Misplaced Pages

#565434

44-532: The Jagdwaffe used many aircraft, including the Messerschmitt Bf 109 , Bf 110 , Me 163 , Me 262 , Focke-Wulf Fw 190 , Ta 152 , and Heinkel He 162 . This German World War II article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a specific German military unit is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Messerschmitt Messerschmitt AG ( German pronunciation: [ˈmɛsɐʃmɪt] )

88-406: A "dead factory, which possesses no plant worth mentioning, and consists very largely of dilapidated and unsuitable wooden sheds situated in a town that is extremely unfavorable for industrial activities and whose status continues to give little cause for enthusiasm". Apparently Popp was still in close contact with Castiglioni and was perhaps even privy to the latter's plans for merging BMW with BFW. It

132-624: A basic design, but before long, indirect automatic systems using control valves were developed. See History of rail transport in Germany for an overview. In 1920, the manufacturing plant of the first Bayerische Motoren-Werke AG (BMW, established in 1917/1918) located in Munich , Moosacher Straße, became a subsidiary of Knorr-Bremse, delivering brake systems as Süddeutsche Bremsen-AG for the Bavarian Group Administration ,

176-633: A heavy Amerika Bomber design, the Me 264 , which flew in prototype form — with three prototype airframes built, the first of which flew in December 1942 — but was too late to see combat. For ten years after World War II , the company was not allowed to produce aircraft. One alternative the company came up with was the three-wheeled motorcycle / bubble car or Kabinenroller (cabinscooter) KR175  / KR200 , designed by an aircraft engineer, Fritz Fend . The cars were actually made by Fend's own company in

220-456: A month of being set up, the company was able to supply aircraft to the war ministries of Prussia and Bavaria . However, major quality problems were encountered at the start. The German air crews frequently complained about the serious defects that appeared in the first machines from BFW. The same thing had happened with the aircraft from the predecessor company run by Gustav Otto. It was only organizational changes and more intensive supervision of

264-600: A presence in over 30 countries, at 100 locations. In 2022, the Group's workforce of over 31,000 achieved worldwide sales of EUR 7.15 billion. The Germany engineer Georg Knorr established Knorr-Bremse GmbH in 1905 in Boxhagen-Rummelsburg , Neue Bahnhofstraße, outside Berlin (since 1920 part of Berlin- Friedrichshain ). From the onset, the company benefitted heavily from Knorr's prior experience working on railway braking systems at, Carpenter & Schulze ,

308-436: A separate company that he owned. Knorr promptly put into production an innovative rapid release brake that could bring passenger trains to a halt faster, more safely and consistently. In 1911, the company merged with "Continentale Bremsen-GmbH" to found Knorr-Bremse Aktiengesellschaft (AG). From 1913 onwards, a second manufacturing plant, new headquarters, a heating plant and other annex buildings were erected. During 1918,

352-539: A single electronic-based system, possessing shorter response times and reduced braking distances compared to traditional pneumatic control, and thus greater safety. During the early 1990s, Knorr-Bremse's electro-pneumatic independent brake units were installed into the ICE 1 high speed trainsets operated by DB Fernverkehr . Between 1993 and 1994, the company was reorganised; the rail and commercial vehicles were separated into independent companies; thereafter, management pursued

396-498: A stagnation of the careers of him and BFW, which was started again in 1933. Milch still prevented Messerschmitt's takeover of the BFW until 1938, hence the designation "Bf" of early Messerschmitt designs. Messerschmitt promoted a concept he called "light weight construction" in which many typically separate load-bearing parts were merged into a single reinforced firewall, thereby saving weight and improving performance. The first true test of

440-603: A strategy orientated around international expansion. In 1999, a joint venture was created between Knorr-Bremse and Bosch . Three years later, the company acquired the American brake manufacturer Bendix Corporation . During late 2016, Vossloh Electrical Systems was acquired by the company. Knorr-Bremse long held a stake in one of its main European competitors, Haldex . During the mid 2010s, various parties submitted bids to fully acquire Haldex, including Knorr-Bremse;

484-488: The Me 210 , designed as a follow-on to the 110, was an aerodynamic disaster that almost led to the forced dissolution of the company. The design problems were eventually addressed in the Me 410 Hornisse , but only small numbers were built before all attention turned to the 262. Later in the war, in competition with the Junkers Ju 390 and the unbuilt, February 1943-initiated Heinkel He 277 , Messerschmitt also worked on

