Thulin

Slagorde · Vliegtuigfabrikanten • Zweden

Thulin

AB Enoch Thulins Aeroplanfabrik (AETA) · AB Thulinverken

Sweden’s first aircraft industry was one doctor of aerodynamics in Landskrona: Enoch Thulin built fighters, engines and a wind tunnel, employed 900 people, and died in his own fighter at 37.

1914Opgericht
Defunct 1920Status
4Vliegtuigen geregistreerd
1Luchtmachteenheden die met dit type vliegtuigen vliegen
Photo: Ruuhinen / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
LandZwedenOpgericht1914OprichtersEnoch ThulinHoofdkwartierLandskrona, SkåneStatusDefunct 1920
Het verhaal

Thulin: the company and the aircraft that made its name

A doctor of aerodynamics

Enoch Thulin was not a mechanic who learned theory; he was a theorist who learned to fly. He took a doctorate at Lund University in 1912 for work on aerodynamics, made his first successful flights the same year, and in November 1913 went into partnership with Oscar Ask, who had started an aircraft firm in Landskrona in 1912. By August 1914 Thulin was running it, and in 1915 it became AB Enoch Thulins Aeroplanfabrik — Sweden’s first aircraft manufacturer.

Engines with Swedish bearings

The works grew fast: 12 to 15 people in 1914, 200 in 1917, 900 by 1919. There was a materials-testing laboratory and a wind tunnel hall with four fans 3.7 metres across. From 1916 Thulin built his own engines, derived from the Le Rhône rotary and improved with Swedish ball bearings. Aircraft went to the Swedish forces, Denmark, Norway and Finland, and the Dutch Navy took most of the 17 Thulin K fighters built from 1917.

Death over Landskrona

Thulin stood down as head of the company in January 1919. On 14 May that year, practising in a Thulin K over Södra Fäladen, south-east of Landskrona harbour, he lost an aileron in a steep dive and was killed. He was 37. With export markets collapsing after the war, the company tried building cars from 1919 but went bankrupt on 20 August 1920. Reconstructed as AB Thulinverken in 1922, it made cars until 1928 and then railway brakes.

Sweden’s first aircraft industry was one doctor of aerodynamics in Landskrona: Enoch Thulin built fighters, engines and a wind tunnel, employed 900 people, and died in his own fighter at 37.Thulin · verified 2026-10-03
In één oogopslag

Thulin in numbers

Het bedrijf

Kortom
Founded 1914

  • Sweden’s first aircraft manufacturer
  • Landskrona works with wind tunnel and test laboratory
  • 900 employees by 1919

Productie

Het meest bekend om
Thulin K fighter

  • Aircraft types A to N, mostly reconnaissance aircraft
  • Own rotary engines from 1916

Vandaag

Nu
Bankrupt 1920

  • Reconstructed 1922 as AB Thulinverken, maker of cars and brakes
  • Merged into Svenska AB Bromsregulator, 1958

De cijfers

Medewerkers
9001919
Medewerkers
2001917
Thulin K fighters built
17
Share capital
6 million kronor1919
Het vliegtuig

Every notable Thulin aircraft

Vliegtuig Rol Eerste vlucht Gebouwd Status Opmerking
Thulin K Vechter 1917 17 Gepensioneerd 2 for Sweden, 15 for the Royal Netherlands Navy; Thulin died in one
Thulin types A, B, C, D, E, FA, G, GA, L, LA Verkenningsvliegtuig Gepensioneerd
Thulin H Three-engine bomber Gepensioneerd
Thulin N / NA Vechter Gepensioneerd
Wie vliegt ermee?

Thulin aircraft in the world’s air forces

1 air forces in the Order of Battle fly or flew Thulin types. Geen van hen heeft er nog een in gebruik.

Luchtmacht In dienst Voorheen gevlogen
Finse luchtmacht Thulin type D
Plaatsen, mensen, archieven

Where Thulin built, who led it, what it achieved

Fabrieken

  • Landskrona works · Landskrona, Skåne — Three-storey assembly hall from 1917; wind tunnel with four 3.7 m fans

Mensen

  • Enoch Thulin · founder, designer, pilot — 1881–1919; PhD Lund 1912; killed in a Thulin K
  • Oscar Ask · aircraft builder — Founded the Landskrona firm Thulin joined in 1913

Records en primeurs

  • Enoch Thulin set a Swedish altitude record in the Thulin K in 1919
Tijdlijn

Thulin, year by year

1912

Oscar Ask founds an aircraft firm in Landskrona; Thulin earns his doctorate

1913

Thulin becomes Ask’s partner

1914

Thulin takes over the firm

1915

AB Enoch Thulins Aeroplanfabrik incorporated

1916

Engine production begins

1917

Thulin K fighter first flies; assembly hall built

1919

Enoch Thulin killed flying a Thulin K

1920

Company bankrupt

1922

Reconstructed as AB Thulinverken

1958

Merged with Svenska AB Bromsregulator

Vragen en antwoorden

Everything people ask about Thulin

What was Sweden’s first aircraft manufacturer?
Enoch Thulin’s aircraft factory in Landskrona, founded in 1914.
How did Enoch Thulin die?
He was killed on 14 May 1919 when his Thulin K lost an aileron in a steep dive near Landskrona.
Who used Thulin aircraft?
The Swedish forces, Denmark, Norway and Finland, and the Royal Netherlands Navy, which took most of the Thulin K fighters.
What happened to the Thulin company?
It went bankrupt in 1920, was reconstructed in 1922 to build cars and brakes, and merged into Svenska AB Bromsregulator in 1958.

Vervolg de rondleiding

Around Thulin

ZwedenSaabA railway works’ aircraft department and an arms maker were pushed together to arm neutral Sweden in 1937; the result built the Draken, Viggen and Gripen, a car…Read the Saab pageZwedenFFVSWhen the United States embargoed the fighters Sweden had paid for in 1940, the air administration set up its own factory and built 198 J 22s from steel tube and plywood.Read the FFVS pageDe indexAlle vliegtuigfabrikantenElk bedrijf dat een vliegtuig heeft gebouwd dat door de luchtmacht is gebruikt in de huidige en historische gevechtsorde.Open de lijst
Bronnen en verder lezen

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Geverifieerd op 3 oktober 2026.