
- 1931
- DFS E 32, sailplane
- Einheitsschulflugzeug (Standard Flight Trainer), glider, basic flight trainer (foldable tail)
- Fliege IIa (Fly), sailplane
- Jacht 71 (Yacht), sailplane
- 1932
- DFS Condor II, high-performance sailplane
- DFS Rhönadler (Eagle of the Rhön), high-performance sailplane
- DFS Stanavo, high-performance sailplane
Developed under the name DFS
- 1933
- DFS Zögling 33 basic training glider
- DFS Hol's der Teufel (To Hell With It!), training glider
- DFS Moazag'otl, high-performance sailplane
- DFS Rhönbussard, sailplane
- 1934
- DFS São Paulo, high-performance sailplane
- 1935
- DFS Condor III, high-performance sailplane
- DFS Kranich II (Crane), two seat soaring plane
- DFSPräsident (President), high-performance sailplane
- DFS Rhönsperber, high-performance sailplane
- DFS Zögling 35 updated version of the Zögling basic trainer
- 1936
- DFS HabichtDFS Habicht-External links:**...
, aerobatic sail-plane - DFS KranichDFS KranichThe DFS Kranich is a German glider. It was developed by Hans Jacobs for the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug .- History :Series production of the Kranich took place in the aircraft division of Karl Schweyer AG in Mannheim. The two-seater was in its version 2, the most widely built glider in...
(Crane), two-seat sailplane
- DFS Habicht
- 1937
- DFS 230DFS 230|-See also:-External links:* http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/dfs230.html* http://www.luftarchiv.de/flugzeuge/dfs/dfs230.htm...
, transport glider (1600 produced)
- DFS 230
- 1938
- Schulgleiter 38 basic training glider
- DFS B6, high-performance sailplane
- DFS Ha III, high-performance sailplane
- DFS Reiher, high-performance sailplane
- DFS 108 Weihe, high-performance sailplane
- DFS 194, rocket-powered research aircraft, forerunner of Me 163
- 1939
- DFS Olympia MeiseDFS Olympia Meise|-General characteristics:*Crew: one, pilot*Length: 7.27 m *Wingspan: 15.00 m *Height: m *Wing area: 15 m² *Aspect ratio: 15:1*Empty: 205 kg...
, high-performance sailplane
- DFS Olympia Meise
- 1942
- DFS 228DFS 228-See also:-Bibliography:* Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970 . ISBN 0-356-02382-6.* Myhra, David. DFS 228. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-76431-203-0....
, rocket aircraft (research project only)
- DFS 228
- 1943
- DFS 331DFS 331|-See also:...
, transport (research project only)
- DFS 331
- 1944
- DFS 346DFS 346The DFS 346 was a German rocket-powered swept-wing vehicle subsequently completed and flown in the Soviet Union after the World War II. It was designed by Felix Kracht at the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug , the "German Institute for Sailplane Flight"...
, rocket interceptor, (research project only)
- DFS 346
Gliders & Sailplanes Only List
- DFS Hangwind, basic trainer (twin-boom)
- DFS Zögling basic training glider
- Einheitsschulflugzeug (Standard Flight Trainer), glider, basic flight trainer (foldable tail)
- DFSHol's der Teufel (To Hell With It!), training glider
- Schulgleiter 38 basic training glider
- DFS E 32, sailplane
- Fliege (IIa (Fly), sailplane
- DFS Rhönbussard (Buzzard of the Rhön), sailplane
- Jacht 71 (Yacht), flying boat sailplane
- DFS Seeadler (sea eagle), flying boat sailplane
- DFS KranichDFS KranichThe DFS Kranich is a German glider. It was developed by Hans Jacobs for the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug .- History :Series production of the Kranich took place in the aircraft division of Karl Schweyer AG in Mannheim. The two-seater was in its version 2, the most widely built glider in...
, Two-seat sailplane - DFS Kranich II, two seat soaring plane
- DFS HabichtDFS Habicht-External links:**...
, aerobatics sailplane
- DFS Professor I, high-performance sailplane
- DFS Professor II, high-performance sailplane
- DFS Condor II, high-performance sailplane
- DFS Rhönadler (Eagle of the Rhön), high-performance sailplane
- DFS Stanavo, high-performance sailplane
- DFS Moazag'otl, high-performance sailplane
- DFS São Paulo, high-performance sailplane
- DFS Condor III, high-performance sailplane
- DFSPräsident (President), high-performance sailplane
- DFS Rhönsperber, high-performance sailplane
- DFS B6, high-performance sailplane
- DFS Ha III, high-performance sailplane
- DFS Reiher, high-performance sailplane
- DFS 108 Weihe, high-performance sailplane
- DFS Olympia MeiseDFS Olympia Meise|-General characteristics:*Crew: one, pilot*Length: 7.27 m *Wingspan: 15.00 m *Height: m *Wing area: 15 m² *Aspect ratio: 15:1*Empty: 205 kg...
, Olympic class sailplane
- DFS 230DFS 230|-See also:-External links:* http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/dfs230.html* http://www.luftarchiv.de/flugzeuge/dfs/dfs230.htm...
, military transport glider/airborne assault glider (1600 produced) - DFS 331DFS 331|-See also:...
, military transport glider/airborne assault glider project
See also
- List of Gliders
- List of aircraft of the WW2 Luftwaffe
- Glider manufacturers