Henschel & Sohn

Henschel & Sohn was a German company, located in Kassel, best known during the 20th century as a maker of transportation equipment, including locomotives, trucks, buses, and trolleybuses, and armoured fighting vehicles and weapons.

Early in 1935, Henschel began manufacturing Panzer I tanks. During World War II, the firm was responsible for license production of the Dornier Do 17Z medium bomber, and in 1939–1940 it began large-scale production of the Panzer III. Henschel was the sole manufacturer of the Tiger I and Tiger II. In 1945, the company had 8000 workers working in two shifts each of 12 hours, and forced labour was used extensively. The company's factories were among the most important bomber targets and were nearly completely destroyed, although throughout the war they did manufacture narrow gauge locomotives.

Manufacturing began again in 1948. In 1964, the company took over Rheinische Stahlwerke and became Rheinstahl Henschel AG (Hanomag), in 1976 Thyssen-Henschel, and 1990 ABB Henschel AG. In 1996, the company became ABB Daimler Benz Transportation Adtranz. The company was subsequently acquired by Bombardier (Canada) around 2002. The Kassel facility still exists and is one of the world's largest manufacturers of locomotives

Subject ID: 5331