Henrich Focke

Henrich Focke (8 October 1890 – 25 February 1979) was a German aviation pioneer from Bremen and also a co-founder of the Focke-Wulf company.

He is known for having developed the turbo shaft propulsion system used by the majority of all the world's helicopters.

Biography

Early life

Henrich Focke was Born in Bremen on 8 October 1890, Focke studied in Hanover, where he became friends with Georg Wulf in 1911. In 1914, he and Wulf both reported for military service and Focke was deferred due to heart problems, but was eventually drafted into an infantry regiment. After serving on the Eastern front, he was transferred to the Imperial German Army Air Service.

Focke graduated in 1920 as Dipl-Ing (MS) with distinction. His first job was with the Francke Company of Bremen as a designer of water-gas systems. At the same time he continued his aeronautical experimentation, he and Wulf building the new A VII around the engine from the A VI.

Focke-Wulf and Focke-Achgelis

In 1923, with Wulf and Dr. Werner Naumann, Focke co-founded Focke-Wulf-Flugzeugbau GmbH. Wulf died in an accident in 1927 in the F19 "Ente" canard monoplane