Focke Achgelis FW-61 1936

The first successful helicopter, with side by side rotors mounted on the fuselage of a Focke-Wulf Fw 44 aircraft, made its first free flight on 26 June 1936. Although it lasted all of 28 seconds, the flight was a success. A second prototype was built during 1937.

Two years later,  it was demonstrated indoors at the Deutschlandhalle sports stadium in Berlin.  This helicopter was capable of 70 mph and set an altitude record of 11,250 feet in June of 1938. A larger version, the FA-223, was developed for transport use and was flown in the fall of 1939. However, development seemed to slow down after that and by the end of the war only 20 had been built and they saw limited service.