Henschel & Son

Henschel & Son was a German engineering and manufacturing company headquartered in Kassel. Founded in 1810 by Georg Christian Carl Henschel, the business began as a machine works and developed into one of Germany’s most important producers of railway equipment. A second Henschel factory was established by Georg’s son Carl Anton in 1837, and the company entered locomotive production in 1848. Over the following decades, Henschel became a major supplier to German railways, industrial railways, mining operations, and export markets. The company’s early industrial portfolio included machinery, steam engines, boilers, gearboxes, and railway equipment. Its gearbox production began in 1918, while trucks and buses were added in 1925. During the twentieth century, Henschel expanded beyond steam locomotives into diesel locomotives, trolleybuses, commercial vehicles, and chassis. It also experimented with steam-powered road vehicles and produced high-speed streamlined locomotives by adapting existing steam designs with removable aerodynamic shells. Henschel trolleybuses were built from 1941 to 1962, with vehicles supplied to transport operators in Germany, Austria, Argentina, and Brazil. The company was deeply involved in German military production during the Nazi period and the Second World War. Its activities included the manufacture of Panzer I and Panzer III tanks, the Tiger I, and Tiger II tanks produced in cooperation with Porsche. Henschel also undertook licensed aircraft production and operated an aviation division responsible for aircraft, guided weapons, anti-aircraft rockets, and glide bombs. The wartime production system relied extensively on forced labor, an aspect of the company’s history that remains central to assessments of its legacy. Its factories were major Allied bombing targets and were almost completely destroyed by 1945. Production resumed in 1948, but the postwar company did not return to its former integrated structure. Henschel took over Rheinische Stahlwerke in 1964 and became Rheinstahl-Henschel AG. Its truck operations were combined with Hanomag in 1969, creating Hanomag-Henschel. Daimler-Benz later acquired the commercial-vehicle business and discontinued the Hanomag-Henschel brand in 1974. The Kassel operation increasingly concentrated on rail equipment, especially locomotives, while corporate ownership and names changed through Thyssen-Henschel, ABB Henschel, and Adtranz. The historic rail business ultimately became part of Bombardier Transportation and, following Alstom’s acquisition of Bombardier Transportation in 2021, the Kassel site became part of Alstom. The former Henschel location continues to manufacture and service locomotives, including Alstom’s Traxx family. Henschel & Son therefore survives primarily as an industrial heritage name and as a predecessor to major contemporary European rail-manufacturing operations.

Georg Christian Carl Henschel established the Henschel factory in Kassel in 1810. The original operation manufactured machinery and industrial equipment, reflecting the rapid development of German mechanical engineering during the nineteenth century. Carl Anton Henschel, Georg’s son, founded a second factory in 1837. In 1848 the company began locomotive production, a decision that permanently shaped its industrial identity. Henschel expanded alongside German railway construction and became one of the country’s largest locomotive manufacturers by the twentieth century. Its output included locomotives for state railways, private industrial railways, mining companies, and overseas customers. The company produced both steam and diesel designs and supplied equipment to a wide range of national railway systems. In the 1930s it developed streamlined versions of existing steam locomotives, using removable outer shells to improve aerodynamic performance at speeds of up to approximately 140 km/h. The company diversified during the early twentieth century. Gearbox production began in 1918, and Henschel entered truck and bus manufacturing in 1925. It also built experimental steam road vehicles, including articulated steam trucks based on Doble-related designs. Trolleybus production began in 1941 and continued until 1962. Henschel manufactured complete trolleybuses and chassis, with notable export orders for Buenos Aires and São Paulo. Henschel’s wartime history is closely connected with Nazi Germany’s armaments economy. The company manufactured Panzer I tanks from 1935 and produced Panzer III tanks on a large scale from 1939–1940. It was the sole manufacturer of the Tiger I and built Tiger II tanks alongside Porsche. Through Henschel Flugzeugwerke, the company also produced aircraft and developed or manufactured guided weapons, rockets, and glide bombs. The Hs 129 ground-attack aircraft, Hs 293 glide bomb, and Hs 117 surface-to-air missile are among the best-known products associated with its aviation and weapons activities. The factories used forced labor extensively, and the Kassel works were heavily targeted by Allied bombing. By 1945, the facilities had been almost totally destroyed. Reconstruction permitted manufacturing to resume in 1948, but the company’s postwar trajectory was defined by restructuring and changes in ownership. In 1964 Henschel took over Rheinische Stahlwerke and operated as Rheinstahl-Henschel AG. Its truck business was merged with Hanomag in 1969 to form Hanomag-Henschel. Daimler-Benz subsequently acquired the commercial-vehicle operations, and the Hanomag-Henschel marque was discontinued in 1974. The Kassel business increasingly focused on rail vehicles, locomotive production, and components such as commercial-vehicle axles. Further corporate reorganizations produced Thyssen-Henschel in 1976 and ABB Henschel in 1990. In 1996 the rail business became part of ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation, later known as Adtranz. Bombardier acquired the relevant transportation operations around 2002. Alstom acquired Bombardier Transportation in 2021. The Kassel facility remains an important locomotive manufacturing and servicing site, now associated with Alstom’s Traxx family. Henschel & Son itself is no longer an independent operating company, but its engineering legacy continues through the industrial and railway businesses descended from it.

