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Aviation History
1958
1958 - 0194.PDF
204 FLIGHT, 14 February 1958 Ernst Heinkel An Appreciation AS recorded in "Flight" last week, when we published an obituary(page 182), the famous German aircraft designer died on January 30 at the age of 70. This appreciation is by A. R. Weyl, A.F.R.Ae.S.,well known as an aircraft and armament designer in this country. He knew Heinkel well, and flew a number of his experimental aircraft. ONE of the great personalities of aviation is no more. Tomany people in this country, Ernst Heinkel was just abuilder of Nazi bombers. But to those who knew him, he was a kind man who abhorred war and who had resisted Nazism;a man who, obsessed by engineering problems of human flight, did so much to promote the progress of aviation. He was a pioneer ofaeronautics and a leader of men; at heart, a born rebel and a man who knew of no class distinctions; by temperament, a ferocioustiger (though often enough he was merely play-acting); a good companion, always willing to embark upon a practical joke. A plumber's son from Grunbach, Remstal, near Stuttgart (wherehe is buried now), he remained the typical Swabian native— small, dapper, of immense vitality and abundant temperament,speaking the dialect. Highly intelligent, with an unfailing sense of technical progress, he strove constantly after perfection in aero-nautics; and he was keenly interested in anything: aeroplanes, space flight, fast motor cars, beautiful women, choice wines. Heliked a full life, and saw that others did so too. (The latter trait was not always well received, e.g., when he tried hard to convertstubborn Mecklenburg workers to the blessings of Father Kneipp's "natural-feeding" habits—or when he endeavoured to introducepuritanical business acquaintances to the night life of Paris.) As he loved to drive fast cars very fast—preferably on the wrongside of the road, frightening the wits out of his passengers—one cannot help wondering that he should eventually die in bed.Perhaps the explanation lies in the merits of Lahmer, his devoted driver and confidential servant, whose main duty it was to restrainhis employer from driving. Ernst Heinkel's personality should not be judged by his book—which was, alas, perpetrated by a feature journalist suffering from uninhibited sense of fantasy and an urge to whitewash the ThirdReich. Heinkel started in aviation (as a student of engineering and ofwine) when he crashed a home-built Farman in 1910; he never fully recovered from his injuries. Rendered destitute, he joinedFranz Schneider of the LVG firm at Johannisthal. Dissatisfied, he teamed up with a kindred Swabian soul, Hellmuth Hirth,Germany's master pilot, then technical director of Albatros. Within a year (1913), the combination of Hirth's experience andHeinkel's engineering ingenuity produced advanced monoplanes and biplanes. These latter, in particular, with their variants,formed one of the mainstays of German equipment till after World War 1. An Alb B.I was brought by Robert Thelen to this countryearly in 1914; it was rejected because of its plywood-covered fuselage and internal control circuirs! In May 1914, Heinkel became chief designer to the new Hansa-Brandenburg firm backed by the Austrian Castiglione; its output was reserved for the German Navy and for Austria-Hungary.From then until 1918, Heinkel produced about 50 types of wide variety. The Brandenburg sea-going fighters became notoriousin this country. Special aircraft were developed for storage in U-boats and transatlantic reconnaissance. On the artful side,Heinkel constructed a twin-engined single-seater for the Army; it came too late . . . Emerging from the "aeronautical scrapheap" in 1919, Heinkeldesigned some seaplanes for Caspar. Japan approached him with a request for naval aircraft and catapults. They promised toshield him against attentions by the Allied Control Commission. And they kept their promise! Heinkel never forgot the Japanesefairness in these early deals, upon which he founded his own firm at Warnemuende. Further orders came in: from the Reichswehr,and from the U.S.S.R. by mediation of the Reichswehr. Numerous experimental types and some small-batch productionfollowed. None of the customers was disappointed. Some proto- types were distinctly queer, it is true—as is unavoidable inaviation—but they were always conscientiously designed and carefully built. HeinkePs bad luck with prototypes seldom hadanything to do with technical faults. Most of his test pilots survived, and still liked him. Then his personal life began to be troubled by political inter-ference. He had attracted the dislike of the local "racial" ruffians. Heinkel, powerfully built and always enjoying a scrap, retaliated Ernst Heinkel with an Albatros B.I in 1914. in kind. Finally, the Reichswehr command gave a stern warningto the "Aryan" thugs to leave him alone. But by 1933 they were dominant; and Heinkel, who had never been reticent in hisopinion of Hitler, was increasingly subjected to oppression, especi- ally after his submission, through Udet, of a memorandum onthe danger to Germany of entanglement with the U.S.A. Without the support of the high-ranking Party bosses, he found in duecourse that his aeronautical activities were restricted to the development of his He 111 bombers and to the hopeless propositionof the He 177 four-engined dive bomber ("Udet's folly"). Yethehad produced the finest propeller-driven fighters (He 100), with whichworld speed records had been gained, and the fastest transport aeroplanes then flying; he had developed the first turbojet engineswith funds out of his own pocket. The first jet-propelled aeroplane in the world, the Heinkel He 178 flew in August 1939; he builtthe first and most promising twin-jet aeroplane, the He 280, and he developed rocket-propelled aeroplanes with which 550 m.p.h.was reached in June 1939. Notwithstanding such achievements, "Heinkel" became a mere nameplate for various works. Late in 1944, however, Heinkel was allowed to assert himselfwith the "Volksjaeger" home-defence intercepter, of which he was very proud, and with related developments. It was a tragedyfor him that, as the pioneer of rocket and jet propulsion, he had never been permitted to embody his ideas fully in aeronauticalapplications. That this was a serious loss to aeronautical engineer- ing is beyond doubt. Until late in his life he was a thorn in the side of produc-tion engineers—like most good designers, he never could finalize designs. Nevertheless, when restored to activity after persecutionby pro-communist fellow-travelling pets of the American occupa- tion during the immediate post-war period, he blossomedout as a most admirable organizer of mass production in beauti- fully laid out and splendidly equipped Stuttgart workshops, pour-ing out streams of well-made motor-scooters and bubble cars, besides engines and components for other firms. But his heartwas still in aviation. He was preparing for a come-back with startling new developments; we expected much from him. Heinkel, indefatigable and ferociously blowing up at any instantwhen something did not go according to his intentions—but for- getting it the next minute—disliked yes-men and people whocowered under his outbursts. Over a period of 40 years he had collected an able staff of intimates, such as Schwaerzler, mild-looking but tough designer and problem-solver; Kleinemeyer, expert trouble-shooter (both these men had been with him from1915-16); Guenter, a clerical-looking devotee of aircraft design, putting speed into the Heinkels and responsible for the Mig-15(his twin brother, and also Heinkel's eldest son, had lost their lives in car crashes3 from excessive speed). They all will miss theProfessor sadly. Ernst Heinkel had lived a full and courageous life; those whohad the privilege of knowing him well will bear him in a grateful memory. A. R. WEYL
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