FA 223 Drache: The Story of the Focke-Achgelis Helicopter

In 1945, Allied Forces captured a top-secret German helicopter and its Luftwaffe crew. The British had the Germans fly the FA 223 Drache over the English Channel with an RAF escort to the New Forest airfield, RAF Beaulieu. This was the first time a helicopter had ever crossed that expanse of water.

The Luftwaffe helicopter arrived at RAF Beaulieu in Hampshire for testing to extract as much secret technology as possible. The Luftwaffe pilot and 2 German engineers became POWs, living at Beaulieu and working alongside the RAF AFEE team.

However, within just a few weeks of arriving in the New Forest, the FA 223 Drache helicopter crashed on Beaulieu Airfield in the New Forest and would never fly again. Some say it was even buried at the English airfield... and in this video I attempt to uncover the truth of the FA 223 Drache and how it came to land in England.

➜ Photos & more detail: https://rafbeaulieu.co.uk/fa-223-drac...

** Credits **

In the last couple of minutes of the video I took inspiration from Tom Scott's excellent channel, and paraphrased a few sentences in a very similar to way to how he once did in one of his videos for around 20 seconds. Full credit for those sentences and the meaning behind them should be given to him, despite my interpretation being a little different and about a completely different subject matter when I spoke them live.

Another way to describe it could be that those few sentences towards the end of the film are me doing a bad cover version of Tom Scott.

Subscribe to Tom Scott here:    / enyay  

** Want to know more about the history of RAF Beaulieu? **

Start your own journey of discovery at the RAF Beaulieu airfield from World War 2 in my walking and discovery series:

RAF Beaulieu Walk 01:    • RAF Beaulieu Walk #1: History of the ...  
RAF Beaulieu Walk 02:    • RAF Beaulieu Walk #2: Exploring the C...  

** Join the discussion **

To join the discussion, please visit the New Forest and Hampshire WW2 Heritage Facebook group:

  / 400948317956198  

** Archive Footage Credits **

Soldiers Laughing:    • British Army on LSD (Acid) drugs  
Drache flying and test footage:    • Focke-Achgelis Fa 223  
POWs leaving in England:    • 1948 News Real : Last German POWs ret...  
German soldiers fighting:    • Видео  
US soldiers fighting:    • US Army Captures Frankfurt Drives Dee...  
ME 262 footage:    • Me 262 -  new detailed original comme...  
FA 223 footage:    • The Luftwaffe Fa 223 Dragon - First H...  
Hitler footage:    • Rise of the Nazis  
Seige of Breslau:    • BRESLAU / WROCŁAW - 1945  
Dracke footage:    • Weaponology - "Focke-Achgelis Fa 223"  
Red Army footage:    • Soviet Forces In Action (1941)  
Hitler’s rise to power:    • Видео  
Focke Wulf FW 61:    • Focke-Wulf Fw 61 first prototype (1936)  

Additional clips and effects licensed from Storyblocks.com.

I have tried where possible to credit every photo possible. If I have not credited your work, please do contact me. I have attempted to be as diligent as possible.

It was not possible to find actual historical footage of all event described in this film. Because of that I have occasionally used other historical film or photos to help represent the story and to bring it to life.

** Sources **

The New Forest National Park Authority and Fred Hambly.
Air International Magazine (June 1984 edition).
Rotocraft of the Third Reich by Ryszard Witkowski.
Tony Johnson for access to Alan Brown’s work.
https://praust.wordpress.com

** Music licensed from Storyblocks.com **

William Menacher – Frankenstein’s Creation
Bobby Cole – Epic War Music Theme
Valentina Gribanova – Steel and Flame
Martin Pidsley – Riviera
Will Van De Crommert – Requiem

The film has been researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. I am a local history enthusiast and am not an expert historian, so please get in touch if you find any inaccuracies.

Media clips used in accordance with educational, non-commercial, and fair use policies. This video was produced for information only under the terms of UK Fair Dealing copyright and not for any commercial or personal gain.

#rafbeaulieu #ww2 #drache