Focke-Achgelis Fa 330

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Focke-Achgelis FA 330 Bachstelze (English: Wagtail) was a type of rotary-wing kite, known as a gyroglider or rotor kite. They were towed behind German U-boats during World War II to allow a lookout to see farther.

Development

Because of their low profile in the water, submarines could not see more than a few miles over the ocean. To solve this, the German admiralty considered a number of different options, including a folding seaplane (Arado Ar 231). In the end, they chose the FA 330, a simple, single-seater, autogyro kite with a three-bladed rotor.

The FA 330 could be deployed to the deck of the submarine by two people and was tethered to the U-boat by a 150 m (500 ft) cable. The airflow on the rotors as the boat motored along on the surface would spin them up. The kite would then be deployed behind the U-boat with its observer-pilot aboard, raising him approximately 120 meters above the surface and allowing him to see much farther — about 25 nautical miles (46 km), compared to the 5 nautical miles (9 km) visible from the conning tower of the U-boat. If the U-boat captain were forced to abandon it on the surface, the tether would be released and the FA 330 descend slowly to the water.

When not in use, the FA 330 was stowed in two watertight compartments aft of the conning tower. Recovering, dismantling, and stowing the FA 330 took approximately 20 minutes and was a difficult operation.

Operational history

Drawing from U.S. recognition manual (very likely copy of German drawing).

As Allied air cover in other theatres of the war was considered too much of a threat, only U-boats operating in the far southern parts of the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean used the FA 330. Despite its advantages, the use of the FA 330 only resulted in a single sinking when U-177 used one to spot, intercept and sink the Greek steamer Efthalia Mari on 6 August 1943. ^[1]

The Allies came into possession of an FA 330 in May 1944 when they captured the submarine U-852 intact.^[2] After the war, the British government did successful experiments towing FA 330s behind ships and jeeps, but the development of the helicopter quickly occupied the attention of the military.

U-boats that deployed FA 330 kites included at least U-177, U-181, and U-852.^{[citation needed]}

Legacy and influence

In February 2013, Aviation Week and Space Technology reported that L-3 Communications was testing its Valkyrie, an unpowered, tethered autogyro that weighs 210 lb and is intended to serve as a cheap alternative to a shipborne helicopter. Valkyrie is designed to hover as high as 5,000 feet but is envisioned to operate typically at 500-1,000 feet, offering a 28-39 mile field of view. L-3 states that naval vessels can easily be retrofitted with this system.^[3]

Survivors

FA-330A-1 #100503 at RAF Museum Cosford

Several FA 330s are on public display including:

National Museum of the United States Air Force, United States
RAF Museum Cosford, England
Imperial War Museum Duxford, England
Deutsches Technikmuseum, Germany
RAF Millom Museum, England
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, United States
Le musée de l'Air et de l'Espace, Paris, France

Specifications

Data from ^[4]

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 4.42 m (14 ft 6 in)
Empty weight: 68 kg (150 lb)
Main rotor diameter: 7.32 m (24 ft 0 in)
Main rotor area: 42 m² (450 sq ft) 3-bladed rotor

Performance

Maximum speed: 40 km/h (25 mph; 22 kn) on tow
Minimum control speed: 27 km/h (17 mph; 15 kn) on tow

References

↑ "Efthalia Mari (Steam merchant) - Ships hit by U-boats - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
↑ Focke-Achgelis Fa 330A-1 "Bachstelze" — Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum article at the Internet Archive. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
↑ Osborne, Tony, The autogyro returns, Aviation Week and space Technology, February 25, 2013, p.26
↑ Green, William (2010). Aircraft of the Third Reich. Vol.1 (1st ed.). London: Aerospace Publishing Limited. p. 338. ISBN 978 1 900732 06 2.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Focke-Achgelis Fa 330.

The FA 330 at NASM
The Bachstelze
"German Submarine-Borne Observation Rotor-Kite", Allied Intelligence Report

v t e Reich Air Ministry aircraft designations

1 to 100	B 9 Gö 9 Do 10 Do 11 Wn 11 Do 12 Do 13 Do 14 Do 15 Wn 15 Do 16 Wn 16 Do 17 Do 18 Do 19 Do 20 Do 22 Do 23 Do 24 Kl 25 Do 26 Kl 26 M 27 Do 29 Kl 31 Kl 32 W 33 L 33 W 34 Kl 35 Kl 36 HD 37 HD 38 G 38 DFS 39 BV 40 DFS 40 A 40 Fw 42 He 42 Fw 43 HD 43 Fw 44 He 45 He 46 Ju 46 Fw 47 He 47 K 47 A 48 He 49 Ju 49 He 50 A 50 He 51 K 51 Ju 52 K 53 NR 54 Fw 55 NR 55 Fw 56 Fw 57 Fw 58 He 58 He 59 He 60 Ju 60 Fw 61 He 61 Fw 62 He 62 He 63 Ar 64 He 64 Ar 65 He 65 Ar 66 He 66 Ar 67 Ar 68 Ar 69 He 70 He 71 He 72 He 74 Ar 76 Ar 77 Ar 79 Ar 80 Ar 81 Ju 85 Ju 86 Ju 87 Ju 88 Ju 89 Ju 90 Ar 95 Ar 96 Fi 97 Fi 98 Fi 99 He 100

