Hamburger Flugzeugbau
Encyclopedia
Hamburger Flugzeugbau was an aircraft company, located in the Finkenwerder
quarter of Hamburg
, Germany. Originally established in July 1933 as a subsidiary of the Blohm & Voss
shipyards, it has managed to survive under different names as part of different consortia from its German national socialist roots to its present day form as part of the Airbus
/European aerospace program.
. Therefore technical expertise was not as important as production capacity and letters of intent were sent out to all bigger production facilities to probe their interest in building airplanes.
Blohm & Voss
shipyards in Hamburg
rose to the challenge and founded an aircraft factory, with the intent to build long-range passenger seaplane
s for Deutsche Luft Hansa
. It was at that time commonly perceived that trans-atlantic air transport would soon take over the role filled by the luxury liners of that time. It was however also commonly perceived that those planes would be seaplanes and flying boats as they could use the infrastructure and capacity of the seaports already in place. By building seaplanes, Blohm & Voss wanted to make sure it stayed on the forefront of the developments and also keep a safeguard in case seaplanes would render their own shipbuilding business obsolete.
An unofficial part of the intentions for the new factory however was that it would also be ready to compete in every military contract the, then still clandestine, Luftwaffe
would ask for, either with its own designs or as a subcontractor. This was immediately illustrated by the choice of Richard Vogt
as chief designer. Vogt at that time had just returned from Japan
where he served as a designer and consultant for the modernization of the Japanese air forces. As a result the aircraft produced from 1933 to the end of world war II prove an interesting mix of passenger planes, armed civil airplane designs used as military transporters and purebred warplanes.
The first airplanes were produced under the name of 'Hamburger Flugzeugbau' and therefore according to the naming system of the German air ministry were given the company designation Ha, and the number range 137 to 144. A couple of years later however, the Fieseler
aircraft factory in Halle
became an independent aircraft manufacturer under the name of Flugzeugbau Halle and by orders of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium, Hamburger Flugzeugbau was renamed Blohm & Voss Flugzeugbau and given the company designation BV, so the old designation Ha could now go to the new Halle factory.
Some of the models built before and during the war were:
Of these aircraft, only the BV 138 'Flying shoe' attained serial production. All other aircraft either remained prototype
s or were limited to a small number of preseries/purpose build machines. Nevertheless, work on the prototypes and series production of the BV 138 kept the plant busy throughout the war.
The German air industry was suspended at the end of World War II
. The company reemerged in 1956 as part of Flugzeugbau Nord and license built Nord Noratlas
.
In 1961, Focke-Wulf
, Weserflug
and Hamburger Flugzeugbau joined forces in the Entwicklungsring Nord
(ERNO) to develop rockets.
In the mid 1960s Hamburger Flugzeugbau worked on a design for a twin-jet HFB 314 aimed at medium-haul market that the Caravelle
was enjoying a success in. The design did not get off the drawing board with the company becoming involved in the production of the French-German Transall C-160
military transport. It also developed and built a private jet aircraft called the HFB-320 Hansa Jet
which first flew in 1964. This aircraft didn't bring in any orders either, but the company survived as subcontractor for various German – and increasingly European co-production – aircraft project.
In May 1969, Hamburger Flugzeugbau was acquired by Messerschmitt-Bölkow. The company then changed its name to Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm
(MBB).
In the late 1970s, the company became involved in subcontracting for the new pan-European Airbus. In the 1980s, after much political games between Germany and France, it became Airbus' second final assembly warf (after Toulouse
) for the smaller models A310 and A320.
Finkenwerder
Finkenwerder is a quarter of Hamburg, Germany in the borough Hamburg-Mitte. It is the location of a plant of Airbus and its airport...
quarter of Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany. Originally established in July 1933 as a subsidiary of the Blohm & Voss
Blohm + Voss
Blohm + Voss , is a German shipbuilding and engineering works. It is a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems; there were plans to sell 80% of Blohm + Voss to Abu Dhabi Mar Group, but talks collapsed in July 2011.-History:It was founded on April 5, 1877, by Hermann Blohm and Ernst Voss as a...
shipyards, it has managed to survive under different names as part of different consortia from its German national socialist roots to its present day form as part of the Airbus
Airbus
Airbus SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, surburb of Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....
/European aerospace program.
History
In 1933, a major part of the German national socialist (NAZI) reorganization of the country consisted of a complete overhaul of the German aircraft industry. In particular, the Nazis wanted the technical capacities to quickly build large numbers of warplanes for the new LuftwaffeLuftwaffe
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....
. Therefore technical expertise was not as important as production capacity and letters of intent were sent out to all bigger production facilities to probe their interest in building airplanes.
Blohm & Voss
Blohm + Voss
Blohm + Voss , is a German shipbuilding and engineering works. It is a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems; there were plans to sell 80% of Blohm + Voss to Abu Dhabi Mar Group, but talks collapsed in July 2011.-History:It was founded on April 5, 1877, by Hermann Blohm and Ernst Voss as a...
shipyards in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
rose to the challenge and founded an aircraft factory, with the intent to build long-range passenger seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
s for Deutsche Luft Hansa
Deutsche Luft Hansa
Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G. was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and throughout the Third Reich.-1920s:Deutsche Luft Hansa was founded on 6 January 1926 in Berlin...
. It was at that time commonly perceived that trans-atlantic air transport would soon take over the role filled by the luxury liners of that time. It was however also commonly perceived that those planes would be seaplanes and flying boats as they could use the infrastructure and capacity of the seaports already in place. By building seaplanes, Blohm & Voss wanted to make sure it stayed on the forefront of the developments and also keep a safeguard in case seaplanes would render their own shipbuilding business obsolete.