SECTION 10

#1732779663566

528-583: The Prussian-Hessian Railway Company , to supply single-chamber express braking systems , first for passenger and later on for freight trains. The introduction of the "Knorr Druckluft-Einkammerschnellbremse" (K1) compressed-air brake, along with its derivatives, offered considerably enhanced safety performance compared with traditional systems. In the early twentieth century, train guards still had to operate brakes by hand, from so-called "brake vans". The first pneumatic brakes were of

572-545: The 1960s, Knorr-Bremse started offering a newly-developed air compressor program to customers; it also made greater use of compressed air to perform various functions, including air suspension , level regulation, pneumatic gearshifts , and door actuation. In 1969, it presented its first disc brake for heavy trucks at the IAA trade fair in Frankfurt ; it comprised a hydraulically -operated hinged caliper brake. By this point,

616-454: The Bf 109 and 110, retained their earlier designation in official documents, although sometimes the newer designations were used as well, most often by subcontractors, such as Erla Maschinenwerk of Leipzig . In practice, all BFW/Messerschmitt aircraft from the Bf 108 four-seat touring monoplane, to the Bf 163 light observation aircraft (which competed unsuccessfully for the government contract won by

660-610: The Messerschmitt works at Regensburg, and Willy Messerschmitt had very little to do with the vehicles other than ruling that they carried his name. Production of the KR200 ceased in 1964. The Messerschmitt factory also produced prefabricated houses, which were designed as "self-building-kits" mainly based on an alloy framework. On 6 June 1968, Messerschmitt AG merged with the small civil engineering and civil aviation firm Bölkow , becoming Messerschmitt-Bölkow. The following May,

704-480: The assembly line that succeeded in resolving these problems by the end of 1916. BFW then started turning out over 200 aircraft a month, with their workforce growing to 3,000 and becoming one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in Bavaria. The end of the war hit BFW hard, since military demand for aircraft collapsed. The company's management were forced to look for new products with which to maintain their position in

748-586: The business was reoriented around its core activities. By 1988, the Thiele family had acquired 100 percent of the shares in Knorr-Bremse AG. During 1987, the company revealed its prototype pneumatic disc brake; it would be a sales success, with 20 million Knorr-Bremse disc brakes being in operation across the world by 2024. In 1989, Knorr-Bremse also released its electronic braking system (EBS), which integrated brake control, ABS and traction control into

792-548: The capital was provided by the Bank für Handel und Industrie , Berlin, 30% by MAN AG and 34% by Hermann Bachstein, Berlin. The first Chairman of the Board of Management was Peter Eberwein, who had previously been employed at Albatros Flugzeugwerke . Due to the need for immediate aircraft production for the ongoing war, there was no time for development work and BFW manufactured aircraft under licence from Albatros Flugzeugwerke . Within

836-470: The company became the first in Europe to develop a system that applied the brakes simultaneously to all four wheels of a truck as well as its trailer; the resultant reduction in braking distances made a significant contribution to improving road safety. By the end of the 1930s, around 90 percent of all trucks in Germany between 7 and 16 tonnes in weight had been equipped with Knorr-Bremse systems. During 1931,

880-560: The company introduced the Kunze-Knorr freight train brake; for a time, Knorr-Bremse was the only supplier of these new brakes, not just in Germany and other European countries; the innovation was soon credited with a reduction in the rate of major accidents upon the railway. An early cornerstone of Knorr's commercial success was provided by an agreement with the Prussian State Railways , which at that time had formed

924-503: The company introduced two key products, the automatic load-dependent braking system, that was designed to be effectively used on the increasing size, weight, and speed of trucks, and the Knorr Standard Brake (KE brake) train brake with graduated release control valve. The latter received International Union of Railways (UIC) approval and led to sales across 40 different countries, totaling almost 1.3 million units. During

SECTION 20

#1732779663566

968-542: The company launched a new standard brake for trains, the Hildebrand-Knorr brake (HiK brake). Over the follow three years, improved models suited for a wider range of trains, including express trains, became available as well. Due to its effectiveness, the HiK brake was adopted by 17 countries; by 1955, there were roughly 280,000 units in operation worldwide. The Second World War impacted the company greatly. During

1012-637: The company was already undertaking research into advanced control systems, which included microelectronics and digital techniques, seeking to develop commercially viable innovations for sale. In 1973, Knorr-Bremse established the Knorr Brake Corporation with the purpose of developing a presence in the lucrative North American market. During 1981, the company undertook the first installation of an anti-lock braking system (ABS) as standard equipment upon trucks being produced by MAN Truck & Bus , which had partnered with Knorr-Bremse on

