Airbus: (German) Ghosts of the Past

The Big German Four After WWII

Ever wondered what happened to the big German 4?

At the end of WWII, Dornier, Heinkel, Focke Wulf, and Messerschmitt were banned from producing planes for a decade. All four somehow survived for 10 years manufacturing various products for the civilian market before moving back to do what they did best.

Dornier and the Alpha Jet

Dornier Flugzeugwerke developed the Alpha Jet with the French Dassault Breguet in the 1970s before being absorbed by Daimler Benz in 1985, which later became known as DASA.

Focke-Wulf’s Joint Ventures

Focke-Wulf created a joint venture with the (legendary) Dutch Fokker called Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke (VFW).

Heinkel and VFW

Heinkel built F-104 Starfighters under license for West Germany until it was absorbed by… VFW!

Messerschmitt and the Formation of DASA

Meanwhile, Messerschmitt became part of DASA (Deutsche Aerospace AG/Daimler-Benz Aerospace AG). And in 1989, DASA took over VFW… The remnants of the big German 4 ended up in the same structure. But the story does not stop there.

The Birth of EADS and CASA

In 2000, EADS was created by the merger of the French Aérospatiale-Matra, the German DASA, and the Spanish CASA. In 2014, EADS was reorganized as Airbus Group NV.

Now… CASA… In the 1930s and 1940s, CASA built Dornier Do-J Wal, Vickers Vildebeest, and Heinkel He-111 under license. In the 1960s, CASA was building Northrop F-5A, also under license.

Aérspatiale-Matra and Hawker Siddeley

As for the French Aérospatiale and Matra, Aérospatiale used to manufacture helicopters, planes, and satellites and was involved in the Eurocopter program while Matra used to produce missiles and bombs.

Now, take into consideration that the British Hawker Siddeley also participated in the Airbus venture and that Hawker also comprised names such as Avro and Gloster…