An unofficial part of the intentions for the new factory however was that it would also be ready to compete in every military contract the, then still clandestine, 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....
would ask for, either with its own designs or as a subcontractor. This was immediately illustrated by the choice of Richard Vogt
Richard Vogt (aircraft designer)
Richard Vogt was a German engineer and aircraft designer.He is well known as a designer of unique warplanes, including an asymmetrically-shaped reconnaissance aircraft and a nuclear-powered bomber, during and after World War II.- Biography :Richard Vogt was born in Schwäbisch Gmünd, a town in the...
as chief designer. Vogt at that time had just returned from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
where he served as a designer and consultant for the modernization of the Japanese air forces. As a result the aircraft produced from 1933 to the end of world war II prove an interesting mix of passenger planes, armed civil airplane designs used as military transporters and purebred warplanes.
The first airplanes were produced under the name of 'Hamburger Flugzeugbau' and therefore according to the naming system of the German air ministry were given the company designation Ha, and the number range 137 to 144. A couple of years later however, the Fieseler
Fieseler
The Gerhard Fieseler Werke was a German aircraft manufacturer of the 1930s and 40s. The company is remembered mostly for its military aircraft built for the Luftwaffe during the Second World War.-History:...
aircraft factory in Halle
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
became an independent aircraft manufacturer under the name of Flugzeugbau Halle and by orders of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium, Hamburger Flugzeugbau was renamed Blohm & Voss Flugzeugbau and given the company designation BV, so the old designation Ha could now go to the new Halle factory.
Some of the models built before and during the war were:
- Blohm & Voss BV 40 - a project for an attack glider
- Blohm & Voss Ha 137 - a dive bomber landplane
- Blohm & Voss BV 138 - a reconnaissance seaplane
- Blohm & Voss Ha 139 - a four engine passenger/transport seaplane
- Blohm & Voss Ha 140Blohm & Voss Ha 140|-See also:-Bibliography:* Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 4th impression 1979, p. 70-71. ISBN 0-356-02382-6.* Schneider, H. Flugzeug-Typenbuch. Herm. Beyer Verlag, Leipzig, 1940...
- a fighter/bomber seaplane. - Blohm & Voss BV 141 - an experimental asymmetrical reconnaissance airplane
- Blohm & Voss BV 144Blohm & Voss BV 144-See also:-External links:*http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/bv144.html...
- a land version of the HA139. - Blohm & Voss BV 222 - a six engine seaplane
Of these aircraft, only the BV 138 'Flying shoe' attained serial production. All other aircraft either remained prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
s or were limited to a small number of preseries/purpose build machines. Nevertheless, work on the prototypes and series production of the BV 138 kept the plant busy throughout the war.
The German air industry was suspended at the end 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...
. The company reemerged in 1956 as part of Flugzeugbau Nord and license built Nord Noratlas
Nord Noratlas
The Nord Noratlas was a 1950s French military transport aircraft intended to replace the older types in service at the end of World War II. Several hundred were produced in a run lasting over a decade, finding a wide variety of uses.-Development:...
.
In 1961, Focke-Wulf
Focke-Wulf
Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft before and during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.-History:...
, Weserflug
Weser Flugzeugbau
Weser Flugzeugbau GmbH, known as Weserflug, was the fourth largest aircraft manufacturer in World War II Germany.The company was founded in 1934 as a subsidiary of the ship and machine company Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG . It began production that year at Berlin Tempelhof, and in Bremen.In...
and Hamburger Flugzeugbau joined forces in the Entwicklungsring Nord
Entwicklungsring Nord
The Entwicklungsring Nord - abbreviated ERNO - was a 1961 joint venture of Bremen-based Weserflug and Focke-Wulf with Hamburger Flugzeugbau to develop parts for rockets and get involved in space activities....
(ERNO) to develop rockets.
In the mid 1960s Hamburger Flugzeugbau worked on a design for a twin-jet HFB 314 aimed at medium-haul market that the Caravelle
Sud Aviation Caravelle
The Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle was the first short/medium-range jet airliner produced by the French Sud Aviation firm starting in 1955 . The Caravelle was one of the more successful European first generation jetliners, selling throughout Europe and even penetrating the United States market, with...
was enjoying a success in. The design did not get off the drawing board with the company becoming involved in the production of the French-German Transall C-160
Transall C-160
|-See also:-References:* Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1982-83. London:Jane's Yearbooks, 1982. ISBN 0-7106-0748-2.-External links:*...
military transport. It also developed and built a private jet aircraft called the HFB-320 Hansa Jet
HFB-320 Hansa Jet
|-See also:-References:*Sloot, Emiel. "Hansa Jet Retirement". Air International, October 1994, Vol 47 No 4. pp. 234–235. ISSN 0306-5634.*Taylor, John W. R.. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1965–66. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1965....
which first flew in 1964. This aircraft didn't bring in any orders either, but the company survived as subcontractor for various German – and increasingly European co-production – aircraft project.
In May 1969, Hamburger Flugzeugbau was acquired by Messerschmitt-Bölkow. The company then changed its name to Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm
Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm
Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm was a German aerospace company formed as the result of several mergers in the late 1960s. Among its best-known products was the MBB Bo 105 light twin helicopter...
(MBB).
In the late 1970s, the company became involved in subcontracting for the new pan-European Airbus. In the 1980s, after much political games between Germany and France, it became Airbus' second final assembly warf (after Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
) for the smaller models A310 and A320.