Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) was a German aerospace company formed as the result of several mergers in the late 1960s. Among its best-known products was the MBB Bo 105 light twin helicopter. The company was bought by Daimler-Benz Aerospace AG in 1989, now part of EADS.
[edit] History
The fourth MBB Bo 105 prototype in the Deutsches Museum in Munich
On 6 June 1968, Messerschmitt AG merged with the small civil engineering and civil aviation firm Bölkow, becoming Messerschmitt-Bölkow. The following May, the firm acquired Hamburger Flugzeugbau (HFB), the aviation division of Blohm + Voss. The company then changed its name to Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB).
Originally 51% of MBB was owned by the Blohm family, Willy Messerschmitt and Ludwig Bölkow. 22.07% was owned by the German State of Hamburg, 17.05% by the state of Bavaria, 7.16% by Thyssen AG, 7.16% by Siemens AG, 7.13% by Allianz Versicherungs-AG, 7.13% by Robert Bosch GmbH and 6.15% by Friedrich Krupp GmbH.[1]
In 1981, MBB acquired the Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke (VFW), which itself had been formed by merging Focke-Wulf, Focke-Achgelis and Weserflug. In the following year, MBB acquired the astronautics company Entwicklungsring Nord (ERNO) and became MBB-ERNO.
In 1989 MBB was taken over by "Deutsche Aerospace AG" (DASA), which was renamed "Daimler-Benz Aerospace" in 1995. With the 1998 merger of Daimler Benz and Chrysler Corporation, the aerospace division was renamed DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG on 7 November 1998. European defense consolidation led to DASA's being merged with Aerospatiale-Matra of France and Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) of Spain to form the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) in 2000. The former DaimlerChrysler Aerospace now operates as "EADS Germany".[2]
[edit] Subsidiaries
- MBB-Liftsystems AG , which produces lifting systems for trucks and vans
- MBB-Sondertechnik, (today FHS Förder– und Hebesysteme GmbH) developed wind rotors in the 1980s and 1990s, and lifting systems for military use. When DASA CEO Jürgen E. Schrempp initiated the Dolores program (Dollar Low Rescue) in the mid-1990s, some 16,000 jobs were lost, and the development of wind energy technologies was terminated.
- MBB Gelma GmbH, produces timekeeping units and machine control units (today owned by DORMA KG)
- MBB Projects AG
[edit] Aircraft
MBB Bo 108, later known as Eurocopter EC 135
[edit] Partnerships
Rockwell-MBB X-31, one of two X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Demonstrator aircraft (top)
[edit] References
- ^ Commerzbank AG: "Wer gehört zu wem", Hamburg 1985, 15. Auflage
- ^ Answers.com (n.d.). [1]. Retrieved 22 March 2007.
- Gunston, Bill (2005). World Encyclopedia of Aircraft Manufacturers, 2nd Edition. Phoenix Mill, Gloucestershire, England, UK: Sutton Publishing Limited. pp. 164. ISBN 0-7509-3981-8.
[edit] External links
Bölkow and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm aircraft
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| Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm aircraft |
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