Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 – Irra Miroslav (2019)

This flying apparatus can undoubtedly be classified among the post-war "uniques" operated by the Czechoslovak military aviation. It is well known that two examples of this dual-rotor helicopter flew in Czechoslovakia after the war, so strictly speaking, it was not literally a unique item; however, the military aviation operated only one until the end of 1950. Anyone even slightly knowledgeable about the history of military aviation surely knows that the Fa 223 was a helicopter developed during the war by the German company Focke-Achgelis. On October 14, 1923, gentlemen Heinrich Focke, Georg Wulf, and Werner Neumann founded the company Bremer Flugzeugbau AG in Bremen, which was shortly after renamed Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG. In the 1930s, the company gradually shifted to an exclusively military program, with the most notable successes being the fighter Fw 190, the maritime reconnaissance Fw 200, and the reconnaissance Fw 189. During the war, the company became one of the most significant German aircraft manufacturers, employing around 30,000 people in 1944. After the war, it existed until 1964, when it merged with Weser Flugzeugbau Gmbh to form Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke, and after further mergers, it became one of the predecessors of the current Airbus. The publication focuses on the development of the Fa 223 and its testing in...