WWII German Helicopter Footage

Studio: Belle & Blade
Product Type: DVD

Product Description

Shot by WWI German Ace and Blue Max winner Ernst Udet, this is rare, narration-free film of FL184, FL265 and FL282 helicopters. Shot between 1938 and 1941, the clips show early landings aboard ship, high-speed maneuvers, early rescue of downed pilots and more. Due to the technology of the day, some clips are rough. Also includes factory shots and amateur films of the 1956 Farnsworth Airshow. B&W, 47 minutes.

Customer Reviews:

Astonishingly advanced technology from ww2.......2005-08-04

This collection of footage taken by luftwaffe ace Ernst Udet shows just how far advanced the Germans were with helicopter technology in the late1930s and early 40s compared to other nations.
The image quality is fine considering its age and rarity and the content a revelation for military aviation enthusiasts. So it's around 45mins long. It has unedited technical gems for aviation fans who don't need to be spoon fed. It certainly isn't "Where eagles dare"!

The un-narrated footage compares german experiments with anti torque rotor configurations and the adoption of flettner's intermeshing synchropter design principle. The construction of airframes, rotor blade and collective assemblies are all shown in detail.
The disc shows Anton Flettner's craft taking off and landing from helipads on the gun turret of a battleship, line towing a volkswagen whilst winching up a barrel of fuel, towing a liferaft on a lake and demonstrating cable winch rescue of a human, using a dummy.
The worlds first production helicopter, the Flettner Kolibri is then shown performing aerobatic turns, high speed low level passes, flying backwards, flying aerobatically inside a hanger then out the hanger door again!
Collecting and offloading passengers in the "rumble seat"
Mountain operations through forests, ship landings and take-offs in rough seas on tiny helipads on the rear of german cruisers, submarine spotting and flying smoothly with no hands on the controls!! There are also grouped formations of kolibris overflying an airfield, a landing and take-off in what looks like a dusty quarry. The performance and agility and evident ease of control of these choppers is breathtaking. These were the choppers used in combat in ww2 to direct panzers and artillery fire and were seen over Berlin towards the end of the war.
The DVD also has some footage from a 1950s airshow which is of worse image quality than Udet's handi-work but may be of interest to fans of post war fixed wing craft.
The only disapointment in the helicopter component of the disc is the absence of any footage of the much larger cargo hauling helicopter, the Fa-223 Drache which could airlift another entire aircraft or carry 12 troops or artillery pieces. Hopefully that may be the next release by the publisher.

any mistake with the price??.......2005-07-15

45 bucks for 47 minutes of footage featuring a flying machine?? and not even a picture of the item? ...I suppose the price includes the helicopter...

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