The Flettner Fl282 Kolibri (Hummingbird) was one of the world’s first successful helicopters. It was used operationally by German Naval forces but Allied bombing destroyed the possibility of it entering series production

Anton Flettner was one of the pioneers of helicopter development, experimenting with a variety of ways of developing a successful helicopter.

To overcome the problem of torque he developed the concept of twin intermeshing rotor blades and German military authorities took an interest from 1940 when development of the Fl282 began.

Trials began in 1942 and the German Navy was using 20 of the 24 prototypes from warships in the Agean and Mediterranean in convoy protection work in 1943.

They were so successful that 1000 were ordered for service but Allied bombing attacks prevented any from being manufactured and only three survived the end of the war.

This model represents the 21st prototype, c.1943.

Huma 1/72 kit completed by Leigh Edmonds in June 1989.