101 to 200	Al 101 Al 102 Al 103 Fi 103 Fh 104 Kl 105 Kl 106 Kl 107 Bf 108 Bf 109 Bf 110 He 111 He 112 He 113 He 114 He 115 He 116 Hs 117 He 118 He 119 He 120 Hs 121 Hs 122 Hs 123 Hs 124 Hs 125 Hs 126 Hs 127 Hs 128 Hs 129 Hs 130 Bü 131 Hs 132 Bü 133 Bü 134 Ha 135 Ha 136 Hü 136 Ha 137 BV 138 Ha 139 Ha 140 BV 141 BV 142 BV 143 BV 144 Go 145 Go 146 Go 147 Ju 147 Go 149 Go 150 Kl 151 Ta 152 Kl 152 Ta 153 Ta 154 BV 155 Fi 156 Fi 157 Fi 158 Fw 159 Ju 160 Bf 161 He 162 Bf 162 Bf 163 Me 163 Me 164 Fi 166 FK 166 Fi 167 Fi 168 He 170 He 172 He 176 He 177 He 178 Bü 180 Bü 181 Bü 182 Ta 183 Fl 184 Fl 185 Fw 186 Ju 186 Fw 187 Ju 187 Ju 188 Fw 189 Fw 190 Fw 191 Ao 192 DFS 193 DFS 194 Ar 195 Ar 196 Ar 197 Ar 198 Ar 199 Fw 200

201 to 300	Si 201 Si 202 DFS 203 Si 204 Fw 206 Me 208 Me 209 Me 209 (1943) Me 210 Hü 211 Do 212 Do 214 Do 215 Do 216 Do 217 Hs 217 He 219 He 220 BV 222 Fa 223 Fa 224 Ao 225 Fa 225 BV 226 Ho 226 FGP 227 DFS 228 Ho 229 DFS 230 Ar 231 Ar 232 Ar 233 Ar 234 Do 235 BV 237 BV 238 Fw 238 Ar 239 Ar 240 Go 241 Go 242 Go 244 BV 246 Ju 248 BV 250 Fw 250 Ho 250 Ho 251 Ho 252 Ju 252 Fi 253 Ho 253 Ta 254 Ho 254 Fi 256 Sk 257 Fw 261 Me 261 Me 262 Me 263 Me 264 Fl 265 Me 265 Fa 266 Ho 267 Ju 268 Fa 269 He 270 We 271 Fw 272 He 274 He 275 He 277 He 278 He 280 Fl 282 Fa 283 Ta 283 Fa 284 Fl 285 Ju 286 Ju 287 Ju 288 Ju 290 Me 290 As 292 Hs 293 Hs 294 Hs 295 Ar 296 Hs 296 Hs 297 Hs 298 Fw 300

301-	Me 309 Me 310 Do 317 Do 318 He 319 Me 321 Ju 322 Me 323 Me 328 Me 329 Fa 330 DFS 331 DFS 332 Fi 333 Me 334 Do 335 Fa 336 Fl 339 E.340 WNF 342 He 343 Rk 344 So 344 Go 345 DFS 346 Rk 347 Ba 349 Ju 352 Me 362 Me 364 Ju 388 Ju 390 Fw 391 Ar 396 Ta 400 Me 409 Me 410 Do 417 He 419 ZMe 423 Ar 430 Ka 430 Ar 432 Do 435 Ar 440 Ju 452 Me 462 Ju 488 Fw 491 Me 509 Me 510 He 519 ZSO 523 Ar 532 Do 535 E.555 Me 609 Ar 632 Do 635

v t e Lists relating to aviation

General	Aircraft manufacturers Aircraft engines manufacturers Gliders Airlines defunct Airports Civil authorities Museums Registration prefixes Rotorcraft manufacturers Timeline

Military	Air forces Weapons Experimental Missiles Unmanned

Accidents/incidents	Commercial airliners by location Fatalities by death toll General aviation Military

Records	Airspeed Altitude Distance Endurance Firsts Large Most-produced aircraft Most-produced rotorcraft

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.