Where Eagles Dare - The Real German WW2 Helicopter

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Aviation Dare Eagles Evacuation Fa-223 FL-265 FL-282 FW-61 German Helicopters Hubschrauber Kolibri Nazi Space Where
Grommo
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  • Added: 14-Feb-08

Footage of real pre-war and WW2 German combat helicopters, technically superior to the Bell Helicopter in the Where eagles dare film.
The first seen is female test pilot and iron cross winner FlugKapitan Hanna Reitsch flying the FW-61 in 1937, setting many distance, endurance and height records. Then her flying it indoors at the Deutschland Halle in 1938 at the Berlin Motor Show .
Then the the first craft to pioneer "Air-mobile" and evacuation operations, bomb carrying, machine gun equipped medi-vac, artillery transporting Fa-223 "Drache".
The Drache flew in 1940.
The Fa 223 carried a nose mounted MG 15 machine gun plus an array of other weapons onboard for crew use and two quarter ton bombs, optional auxiliary droptanks and winch system.
With a ceiling of over 22,000ft it was suitable for high altitude mountain missions.
In one demonstration example the Drache flew 85 missions in 29 consecutive days to 15,000 ft high altitude, carrying men, 75mm artillery and all their ammunition.
Able to carry up to 12 combat troops on external benches and 4 crew inside, it could also carry up to 2.2 tons by cable externally.
The Draches used in one of the Helicopter units stationed in Münster flew rescue and recover missions and could retrieve and transport whole airframes of other craft suspended below on cable. In one case a Fa223 carried the 1.3 ton engine of a FW-190 fighter over 32kms . The Drache was also used to perform civilian rescues, in one case airlifting climbers trapped on the steep face of a mountain.
The Drache was planned to be used in the rescue of Mussolini but at the last moment the assigned craft suffered a mechanical breakdown and a Fieseler Storch stol plane was used instead.
The Drache was also the first helicopter to cross the English Channel.
British testers ignored German engineers advice to tighten engine mounts and so a craft that had survived years of combat was destroyed on its third flight by the British.
Also featured is the Flettner synchropter Hubschrauber FL 265, five of which saw combat action from cruisers in the Baltic performing rescue, convoy protection and submarine detection between 1939 and 1940 before Sikorsky had even flown his primitive vs-300.
The Fl-265 had demonstrated its ability to rescue downed airmen in the water in 1939 and was able to perform air-sea rescues with its built in winch.
The video shows its ability to lift a full barrel of water and tow a motor car at the same time.
Next seen is the production version of the FL-282 "Kolibri" which was also used for submarine spotting in the Mediterranean, Baltic Aegean and Adriatic, and observation on the eastern front.
The first prototype versions had a fully enclosed cockpit and streamlined fuselage but this was discarded in favour of the improved visibility of an open cockpit and lighter boxy fuselage that improved its ability to carry two extra crew and carry submarine marking flares, winch and small bombs.
Amongst many combat operations, the Fl282s spotted the attack of the 1st and 2nd White Russian in far Pomerania but german defenses were too weak to thwart the attack. They were used for artillery fall spotting and 3 Fl 282s stationed at Berlin- Rangsdorf did artillery spotting in defence of berlin in 1945.
1944 saw the formation of a specific artillery observation unit consisting of three Fl 282s and three Fa-223s which was resoundingly successful in combat in their specified role. Many other German helicopters were used singly in support of combat ground units.
The flettner was easier to fly than a typical modern helicopter and could be flown hands off with no hands on the controls.
To demonstrate this ease of control, a housewife with no flying experience was able to fly the Fl-282 solo with only 3 hours of instruction.
It was highly aerobatic, stable and fast and because of the intermeshing rotors, could carry a greater load than a conventional heli of the same size.
Noteworthy was its amazing lifting efficiency: it was capable of lifting 16 lbs per horsepower - a figure not attained to this day by any of the modern helicopters.
By varying the collective pitch and cyclic pitch relative to either set or rotors, yaw is effected in the same way a tail rotor controls yaw in a conventional chopper. The flettner's yaw control was much more steady than a conventional chopper. The large rudder on the flettner was mainly an aid in forward high speed stability and made the craft almost effortless to fly for novice pilots, particularly in a time period when experienced pilots were at a premium.
Because it had no tail rotor, is was less prone to mechanical failure and loss of control. A modern variant is the Kaman K-max which is used for heavy lifting.
watch the Kaman K-max here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz9pZr3Y4PE

The Germans also used Autogyros extensively, and operated the fold-up Fa330 from submarines http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP6VnbeWXSY

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Comments on

Where Eagles Dare - The Real German WW2 Helicopter

25 Comments | Add Comment
  • Not editing. It's ...

    Not editing. It's the 282 doing a very tight banked turn directly above the cameraman's head so his camera is probably pointing almost vertically up. It's exactly how it appears on the original footage although I added a zoom at the very end from 3:25 to correspond to the music crescendo.
    However, probably no reason the 282 couldn't have looped with a game pilot. It had plenty of forward speed and could pull high gs in turns.

    By Grommo [Affiliate User] 1213517148 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • was it videoediting ...

    was it videoediting or did that kolibri really do a looping at 3:20? seemed a bit fast but i think it is capable of doing so

    By FlamerK6 [Affiliate User] 1213516131 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • I write history... ...

