Flight testing of the Fl 282 began in 1941 and eventually involved two flyable prototypes. Interestingly, these two prototypes were given enclosed cockpits while follow-up units were to feature the well-photographed open-air design described earlier. It was the German Navy, once again, that saw the value inherent in the Flettner helicopter and ordered a batch of fifteen for evaluation from its surface ships. Prototypes were designated Fl 282 V1 through V7 and followed by the Fl 282A-1 single-seat reconnaissance version for launching/retrieval from German warships. The Fl 282B-2 designation delineated submarine-launched, single-seat reconnaissance Fl 282s. The Fl 282B-2 was a unique sub-variant of the main B-model line and incorporated a second seat placement, this at the rear of the frame, for an observer in the scout, reconnaissance or mission liaison role.
The helicopters certainly provided considerable tactical value for the time - not requiring runway space to land on/take-off from and featuring relatively low-maintenance engines. Additionally, the platforms offered availability during overcast days and were not prone to the influences caused by inclement weather as experienced by fixed-wing aircraft. The Luftwaffe was granted a production order for some 1,000 Fl 282 units sometime in 1944, these to be manufactured by the storied concern of BMW for the sheer numbers required of the German war effort - having now turned into a defensive war. In 1945, the Luftwaffe went on to establish a dedicated reconnaissance wing through Transportstaffel 40 (TS/40) which was to stock several Fl 282 helicopters and based out of the Muhldorf District of Bavaria.
The Fl 282s in service soldiered on into the final weeks of the war. However, the intended (and rather ambitious) 1,000-strong fleet never materialized for the Allied bombing campaign put an end to the BMW facility operating out of Munich. Anton Flettner eventually went to work for the American firm of Kaman in the post-war years, allowing the company to deliver several well-known light helicopters utilizing the intermeshing rotor arrangement (the valuable multirole "K-MAX" line is one such modern example). It is noteworthy that the Germans also made limited-scale use of another helicopter during the war - the unrelated Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 of 1941 - of which twenty were produced. These were also assigned to TS/40 before the war's end.
Examples of Fl 282 aircraft were captured by both the Americans and Soviets in the Allied advance on Germany where they were rigorously evaluated in the post-war years.
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