The company was founded in 1912 in Friedrichshafen, Germany by Theodor Kober who had previously worked for the Zeppelin company. <br />The town, which is located by the Bodensee, was already famous in aviation circles as the place where Zeppelin airships were built. <br />During the First World War, Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen mainly built seaplanes for the Marine-Fliegerabteilung units of the Imperial German Navy, and a highly successful series of land-based medium bombers for the Imperial Air Service under the aegis of head designer Karl Gehlen.
