Focke-Wulf

Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG, known simply as Focke-Wulf, was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft before and during the Second World War. It was founded in Bremen on 24 October 1923 as Bremer Flugzeugbau AG by Henrich Focke, Georg Wulf and Werner Naumann, and was renamed almost at once. It merged with Albatros Flugzeugwerke of Berlin in 1931, when the engineer and test pilot Kurt Tank became head of its technical department. Among its aircraft were the Fw 61, demonstrated in 1938 as the first fully controllable helicopter, the four-engined Fw 200 airliner, which flew nonstop from Berlin to New York City on 10 August 1938, and the Fw 190 Würger, a mainstay single-seat fighter of the Luftwaffe from 1941 to 1945, whose slight modifications gave the company many of its successful fighters. In 1964 Focke-Wulf formally merged with Weserflug into Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke, which after further mergers became EADS and was later renamed Airbus, so the company is one of the predecessors of today's Airbus.