1056-627: The company's bid was observed by Haldex's board of directors as having been the most generous, but also to have "done nothing to eliminate or reduce the regulatory risk". By December 2016, it had purchased 86.1 percent of Haldex's shares to strengthen its takeover bid. During mid 2017, the European Commission launched an anti-trust probe into the acquisition. Knorr-Bremse ultimately chose to discountinue its bid, selling on all of its shares in Haldex by June 2022. On 13 October 2022, it

1100-621: The company's new main manufacturing plant in Berlin at the Hirschberger Straße/Schreiberhauer Straße next to the Berlin Ringbahn was erected, a tunnelled road permitted direct access between the old and the new sites. A second major sector of activity emerged during 1922 when Knorr-Bremse secured a patent for the use of pneumatic braking systems for commercial road vehicles. One year later,

1144-516: The concentration camp to oversee the work being done by the inmates. Messerschmitt, and its executive Willy Messerschmitt also occupied the famed Villa Tugendhat in Brno , Czech Republic , designed by Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich in the 1920s; the Messerschmitt aircraft factory office and the Gestapo occupied the property during the war. Messerschmitt had its share of poor designs as well;

1188-572: The concept was in the Bf 108 Taifun sports aircraft, which would soon be setting all sorts of records. Based on this performance the company was invited to submit a design for the Luftwaffe 's 1935 fighter contest, winning it with the Bf 109 , based on the same construction methods. From this point on Messerschmitt became a favorite of the Nazi party, as much for his designs as his political abilities and

1232-693: The conflict, Knorr-Bremse had manufactured the Swedish light MG35/36 machine guns AKA "Knorr-Bremse machine guns" on behalf of the Wehrmacht . At the conclusion of the war, Germany was split into West and East Germany ; the company's facilities in the eastern part of Berlin were quickly expropriated and dismantled by the Soviets as a part of war reparations . Little remained of the company's operations save for numerous blueprints that several employees had managed to retrieve. During 1946, Knorr-Bremse

1276-687: The development of ABS. Four years later, the company secured approval from the Association of American Railroads (AAR) for its recently developed DB 60 direct-release control valve for freight trains; via its US subsidiary , the DB 60 entered use in North America in 1985, where it was commonly used on exceptionally long freight trains hauled by multiple locomotives. In 1985, Knorr-Bremse GmbH merged with Süddeutsche Bremsen AG to form Knorr-Bremse AG, after which numerous structural changes were made and

1320-478: The factory location in southern Germany away from the "clumping" of aviation firms on the northern coast. BFW was reconstituted as "Messerschmitt AG" on 11 July 1938, with Willy Messerschmitt as chairman and managing director. The renaming of BFW resulted in the company's RLM designation prefix changing from "Bf" to "Me" for all newer designs that were accepted by the RLM after the acquisition date. Existing types, such as

1364-623: The firm acquired Hamburger Flugzeugbau (HFB). The company then changed its name to Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB). In 1989 MBB was taken over by DASA . DASA later operated as "EADS Germany", which is now Airbus . Knorr-Bremse Knorr-Bremse AG is a German manufacturer of braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles that has operated since 1905. Other products in the company's portfolio include intelligent door systems, control components, air conditioning systems for rail vehicles, torsional vibration dampers, and transmission control systems for commercial vehicles. The Group has

Jagdwaffe - Misplaced Pages Continue

1408-511: The former "Royal Bavarian State Railways". There was no further interest in motor engines for aircraft and automobiles. The engine construction and the company name "BMW" were sold in 1922 to financier Camillo Castiglioni to be combined with the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG (BFW, located not far away), establishing the company a second time. For details see History of BMW and BFW/ Messerschmitt . Between 1922 and 1927,

1452-458: The market. Since World War I aircraft were largely built from wood to keep their weight down, BFW was equipped with the very latest joinery plant. The company still held stocks of materials sufficient for about 200 aircraft, and worth 4.7 million reichsmarks. The machinery and the materials were then used for the production of furniture and fitted kitchens. In addition, from 1921 onwards, the company manufactured motorcycles of its own design under

