FOCKE-ACHGELIS FA 223

The Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 was a German multipurpose helicopter from the Second World War. The machine had a metal structure, covered to a large extent with canvas, and a fixed three-support undercarriage. The flight of the prototype took place in 1940, and serial production was carried out in 1940-1945. It is estimated that about 15-20 prototype and pre-series machines of this type were built. The drive was provided by a single engine BMW-Bramo 323D-2 with a maximum power of 1000 HP. The deck armament consisted of a single 7.92 mm MG 15 machine gun. The helicopter could also carry two bombs with a total mass of up to 500 kilograms. The Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 continued the numerous design concepts used in the Focke-Wulf Fw-61, most of all the twin main rotor system without a tail rotor. The first prototype of the machine was built in 1940 and made its maiden flight in the same year. In 1941, a second prototype (Fa 223V2) with a glass nose and windows on the sides of the fuselage was created, but in 1942 work on the machine was stopped as a result of British bombing raids. They were probably resumed only at the beginning of 1944. Only then was it decided to start mass production, but as the entire project had a relatively low priority, as well as due to the deteriorating supply of the German economy, it did not come to the end of the war. The resulting prototype and pre-series units were tested on a relatively small scale in field conditions - especially in the period 1944-1945.