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The devlopment of MBB BO 105
Ludwig
and Emil Bölkow Weiland had since 1955 in the company Bölkow
Entwicklungen KG designed helicopters. When considering the lay-out for
a new project, they found that the market needed a light helicopter,
designed for security (and more generally by two redundant design of all
major systems, as well as a high-lying rotor) maintenance-friendly, easy
to fly, particularly suited for rescue missions and economical to
maintain. The government of the BRD found this concept good and granted
the company economic support.
The Bo 105A made its maiden flight in February 1967. The German
Civil Aviation Authority certified the helicopter in October 1970 and
production for German civil and law enforcement organizations began
shortly afterwards. Further safety certification by the FAA was granted
in April 1972 and was followed with orders to the United States.
The Bo 105C was developed in 1972 and the German Ministry of Defence
selected this model as light observation helicopter, purchasing 100
helicopters in 1977. A specialist anti-tank version armed with
Euromissile HOT missiles and designated as the Bo 105PAH-1 was procured
by the German Army around the same time, with a total of 212 eventually
being delivered.
In 1976, the Bo 105CB was developed with more powerful Allison 250-C20B
engines. This was further developed as the Bo 105CBS with the
enlargement of the fuselage by 10 inches to meet American market demands
for emergency medical service operations. This version was known as the
Bo 105 Twin Jet in the United States.
In 1984, the Bo 105LS was developed with the enlarged fuselage of the Bo
105CBS combined with more powerful Allison 250-C28C engines to increase
the maximum take-off weight.
Production ended in 2001, due to the Bo 105 being superseded by
the more modern Eurocopter EC 135, after 1 406 machines had been
built.
Being the first light twin-engine helicopter in commercial service, it
gained widespread use over rural areas (police and EMS / Mede vac) as
well as offshore.
The helicopter has been sold to an impressing lot of countries. These
have purchased military variants:
Albania, Bahrain, Bophuthatswana, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia,
Germany, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lesotho, Mexico, Netherlands,
Niger, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Sierra Leone, South
Korea, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates
and Uruguay.
Civilian versions of the helicopter have been sold to these countries:
Argentina, Austria, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece,
Indonesia, Israel, Iran, Jordan, Netherlands, Peru, Philippines, Russia,
Spain, Turkey, South Africa, United Kingdom and United States.
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