    I write history...no one els but me.

    By Jmodels [Affiliate User] 1213459299 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Too much m*a*s*h* ...

    Too much m*a*s*h* will rot your brain!!

    Watch the video response above by dynmicpara and see the helis in ww2 doing crash recovery of fighter planes etc

    By Grommo [Affiliate User] 1213392460 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • thanks for that, ...

    thanks for that, mate. I was watching where eagles dare and wondered about it. I love my war history and this was one I didn't even know about. Thanks for the info...wasn'[t the heli used first in war during the Korea War or have I been watching too much M*A*S*H*?

    By boneheadthetturd [Affiliate User] 1213389458 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • See this guys have ...

    See this guys have a badass for inventions anyways bad bad thoughts of WW2 beasts!!!

    By JSF122386 [Affiliate User] 1212514314 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • lovet he movie

    lovet he movie

    By SMGJohn [Affiliate User] 1212480164 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Q: Who writes ...

    Q: Who writes history?

    By jonzflicks [Affiliate User] 1212282135 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • thx for the info

    thx for the info

    By nobodykh [Affiliate User] 1212214657 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • auslanders aus

    auslanders aus

    By stopglobalswarming [Affiliate User] 1212089239 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Cornu likely just ...

    Cornu likely just lifted off in 1907 as did many others . Breguet Richet also lifted off to a metre in 1907/08 but many such early choppers were unstable and barely controllable or couldn't fly forwards.
    watch?v=IZc4lkL9Fyg&NR=1
    watch?v=DsXgmOurwts
    Breguet Dorand made a very sophisticated and controllable chopper in 1935 but it's performance was eclipsed by the FW 61

    By Grommo [Affiliate User] 1211905688 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • ah do you know when ...

    ah do you know when the first sucesful helicopter flight was wikipedia said it happened in 1907 4 years after the first succesful airplane flight made by the right brothers plz tell me

    By nobodykh [Affiliate User] 1211878794 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • The first in combat ...

    The first in combat was the FL 265 which was used against submarines. It could drop flares to mark their position, and small anti submarine bombs were tested dropped over the side. It is the heli in the vid towing the life raft.
    The other two helis were used later for artillery spotting and came under fire by russian forces.

    By Grommo [Affiliate User] 1211834573 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Definitely didn't ...

    Definitely didn't know that about the Fa-223. I was speaking about the smaller one, wery maneuverable and able to keep an enemy in sights for a longer period than the Stuka G-2.

    By DerMeister2007 [Affiliate User] 1211829508 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • The Fa-223 was able ...

    The Fa-223 was able to carry a quite large bomb load. It also could have a machine gun fitted in the nose. Stuka dive bombers fitted with anti tank canon in underwing pods were very effective against soviet tanks and armoured vehicles.

    By Grommo [Affiliate User] 1211829066 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Involved in the ...

    Involved in the development of the Roden heli was brilliant aerodynamicist Theodore Von Karman. Von Karman was Jewish and emigrated to America during the rise of the Nazis. He was a senior scientist of operation Paperclip in 1945 to collect German war technology for American postwar use.

    By Grommo [Affiliate User] 1211828931 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Now fit rockets to ...

    Now fit rockets to those and go hunt tanks XD

    By DerMeister2007 [Affiliate User] 1211821764 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • ow i was just ...

    ow i was just wondering thx i have another question when did helicopters come into war wether it was fighting or just carrying supplies or wounded i just want to know which year the first helicopter came into warfare and do you know any clips that might involve that helicopter plz answer i'm very intrigued

    By nobodykh [Affiliate User] 1211819831 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • The idea to use ...

    The idea to use helicopters for combat was introduced in the first world war. . The Roden PKZ-2 austrian-hungarian counter-rotating helicopter was developed in 1918 and flew a number of test flights to quite high altitudes. It was to be an observation helicopter but never saw combat or service.

    By Grommo [Affiliate User] 1211819176 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • did helicopters ...

    did helicopters first come into warfare in ww2 or earlier plz answer

    By nobodykh [Affiliate User] 1211817889 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Yeah. Click on the ...

    Yeah. Click on the video response above on the left above.The one with the Fieseler Storch. The video is not about the storch but shows a Fa-223 helicopter lifting one vertically into the air and it carried it 30 kms this way. It also shows a german light truck Kübelwagon being airlifted and a crashed Fw190.

    By Grommo [Affiliate User] 1211653649 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Não tem como ...

    Não tem como contrariar... Os alemães são geniais em relação a tecnologia, e o final do século XIX e a primeira metade do século XX foram de grandes invenções. Vemos nomes como o de Einstein, Nietzche, Ewald Rohlfs e outros...

    By kherian [Affiliate User] 1211644679 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • german technology ...

    german technology is truely amazing

    especially when we think that this was 60 years ago

    By GiganticPeach [Affiliate User] 1211612989 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • You can spend a ...

    You can spend a lifetime paying attention to WWII German X Designs, but there is never an end to the amazing and previously-unheard-of designs and inovations! I thought Luft'46 was the ultimate repository, but Grummo has accumulated some amazing material here! Thanks!

    By satweavers [Affiliate User] 1211146939 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Yes. It's civilian ...

    Yes. It's civilian Iron-cross winner & test pilot FlugKapitan Hanna Reitsch.

    By Grommo [Affiliate User] 1210801635 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
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