martinbayer
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I first became aware of the concepts outlined below as a kid in Germany in the early Seventies through a segment in some current affairs show. My apologies in advance for posting only links instead of more permanent copies or illustrations below, due to upload size limits and copyright concerns.
Ernst Achilles (1929-1999), see https://second.wiki/wiki/ernst_achilles, is best known for his service as the director of the fire department of Frankfurt am Main from 1966 to 1989. He is considered a pioneer in preventive fire protection and medical emergency rescue in Germany. As head of the Frankfurt fire brigade and university lecturer for many years, he has significantly shaped German fire protection to this day.
At the time, Frankfurt was already home to a bustling international airport as well as a number of high rises in its financial business district (earning it the nickname “Mainhattan”) that posed unique challenges for urban firefighting, and Achilles was continuously looking for innovative solutions, earning him first a national and then international reputation as a visionary as well as a competent executive and leader in the field.
One of the many issues Achilles grappled with was the need for quick and effective firefighting after plane crashes to save as many passengers as possible. While both the Frankfurt airport fire brigade and the professional fire brigade were equipped with high capacity firefighting vehicles when the first 747 arrived in Frankfurt, intervention time was considered a problem. While the airport fire brigade had to be able reach every point of the airport with their vehicles within a few minutes, the time from the event of a crash until extinguishing a kerosene fire with crash tenders might still be too long for the passengers to be rescued, since the aluminum airframe could only withstand high temperatures for a very short time, until toxic gases, heat and fire would penetrate the passenger compartment. In addition, the crash site could be located outside the airport perimeter.
In 1971, Achilles presented a radical solution proposal that was based on contemporary army light artillery missile launchers of the Bundeswehr, intending to permanently station such launchers at major airports. The rockets would carry extinguishing agents instead of explosives and be coordinate driven, satellite guided, or homing in on an automatic emergency transmitter on board of the plane. The rocket payload compartments would burst open above the aircraft and release their fire extinguishing contents.
Together with Honeywell in Offenbach, Achilles developed the concept named Florian (after the patron saint of firefighters) as a firefighting rocket system for use in the vicinity of airports. An individual rocket was to be able to drop 50 kilograms of extinguishing agent in flight at a defined trajectory point above the target. Copies of an eight page brochure on that concept can be found at https://www.nordstadt-forum.info/viewtopic.php?f=150&t=17359, and an associated patent is briefly discussed (in German) on page 77 of the PDF at http://download.gsb.bund.de/BBK/BBKNV197304.PDF. A brief illustrated mention on page 847 of the New Scientist from 20 December 1973 can be found at https://books.google.com/books?id=kFnKBA5TeboC&pg=PA847&lpg=PA847&dq=new+scientist+"rockets+to+put+out+fires"&source=bl&ots=9NtvVkmnSv&sig=ACfU3U23WLYCE6k6HoNxqUjqyThFErLfMA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjH8pXSvcv3AhXHDkQIHQ_UCtQQ6AF6BAgCEAM#v=onepage&q=new scientist "rockets to put out fires"&f=false.
Additional illustrations can also be found at https://www.facebook.com/page/556597514448987/search/?q=achilles (takes some scrolling), and further information is provided at https://books.google.com/books?id=qedhDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA108&lpg=PA108&dq="florian+flies+like+a+rocket"&source=bl&ots=ERSse0Thvc&sig=ACfU3U0Ug-RLVVx3W_o6mbA7GXbp4ppToA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjyjoCAxMv3AhXYKEQIHQ9qDgkQ6AF6BAgIEAM#v=onepage&q="florian flies like a rocket"&f=false.
Eventually Florian’s payload capability was however considered too small, and in 1972 Achilles and ERNO Raumfahrttechnik in Bremen developed a design of a remote controlled winged firefighting drone with the capacity to carry 500 kilograms of extinguishing agents, see https://books.google.com/books?id=qedhDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA109&lpg=PA109&dq="the+firefighting+packages"&source=bl&ots=ERSse0Ubo7&sig=ACfU3U0IHRqeAAi0sKCRU_bvC8xaOksxzw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi0_fmaxcv3AhVjDkQIHbdgAE4Q6AF6BAgfEAM#v=onepage&q="the firefighting packages"&f=false.
