Hansa-Brandenburg

Hansa und Brandenburgische Flugzeugwerke
Company type	Company
Industry	Aircraft manufacturing
Founded	May 1914; 112 years ago
Founder	Camillo Castiglioni
Defunct	1919
Headquarters	Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany
Area served	Germany, Austro-Hungarian Empire
Key people	Ernst Heinkel (lead designer)
Products	Military aircraft, floatplane fighters, reconnaissance planes
Number of employees	1000

Hansa und Brandenburgische Flugzeugwerke, commonly referred to as Hansa-Brandenburg, was a German aircraft producer active during the First World War. The company originated in May 1914 when Camillo Castiglioni acquired Brandenburgische Flugzeugwerke and transferred its manufacturing operations from Liebau to Brandenburg an der Havel. The enterprise retained Brandenburg’s lead designer, Ernst Heinkel. By the fall of 1915, Hansa-Brandenburg had grown into Germany’s largest aircraft manufacturer, boasting a capital investment of 1,500,000 Marks, employing approximately 1,000 workers, and operating two additional production sites located in Rummelsburg, Berlin, and Wandsbek in Hamburg.

Despite its German manufacturing base, the company was Austrian-owned through Castiglioni and produced numerous military aircraft for the Austro-Hungarian aviation corps. Hansa-Brandenburg gained particular recognition for its effective series of floatplane fighters and reconnaissance planes deployed by the Imperial German Navy throughout the conflict. The firm was unable to sustain itself in the post-war aviation market and discontinued operations in 1919. Nevertheless, several of its aircraft designs continued production abroad, notably in Finland and Norway.

Aircraft