Dr. Ernst Heinkel | |
|---|---|
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| Born | (1888-01-24)24 January 1888 |
| Died | 30 January 1958(1958-01-30) (aged 70) |
| Occupation(s) | German aircraft designer and manufacturer |
| Awards | German National Prize for Art and Science(1938) |
Dr.Ernst Heinkel (24 January 1888 – 30 January 1958) was aGerman aircraft designer, manufacturer,Wehrwirtschaftsführer inNazi Germany, and member of theNazi Party. His companyHeinkel Flugzeugwerke produced theHeinkel He 178, the world's firstturbojet-powered aircraft, and theHeinkel He 176, the first rocket aircraft.
Heinkel was born in Grunbach, today a part ofRemshalden. As a young man he became anapprenticemachinist at afoundry. Heinkel studied at theTechnical Academy of Stuttgart,[1] where he initially became interested in aviation through a fascination withZeppelins, and in 1909 attended an international airshow inFrankfurt am Main. He decided that flight was the future of transportation, and the following year he built his first aircraft, working from a set of plans byHenri Farman. Heinkel crashed it in 1911 and suffered severe injuries.[2]
Soon afterwards, he got a job atLuft-Verkehrs Gesellschaft (LVG), who were building Farman aircraft. From there, he went toAlbatros. After the war Heinkel claimed to have designed theAlbatros B.II, a successful reconnaissance and trainer aircraft used during the early stages of theFirst World War, but its main designer was in factRobert Thelen.[3] His aircraft were used by the Austro-Hungarian army and Germany'sKaiserliche Marine during the war.[1] After leaving Albatros, Heinkel designed several land- and seaplanes for theHansa-Brandenburg company starting in 1914.
In1921, Heinkel was appointed head designer of the recently re-establishedCaspar-Werke, but soon left after a dispute over ownership of a design. In 1922 he established theHeinkel-Flugzeugwerke company atWarnemünde. Due to the restrictions placed on German aircraft manufacturing by theTreaty of Versailles, Heinkel looked overseas for contracts, with some seaplane designs being licence-built inSweden and working oncatapult-launched seaplanes for theImperial Japanese Navy. He installed a similar catapult on theocean linerBremen for launchingmail planes.
Between 1921 and 1924, the Japanese government placed several orders with Heinkel's company, and helped him skirt theVersailles Treaty, which banned the construction of military aircraft in Germany, by informing the company of facility inspections by allied commissions in advance.[4] Japan was part of the inspection commission.[5] Heinkel hid his aircraft indunes behind his plant and they were never discovered during inspections.[5] Heinkel noted in his memoirs that his company's relationship with Japan in the 1920s led to decades of cooperation.[4]
AfterAdolf Hitler came to power, designs by Heinkel's firm formed a vital part of theLuftwaffe's growing strength in the years leading up to theSecond World War. This included theHeinkel He 59, theHeinkel He 115 and theHeinkel He 111. He was designated aWehrwirtschaftführer (defence industry leader) by the German government for his commitment to rearmament.
Heinkel was passionate abouthigh-speed flight, and was keen on exploring alternative forms of aircraft propulsion. He donated aircraft toWernher von Braun who was investigatingrocket propulsion for aircraft, as well as sponsoring the research ofHans von Ohain intoturbojet engines, leading to the flight of theHeinkel He 178, the first aircraft to fly solely under turbojet power, on August 27, 1939.
Heinkel had been a critic of Hitler's regime, having been forced to fireJewish designers and staff in 1933; he was, however, a member of the Nazi Party,[5] and was awarded theGerman National Prize for Art and Science in 1938, one of the rarest honors of the German government.[6] Heinkel Flugzeugwerke used forced Jewish labor, starting in 1941.[7]
In 1943, the armaments authority finally ordered him to transform the company into "Ernst Heinkel AG". Heinkel retained two-thirds of the capital, but became chairman of the supervisory board. Heinkel moved toVienna and started a new design bureau and corporate offices in Vienna'sSchwechat suburb, establishing manufacturing facilities inZwölfaxing andFloridsdorf as theHeinkel-Sud complex for his firm, the original Rostock-"Marienehe" plant (today's Rostock-Schmarl neighborhood) becoming theHeinkel-Nord facility. It was at theHeinkel-Sud offices that Dr. Heinkel worked on theHeinkel He 274 four-engined high-altitude heavy bomber design—as one of thetrio of proposals for aircraft designs to succeed his firm's failedHeinkel He 177A heavy bomber—including an unbuiltAmerikabomber design—until the war's end concluded the production of the firm'sSpatz single-seat jet fighter.
In July 1945 Heinkel was captured by American troops and held for possible exploitation and/or possible trial underOperation Dustbin, and was held for a time at Kransberg Castle, near Frankfurt.
With Germany forbidden from manufacturing aircraft by the Allies, Heinkel used his company's facilities to build private transportation. In 1953 Heinkel began production of theTouristscooter, followed by the Perlemoped in 1954. In 1956 he introduced theHeinkel Kabinebubble car. Bubble car and moped production ceased shortly after the restriction on aircraft manufacture was lifted, but scooter production continued until 1965. In 1959, Heinkel's company was sued by Edmund Bartl for being enriched by slave labour during World War II; however, the German Supreme Court dismissed his claims for filing too late, and ordered Bartl to pay court costs and attorney's fees.[8]
Heinkel died in 1958 inStuttgart. His autobiography,Stürmisches Leben, was published in 1956 and translated into English asHe1000 in its British edition andStormy Life: Memoirs of a Pioneer of the Air Age in its US edition.
In 1981, Heinkel was inducted into theInternational Air & Space Hall of Fame at theSan Diego Air & Space Museum.[9]
