15. History’s First Operational Production Helicopters
In pre-WWII years, and during the conflict, Germany had the world’s most advanced helicopter technology, and took the global lead in design and development. Germans built the world’s first practical helicopter, and the first helicopter production line. One of the pioneering test pilots was Hanna Reitsch, Germany’s most famous female aviatrix and test pilot, and a dedicated Nazi. She first rose to fame by flying a helicopter around Berlin’s Great Hall – history’s first indoor helicopter flight.
Test flights convinced the German military that helicopters were viable instruments of war. So Germany began producing the Focke-Achegilis Fa 223 Drache (“Dragon”), which first flew in August of 1940, and entered production in 1941. It had a 40-foot-long fuselage, powered by a 1000 horsepower radial engine, hooked to a pair of 39-foot 3-bladed rotors on either side of the fuselage. It could cruise at 110 m.p.h., and reach an altitude of 23,000 feet. It could also haul a 2200 lbs load to an altitude of 8000 feet, while cruising at 75 m.p.h.
