History of rod end bearing

The spherical rod end bearing was developed by Nazi Germany during World War II. When one of the first German planes to be shot down by the British in early 1940 was examined, they found this joint in use in the aircraft's control systems. Following this discovery, the Allied governments gave the H.G. Heim Company an exclusive patent to manufacture these joints in North America, while in the UK the patent passed to Rose Bearings Ltd.The ubiquity of these manufacturers in their respective markets led to the terms heim joint and rose joint becoming synonymous with their product. After the patents ran out the common names stuck, although as of 2017 "rosejoint" remains a registered trademark of Minebea Mitsumi Inc.,successor to Rose Bearings Ltd. Originally used in aircraft, the rod end bearing may be found in cars, trucks, race cars, motorcycles,lawn tractors, boats, industrial machines, go-karts, radio-control helicopters, formula cars,and many more applications.