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Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 Bachstelze (Wagtail)

1943 WORLD WAR 2

History

Germany's Focke-Achgelis developed several helicopters and helicopter-like products for its participation in World War II (1939-1945). The most famous lot is the Fa 223 "Drache", which served as a military helicopter transport mission, and about 20 examples were made for it. Another product, the Fa 330, is based on a "rotorplane" and is intended to be used as a maritime reconnaissance platform for the German Navy.

The system is a single-seat aircraft tethered to an accompanying anti-submarine submarine (as its "mother ship") and requires only two crew members for optimal operation.

At this point in aviation history, the rotorcraft concept has been around for decades, pioneered by Spaniard Juan de la Cierva through his own various developments in the 1920s and 1930s. A rotorcraft is not equipped with an engine to drive its main rotor blades, but instead relies on the unpowered rotation of these rotors to naturally generate lift. Forward flight can be achieved by installing an engine attached to the propeller unit or by simply towing the machine through the air by other external means. The main concern of a gyroplane is to maintain a constant airflow through the rotor blades, thus forcing them to spin.

The result is a relatively inexpensive and simple aircraft with few operational requirements.

This concept was one of several the German Navy considered during World War II to expand its beyond-visual-threshold (OTH) field of view, especially since its submarine force was largely limited to the surface - from the conning tower. Seaplanes have traditionally performed this role on surface combatants, but capturing and operating such aircraft in space from submarines poses challenges.

Thus, the idea of ??towing an unpowered aircraft behind to get a better view of the OTH was explored - resulting in the Focke-Achgelis Fa 330.

The Fa 330 uses a simple metal frame to hold mission critical components - including a single pilot seat, three-blade rotor mast, vertical stabilizer, landing skid and a simplified single-lever control scheme. Additionally, there is no fuselage skin or motorization, making the Fa 330 an ideal, low-cost system for mass production and operational use.

In theory, the Fa 330 - once assembled from its watertight compartment (two will be installed on the submarine's deck) - would be detached from the surfaced submarine deck and routed through a cable line behind the boat Tow, thereby providing buoyancy for blade generation (and then maintenance when enough lift is available). The pilot has limited control but still has control over the maneuvering of the aircraft, the biggest advantage being that he has uninterrupted views of the open sea around him, which transmits all relevant information to the submarine crew.

The working height will reach 120 meters, and the assembly and disassembly of the system will take approximately 20 to 30 minutes.

Towards the end of the war, the Fa 330 served on a number of German U-boats - mainly in areas of operation not covered by Allied patrol aircraft. The system entered service in 1943 (in very limited numbers), but provided limited tactical value in the grand scheme of conflict - only one enemy ship could be claimed by using Fa 330 aircraft, one in August 1943 Greek ship.

The following year, a captured example fell into Allied hands, and the design was extensively studied. About 200 Fa 330s were built and these were operated by Type IX submarines.

By the end of the war in 1945, the prospect of using this towed gyrocopter system for submarines became a matter of debate, and since then helicopter technology - especially on warships - soon covered the over any advantages inherent in Gyrocopter Lake. So, as more modern battlefield solutions advance, the concept has been left behind. Over time, helicopters will become an important part of offshore operations and will not add value until the arrival of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In fact, many modern warships have a fixed helicopter flight deck aft to assist in launching and recovering the rotorcraft.

Newer warships also support these same capabilities for drones.

Multiple Fa 330 systems are exhibited in museums around the world, including the National Museum of the United States Air Force (Dayton, Ohio) and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (Chantilly, Virginia).

The Fa 330 is called "Bachstelze" or "Wagtail" in German.