Further information and illustrations for both concepts are also provided (in German) on pages 8 through 11 of the PDF at https://docplayer.org/storage/97/134692017/1651864914/DAIYmFihmGI4No0AC3uQIg/134692017.pdf.
Ernst Achilles (1929-1999), see https://second.wiki/wiki/ernst_achilles, is best known for his service as the director of the fire department of Frankfurt am Main from 1966 to 1989. He is considered a pioneer in preventive fire protection and medical emergency rescue in Germany. As head of the Frankfurt fire brigade and university lecturer for many years, he has significantly shaped German fire protection to this day.
At the time, Frankfurt was already home to a bustling international airport as well as a number of high rises in its financial business district (earning it the nickname “Mainhattan”) that posed unique challenges for urban firefighting, and Achilles was continuously looking for innovative solutions, earning him first a national and then international reputation as a visionary as well as a competent executive and leader in the field.
One of the many issues Achilles grappled with was the need for quick and effective firefighting after plane crashes to save as many passengers as possible. While both the Frankfurt airport fire brigade and the professional fire brigade were equipped with high capacity firefighting vehicles when the first 747 arrived in Frankfurt, intervention time was considered a problem. While the airport fire brigade had to be able reach every point of the airport with their vehicles within a few minutes, the time from the event of a crash until extinguishing a kerosene fire with crash tenders might still be too long for the passengers to be rescued, since the aluminum airframe could only withstand high temperatures for a very short time, until toxic gases, heat and fire would penetrate the passenger compartment. In addition, the crash site could be located outside the airport perimeter.
In 1971, Achilles presented a radical solution proposal that was based on contemporary army light artillery missile launchers of the Bundeswehr, intending to permanently station such launchers at major airports. The rockets would carry extinguishing agents instead of explosives and be coordinate driven, satellite guided, or homing in on an automatic emergency transmitter on board of the plane. The rocket payload compartments would burst open above the aircraft and release their fire extinguishing contents.
Together with Honeywell in Offenbach, Achilles developed the concept named Florian (after the patron saint of firefighters) as a firefighting rocket system for use in the vicinity of airports. An individual rocket was to be able to drop 50 kilograms of extinguishing agent in flight at a defined trajectory point above the target. Copies of an eight page brochure on that concept can be found at https://www.nordstadt-forum.info/viewtopic.php?f=150&t=17359, and an associated patent is briefly discussed (in German) on page 77 of the PDF at http://download.gsb.bund.de/BBK/BBKNV197304.PDF. A brief illustrated mention on page 847 of the New Scientist from 20 December 1973 can be found at https://books.google.com/books?id=kFnKBA5TeboC&pg=PA847&lpg=PA847&dq=new+scientist+"rockets+to+put+out+fires"&source=bl&ots=9NtvVkmnSv&sig=ACfU3U23WLYCE6k6HoNxqUjqyThFErLfMA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjH8pXSvcv3AhXHDkQIHQ_UCtQQ6AF6BAgCEAM#v=onepage&q=new scientist "rockets to put out fires"&f=false.
Additional illustrations can also be found at https://www.facebook.com/page/556597514448987/search/?q=achilles (takes some scrolling), and further information is provided at https://books.google.com/books?id=qedhDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA108&lpg=PA108&dq="florian+flies+like+a+rocket"&source=bl&ots=ERSse0Thvc&sig=ACfU3U0Ug-RLVVx3W_o6mbA7GXbp4ppToA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjyjoCAxMv3AhXYKEQIHQ9qDgkQ6AF6BAgIEAM#v=onepage&q="florian flies like a rocket"&f=false.
Eventually Florian’s payload capability was however considered too small, and in 1972 Achilles and ERNO Raumfahrttechnik in Bremen developed a design of a remote controlled winged firefighting drone with the capacity to carry 500 kilograms of extinguishing agents, see https://books.google.com/books?id=qedhDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA109&lpg=PA109&dq="the+firefighting+packages"&source=bl&ots=ERSse0Ubo7&sig=ACfU3U0IHRqeAAi0sKCRU_bvC8xaOksxzw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi0_fmaxcv3AhVjDkQIHbdgAE4Q6AF6BAgfEAM#v=onepage&q="the firefighting packages"&f=false.
Further information and illustrations for both concepts are also provided (in German) on pages 8 through 11 of the PDF at https://docplayer.org/storage/97/134692017/1651864914/DAIYmFihmGI4No0AC3uQIg/134692017.pdf.
