The DFS ''Habicht'' (German: "Hawk") is an unlimited

aerobatic Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gl ...

sailplane A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the leisure activity and sport of gliding (also called soaring). This unpowered aircraft can use naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to gain altitude. Sailplan ...

that was designed in 1936 by

Hans Jacobs Hans Jacobs (30 April 1907 in Hamburg – 24 October 1994) was a German sailplane designer and pioneer. He had been taught sailplane design by Alexander Lippisch, designer of many gliders during the 1920s and the 1930s. As the head of the ''Deu ...

with support provided by the

Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug The , or DFS , was formed in 1933 to centralise all gliding activity in Germany, under the directorship of Professor Walter Georgii. It was formed by the nationalisation of the Rhön-Rossitten Gesellschaft (RRG) at Darmstadt.Reitsch, H., 1955, ...

. Four planes were made available for the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

of 1936, where the maneuvers of the Habicht over and literally inside the Olympic stadium enthralled spectators. The flight qualities of the Habicht were praised by pilots, including

Hanna Reitsch Hanna Reitsch (29 March 1912 – 24 August 1979) was a German Pilot (aeronautics), aviator and test pilot. Along with Melitta von Stauffenberg, she flight-tested many of Germany's new aircraft during World War II and received many hono ...

. It participated in many airshows abroad before the war, including the 1938

National Air Races The National Air Races (also known as Pulitzer Trophy Races) are a series of pylon and cross-country races that have taken place in the United States since 1920. The science of aviation, and the speed and reliability of aircraft and engines grew ...

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

.Reitsch, H., 1955, The Sky My Kingdom, London: Biddles Limited, Guildford and King's Lynn, Modified versions of the Habicht, dubbed the Stummel-Habicht ("Stumpy Hawk"), were used to train pilots to fly the

Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet is a rocket-powered interceptor aircraft primarily designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt. It is the only operational rocket-powered fighter aircraft in history as well as ...

rocket-powered fighter. Trainees included students from the

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth ( , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth wing of the German Nazi Party. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. From 1936 until 1945, it was th ...

Glider Schools. The Me 163 was designed to use its entire load of rocket fuel to reach combat altitude of approximately , before returning to land as a fast glider. Trainees therefore began on a ''Stummel-Habicht'', in which the original wingspan, was modified to one having an wingspan, and another having an wingspan. The shorter wingspan closely mimicked the ME 163 handling characteristics. Few Habichts survived World War II. There is one craft, flown by famous French aerobatic pilot

Marcel Doret Marcel may refer to: People * Marcel (given name), people with the given name Marcel * Marcel (footballer, born August 1981), Marcel Silva Andrade, Brazilian midfielder * Marcel (footballer, born November 1981), Marcel Augusto Ortolan, Brazilian ...

, in the

Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace The Musée de l'air et de l'espace (, ) is a French aerospace museum, located at the south-eastern edge of Paris–Le Bourget Airport, north of Paris, and in the Communes of France, commune of Le Bourget. It was inaugurated in 1919 after a propo ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Another, with the registration D-8002, flew in Southern Germany until it was destroyed by the collapse of the hangar wherein it was stored. Apart from these original examples,

Türk Hava Kurumu Turkish Aeronautical Association () is a non-profit organization with an aim of increasing public awareness and participation in aviation related activities and the national body governing air sports in Turkey. The association was founded with t ...

manufactured six reverse-engineered copies of the Habicht as the THK-3 in 1945-1946. After lengthy and patient research to recover the design documentation, Josef Kurz and other members of the Oldtimer Segelflugclub Wasserkuppe built an all-new Habicht. After an extended exhibition career, this exemplar, registered also as D-8002, flies from the Wasserkuppe club's airfield. DFS Habicht E 1

Another airworthy Habicht was built by the Zahn family and first flew in 2001. Since then, at the hands of pilot Christoph Zahn, it has provided aerobatics demonstrations at numerous air shows.

Operators

; *

Austrian Air Force (1927–1938) The Austrian Air Force () of the interwar period began as a paramilitary organisation in 1927, and was secretly built up by the government before union with Germany in 1938. History In 1919 the Treaty of Versailles meant the Republic of Austria ...

Specifications

References

External links

OSC WasserkuppeDFS Habicht D-1901
{{THK aircraft 1930s German sailplanes

Habicht The Habicht is a mountain in the Stubai Alps of Austria. For a long time, the locals believed it to be the highest mountain in Tyrol, due to its prominence above the surrounding mountains. Despite what they thought, the highest peak in the Stubai ...

Glider aircraft Gull-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1936