1. 2021Alstom acquires Bombardier Transportation

   The Kassel locomotive operation became part of Alstom after Alstom acquired Bombardier Transportation.

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2. 2002Bombardier acquires transportation operations

   Bombardier subsequently acquired the transportation business descended from the Henschel rail operation.

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3. 1996Adtranz successor created

   The business became part of ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation, later known as Adtranz.

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4. 1990ABB Henschel established

   The rail and engineering operations were reorganized under ABB Henschel.

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5. 1976Thyssen-Henschel established

   A further corporate reorganization created Thyssen-Henschel.

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6. 1969Hanomag-Henschel created

   Henschel’s truck operations were combined with Hanomag.

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7. 1964Rheinstahl-Henschel formed

   The takeover of Rheinische Stahlwerke led to the Rheinstahl-Henschel AG name.

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8. 1948Production restarts after the war

   Henschel resumed manufacturing during postwar reconstruction.

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9. 1945Kassel factories devastated

   Allied bombing left the principal works nearly completely destroyed at the end of the Second World War.

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10. 1941Trolleybus production begins

    The company entered trolleybus manufacturing, a business that continued until 1962.

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11. 1935Panzer production begins

    Henschel began manufacturing Panzer I tanks and expanded into armoured-vehicle production.

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12. 1925Commercial-vehicle production begins

    Henschel started building trucks and buses.

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13. 1918Gearbox manufacturing added

    The Kassel plant began producing gearboxes for industrial and vehicle applications.

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14. 1848Locomotive production begins

    Henschel entered locomotive manufacturing, later becoming one of Germany’s largest producers.

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15. 1837Second Henschel factory established

    Carl Anton Henschel founded another factory in Kassel, expanding the family’s industrial operations.

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16. 1810Henschel factory founded in Kassel

    Georg Christian Carl Henschel established the machine works that became Henschel & Son.

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A historically significant German heavy-engineering manufacturer whose identity was built around railway technology and later broadened into commercial vehicles, military equipment, and aerospace systems.

• Steam locomotivesRail vehicles1848

  Steam locomotives were Henschel’s defining historical product. From 1848 onward, the company supplied locomotives to state railways, private railways, mining operations, industrial users, and foreign customers. Its portfolio included conventional designs as well as streamlined versions developed in the 1930s by fitting removable aerodynamic shells over existing locomotives.

• Henschel DH and DHG diesel locomotivesRail vehicles

  The DH and DHG families represented Henschel’s extensive postwar diesel-locomotive business. These locomotives served private, mining, industrial, and national railway customers. Numerous variants were exported, including models supplied to railways in China, Denmark, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Portugal, Sudan, and Sweden.

