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| Henschel Flugzeugwerke | |
|---|---|
| Name | Henschel Flugzeugwerke |
| Industry | Aeronautics |
| Founded | 1933 |
| Defunct | 1945 |
| Headquarters | Schönefeld, Berlin |
| Key people | Ernst Henschel, Wilhelm Henschel, Ernst Udet |
| Products | Aircraft, designs, prototypes |
| Parent | Henschel & Son |
Henschel Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturer and design bureau active primarily in the 1930s and 1940s, formed as an offshoot of the industrial firm Henschel & Son. The company operated in the context of the Weimar Republic, the Nazi Party era, and the Third Reich rearmament programs, supplying prototypes, production models, and specialized airframes to the Luftwaffe. Located near Berlin in Schönefeld, Henschel collaborated with other firms, subcontractors, and research institutes to produce combat aircraft, testbeds, and experimental projects that influenced wartime aviation development.
Henschel Flugzeugwerke emerged from the engineering and manufacturing traditions of Henschel & Son in Kassel and expanded operations to Schönefeld near Berlin, aligning with the Reich Aviation Ministry procurement programs under Hermann Göring and technical guidance from figures such as Ernst Udet and Erhard Milch. Early interactions involved contracts from the Reichsluftfahrtministerium for prototype work during the 1930s rearmament, with Henschel interfacing with design offices like Messerschmitt, Junkers, Heinkel, Focke-Wulf, and Blohm & Voss while engaging specialists from Daimler-Benz and BMW. As World War II approached, Henschel expanded workshops coordinated with suppliers in Magdeburg, Leipzig, Dresden, and Stuttgart, integrating production techniques from Krupp, Siemens, and Kassner Werke and receiving engineering input from academics at the Technische Universität Berlin and RWTH Aachen University.
Henschel produced a range of designs and projects, from reconnaissance airframes to heavy fighters and test platforms, cooperating with designers who had worked on the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, Messerschmitt Bf 109, Junkers Ju 88, and Heinkel He 111. Notable Henschel projects included prototypes and production of the Hs 123 close-support biplane that worked alongside units using the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka, and the Hs 126 reconnaissance aircraft used in early campaigns like the Invasion of Poland and the Battle of France. Henschel also developed larger airframes such as the Hs 129 ground-attack aircraft engaging in operations with units similar to those employing the Sturzkampfgeschwader and cooperating in development with components from Blohm & Voss and Dornier. Experimental work included high-speed testbeds influenced by advances at Messerschmitt, ramjet explorations paralleling research at DFS Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug and RLM-sponsored rocket programs related to Wernher von Braun and the Peenemünde Army Research Center. Late-war projects linked to firms like Fieseler, Arado, Heinkel Heinkel-Salzgitter, and institutes such as Luftfahrtforschungsanstalt (LFA) focused on jet propulsion, turbomachinery, and armored airframe design for operations against Red Army armored formations.
Henschel's production network included primary assembly at Schönefeld and subcontracts to facilities in Kassel, Magdeburg, Leipzig, Dresden, Stuttgart, Hamburg, and satellite workshops in occupied territories integrated during campaigns like the Battle of France and the Operation Barbarossa invasion of the Soviet Union. The firm coordinated logistics with Deutsche Reichsbahn rail links and parts supply from Siemens-Schuckert, Fokker, and machine-tool firms such as Friedrich Krupp AG. Organizationally, Henschel maintained design bureaus that collaborated with testing organizations including Reich Aviation Test Centre, Luftwaffe Technical Service, and wind tunnel facilities at Aerodynamische Versuchsanstalt (AVA) Göttingen, while workforce administration involved interactions with agencies like Arbeitsamt and wartime labor pools including Reichsarbeitsdienst assignments and outsourced labor linked to firms such as Deutsche Werke and Schichau-Werke.
During World War II, Henschel Flugzeugwerke supplied aircraft and experimental platforms to the Luftwaffe for campaigns from the Polish Campaign and the Battle of Britain period to operations over the Eastern Front and the Mediterranean Theatre. Henschel-built types operated in units such as Sturzkampfgeschwader 2, Sturzkampfgeschwader 77, and reconnaissance Gruppen that supported formations like Heeresgruppe Mitte and Heeresgruppe Süd during Operation Barbarossa. Production priorities shifted with strategic guidance from the Reich Ministry of Aviation and influences from commanders such as Erhard Milch and staff officers coordinating with the OKW and OKH. Allied strategic bombing campaigns including operations by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces targeted Henschel facilities and nearby infrastructure, affecting output during the Combined Bomber Offensive and strikes linked to missions flown from bases used by 8th Air Force and Bomber Command.
Following the Allied occupation of Germany and the end of World War II, Henschel Flugzeugwerke ceased operations; assets and intellectual property were affected by policies enforced by the Allied Control Council and industrial dismantling coordinated with authorities from Soviet occupation zone administration and British occupation zone officials. Personnel and engineers dispersed to companies such as Bristol Aeroplane Company, SNECMA-linked firms, and new German enterprises in the Federal Republic of Germany, contributing expertise to postwar aerospace firms including Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB), Daimler-Benz Aerospace (DASA), and later projects related to Eurofighter Typhoon programs. The design lineage and surviving airframes are subjects in museums like the Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin, Royal Air Force Museum, and collections associated with restoration groups and archives preserving documents tied to the Luftwaffe and companies such as Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke. Henschel's legacy persists through historical studies by scholars at institutions including Bundesarchiv, German Historical Institute, and aviation historians who compare Henschel contributions alongside firms like Focke-Wulf, Heinkel, Dornier, and Messerschmitt.
Category:Aircraft manufacturers of Germany Category:Defunct aircraft manufacturers of Germany Category:Companies established in 1933