1496-425: The names of Flink and Helios. In the autumn of 1921, Austrian financier Camillo Castiglioni first announced his interest in purchasing BFW. While most of the shareholders accepted his offer, MAN AG initially held on to its shareholding in BFW, but Castiglioni wanted to acquire all the shares. He was supported in this by BMW's Managing Director Franz Josef Popp who, in a letter to the chairman of MAN, described BFW as

1540-408: The rival Fieseler Fi 156 design) were prefixed "Bf", all later types with "Me". During the war Messerschmitt became a major design supplier, their Bf 109 and Bf 110 forming the vast majority of fighter strength for the first half of the war. Several other designs were also ordered, including the enormous Me 321 Gigant transport glider, and its six-engined follow on, the Me 323 . However, for

1584-651: The second half of the war, Messerschmitt turned almost entirely to jet -powered designs, producing the world's first operational jet fighter, the Me 262 Schwalbe ("Swallow"). They also produced the DFS -designed Me 163 Komet , the first rocket -powered design to enter service. Messerschmitt relied heavily on slave labour to produce much of the parts needed for these aircraft during the second half of World War II; these parts were assembled in an enormous tunnel system in Sankt Georgen an der Gusen , Austria . Slave labour

1628-507: The south German engineering company MAN AG and several banks purchased the unprofitable aircraft builder Otto-Flugzeugwerke , starting a new company, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG (abbreviated B.F.W. ). The articles of association were drawn up on 19 and 20 February, and completed on 2 March 1916. Details of the company were recorded in the Commercial Register with an equity capital of RM 1,000,000 on 7 March 1916. 36% of

1672-511: Was a German share-ownership limited , aircraft manufacturing corporation named after its chief designer Willy Messerschmitt from mid-July 1938 onwards , and known primarily for its World War II fighter aircraft , in particular the Bf 109 and Me 262 . The company survived in the post-war era, undergoing a number of mergers and changing its name from Messerschmitt to Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm before being bought by Deutsche Aerospace ( DASA , now part of Airbus ) in 1989. In February 1916,

1716-560: Was a near-catastrophe for the designer and the company. Many of the prototypes crashed, one of them killing Hans Hackmack, a close friend of Erhard Milch , the head of Deutsche Luft Hansa and the German civil aviation authorities. Milch was upset by the lack of response from Messerschmitt and this led to a lifelong hatred towards him. Milch eventually cancelled all contracts with Messerschmitt and forced BFW into bankruptcy in 1931. However, Messerschmitt's friendship with Hugo Junkers prevented

1760-588: Was announced that Knorr-Bremse AG had chosen Marc Llistosella to be a member of the Executive Board and CEO. The appointment takes effect as of 1 January 2023. In September 2024, the company acquired Alstom 's American rail signalling business for $ 690 million. Knorr-Bremse not only produces complete braking systems for all types of rolling stock but also door systems, toilets , air conditioning , couplings and windscreen wipers . In 2000, it purchased British manufacturer, Westinghouse Brakes (formerly

1804-564: Was probably in the spring of 1922 that Castiglioni and Popp persuaded MAN to give up its shares in BFW, so that now the company belonged exclusively to Castiglioni. Then, in May of the same year, when the Italian-born investor was able to acquire BMW's engine business from Knorr-Bremse AG , nothing more stood in the way of a merger between the aircraft company BFW and the engine builders BMW. Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW/Bavarian Aircraft Works)

Jagdwaffe - Misplaced Pages Continue

1848-450: Was provided by inmates of the brutal KZ Gusen I and Gusen II camps, and by inmates from nearby Mauthausen concentration camp , all located near the St. Gorgen quarries. 40,000 inmates from Spain, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, France, Russia, Hungarian Jews and twenty other nationalities were murdered during the production of these aircraft at KZ Gusen . Messerschmitt officials maintained barracks at

1892-696: Was re-established in Volmarstein , West Germany , and efforts commenced to rebuild the company proper. Three years later, its reconstruction was aided by the United States' Marshall Plan , which financed the Deutsche Bundesbahn 's building of 18,000 new freight cars equipped with Knorr-Bremse brake units. During 1953, its new headquarters were completed at the Süddeutsche Bremsen-AG plant in Munich . That same year,

1936-605: Was reformed in 1926, in Augsburg , Bavaria , when Udet Flugzeugbau GmbH was changed into a joint-stock company. In the early stages, BMW AG held a stake in this company and was represented by Josef Popp , who held a place on the Supervisory Board. Willy Messerschmitt joined the company in 1927 as chief designer and engineer and formed a design team. One of the first designs, the Messerschmitt M20 ,

#565434