• Trucks and busesCommercial vehicles1925

  Henschel began manufacturing trucks and buses in 1925. The road-vehicle business complemented its railway and machinery operations and later became part of the Hanomag-Henschel commercial-vehicle combination before passing to Daimler-Benz.

• TrolleybusesPublic-transport vehicles1941

  Henschel built trolleybuses from 1941 through 1962, producing at least 680 complete vehicles and chassis for additional bodies supplied by other manufacturers. Major export orders included 175 vehicles for Buenos Aires and 50 Henschel-Uerdingen trolleybuses for São Paulo.

• Tiger I and Tiger II tanksArmoured vehicles

  During the Second World War, Henschel manufactured the Tiger I and produced Tiger II tanks in cooperation with Porsche. These vehicles were part of the company’s wartime armaments production and are also associated with the ethical and historical record of forced labor at its factories.

• Henschel Hs 129Aircraft

  The Hs 129 was a purpose-built ground-attack aircraft developed and produced by Henschel Flugzeugwerke for the German Luftwaffe during the Second World War. It formed part of a wider aviation portfolio that included reconnaissance aircraft, prototypes, and military weapons.

• Henschel Hs 293Guided weapons

  The Hs 293 was a rocket-boosted glide bomb associated with Henschel’s wartime aviation and weapons activities. It was developed as an anti-shipping weapon and illustrates the company’s expansion from conventional engineering into guided military systems.

• 1996Move into ABB Daimler-Benz TransportationM&A

  Further consolidation reshaped the European railway-equipment industry and brought Henschel’s rail operations into a larger international structure.

  What changed. The business became part of ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation, later known as Adtranz.

  Aftermath. The successor rail operation later passed to Bombardier and then Alstom, while the Kassel site retained a locomotive-manufacturing role.

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• 1969Combine truck operations with HanomagM&A

  Henschel and Hanomag sought to consolidate their commercial-vehicle activities.

  What changed. The truck production businesses were combined to form Hanomag-Henschel.

  Aftermath. Daimler-Benz later acquired the business and discontinued the Hanomag-Henschel brand in 1974.

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• 1964Takeover of Rheinische StahlwerkeM&A

  Postwar industrial consolidation prompted Henschel to broaden its corporate structure and steel-related activities.

  What changed. Henschel took over Rheinische Stahlwerke and operated under the Rheinstahl-Henschel AG name.

  Aftermath. The transaction began a sequence of reorganizations that ultimately separated and recombined the company’s vehicle and rail businesses.

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• 1935Expand from locomotives into armoured vehiclesProduct launch

  The German rearmament program created demand for military vehicles and weapons alongside Henschel’s established railway and machinery businesses.

  What changed. Henschel began manufacturing Panzer I tanks and subsequently produced Panzer III, Tiger I, and Tiger II tanks.

  Aftermath. The company became a major German armaments supplier, with its production later tied to extensive forced labor and Allied bombing.

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• 1945Forced labor in wartime productionControversy

  Henschel’s wartime factories used forced labor extensively while producing tanks, aircraft, locomotives, and other military equipment for Nazi Germany. The issue is a major part of the company’s historical legacy and must be considered alongside the destruction of its Kassel facilities in the final phase of the war.

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• 2021Henschel railway operations become part of Alstom

  Alstom’s acquisition of Bombardier Transportation brought the historic Kassel rail-manufacturing operation into the Alstom group.

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• 1948Postwar manufacturing resumes

  Henschel restarted production after the destruction and disruption of the war years.

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• 1935Expansion into wartime armaments

  Henschel began producing Panzer I tanks and later became a major supplier of German armoured vehicles and military systems.

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• 1925Truck and bus production begins

  The company entered road transport manufacturing with trucks and buses.

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• 1918Henschel begins gearbox production

  Henschel added gearbox manufacturing at its Kassel plant, broadening its industrial and vehicle-related capabilities.

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• 1848Henschel enters locomotive manufacturing

  The Kassel company began building locomotives, establishing the business in the railway-equipment sector that later became its defining activity.

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1. Henschel & Son