Anton Flettner, Flugzeugbau GmbH was a German

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

and

autogyro An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), gyroscope, gyrocopter or gyroplane, is a class of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. A gyroplane "means a rotorcraft whose rotors are not engine-d ...

manufacturer during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, founded by

Anton Flettner Anton Flettner (1 November 1885 – 29 December 1961) was a German Aerospace engineering, aviation engineer and inventor. Born in Hattersheim am Main#Eddersheim, Eddersheim (today a district of Hattersheim am Main), Flettner made important contri ...

. Flettner

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

included: * Flettner Fl 184 - Reconnaissance

, prototype * Flettner Fl 185 - Reconnaissance helicopter, prototype *

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

- Reconnaissance helicopter, prototype *

Flettner Fl 282 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 helico ...

''Kolibri'' (Hummingbird) - Reconnaissance helicopter * Flettner Fl 339 - Reconnaissance helicopter, project * Flettner Gigant - Experimental helicopter Anton Flettner's interest in

aerodynamics Aerodynamics () is the study of the motion of atmosphere of Earth, air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dynamics and its subfield of gas dynamics, and is an ...

(specifically the

Magnus effect The Magnus effect is a phenomenon that occurs when a spin (geometry), spinning Object (physics), object is moving through a fluid. A lift (force), lift force acts on the spinning object and its path may be deflected in a manner not present when ...

, which produces a force from a cylinder rotating in a fluid flow) also led him to invent the

Flettner rotor A Flettner rotor is a smooth cylinder with disc end plates which is spun along its long axis and, as air passes at right angles across it, the Magnus effect causes an aerodynamic force to be generated in the direction perpendicular to both the l ...

which he used to power a Flettner ship which crossed the Atlantic, and the Flettner ventilator which is still widely used as a cooling device for buses, vans and other commercial vehicles and which is based upon the Savonius principle.

References

Defunct aircraft manufacturers of Germany Helicopter history Helicopter manufacturers of Germany Defunct helicopter manufacturers of Germany {{Germany-WWII-stub

See also

References