Hanna Reitsch

Hanna Reitsch (29 March 1912 – 24 August 1979) was a famous German test pilot. Several of her later international gliding records are still standing in 2008. Reitsch was born in Hirschberg, Silesia. The daughter of an ophthalmologist, she studied to become a medical doctor and in 1932 began her aviation career. Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 236th day of the year (237th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... Test pilots are aviators who fly new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated. ... A modern glider crossing the finish line of a competition at high speed. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... Jelenia Góra (German Hirschberg) is a town in south-western Poland. ... Please be advised that the factual accuracy of Wikipedia articles dealing with topics related to the Oder-Neisse Line is often disputed. ... This article is about the branch of medicine. ... The word physician should not be confused with physicist, which means a scientist in the area of physics. ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1932 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Aviation encompasses all the activities relating to airborne devices created by human ingenuity, generally known as aircraft. ...

Early career

Reitsch at the controls of the second and last prototype Focke-Achgelis Fa 61, the first fully controllable helicopter.

In 1937 Reitsch was posted to the Luftwaffe testing centre at Rechlin-Lärz Airfield by Ernst Udet. She was a test pilot on the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka and Dornier Do 17 projects. Reitsch was one of the few pilots to fly the Focke-Achgelis Fa 61, the first fully controllable helicopter. Her flying skill, desire for publicity and photogenic qualities made her a star of Nazi party propaganda. In 1938 she made nightly flights of the Fa 61 helicopter inside the "Deutschlandhalle" at the Berlin Motor Show. The Focke-Wulf Fw 61 was the first fully controllable helicopter. ... For other uses, see Helicopter (disambiguation). ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Deutsche Luftwaffe or   (German: air force, IPA: ) is the commonly used term for the German air force. ... The Rechlin-Lärz airfield is an airfield in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany, which is certified for aviation equipment up to 14 tons weight. ... Ernst Udet (April 26, 1896 – November 17, 1941) was the second-highest scoring German flying ace of World War I. He was one of the youngest aces and was the highest scoring German ace to survive the war (at the age of 22). ... Stuka redirects here. ... The Dornier Do 17, sometimes referred to as the Fliegender Bleistift (flying pencil), was a light bomber produced by Dornier. ... The Focke-Wulf Fw 61 was the first fully controllable helicopter. ... For other uses, see Helicopter (disambiguation). ... A photogenic subject (generally a person), is a subject that usually appears physically attractive or striking in photographs, regardless of their physical appearance in real life. ... The National Socialist German Workers Party, (German: , or NSDAP, commonly known as the Nazi Party), was a political party in Germany between 1919 and 1945. ...

With the outbreak of war in 1939 Reitsch was asked to fly many of Germany's latest (and by some accounts, increasingly desperate) designs. Among these were the rocket-propelled Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet and several larger bombers on which she tested various mechanisms for cutting barrage balloon cables. After crashing on her fifth Me 163 flight Reitsch was badly injured but reportedly insisted on writing her post-flight report before falling unconscious and spending five months in hospital. Reitsch became Adolf Hitler's favourite pilot and was one of only two women awarded the Iron Cross First Class during World War II. Reitsch became close to former fighter pilot and high ranking Luftwaffe officer Robert Ritter von Greim who became her life partner. In 1944 Reitsch learned of the atrocities in concentration camps through Peter Riedel who was air attaché in Sweden.^[1] The Me 163 Komet, designed by Alexander Martin Lippisch, was the only operational rocket-powered fighter aircraft during the Second World War. ... For other uses, see Bomber (disambiguation). ... US Marine Corps barrage balloon, Parris Island, May 1942 A barrage balloon is a large balloon tethered with metal cables, used to defend against bombardment by aircraft by damaging the aircraft on collision with the cables. ... Hitler redirects here. ... A stylized version of the Iron Cross, the emblem of the Bundeswehr, Germanys Armed Forces. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Robert Ritter von Greim. ... For other uses, see Holocaust (disambiguation) and Shoah (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that Internment be merged into this article or section. ... Peter Riedel (August 1905 - November 6, 1998) was a German gliding champion, and was Air Attaché for the Nazi government before and during World War II. Between 1977 and 1985 he published the definitive history of the German gliding movement prior to the war. ...

V-1

The film Operation Crossbow began a popular myth that early guidance and stabilization problems with the V-1 Flying Bomb were solved during a daring test flight by Reitsch in a V-1 modified for manned operation. However, in her autobiography Fliegen, Meine Liebe Reitsch recalled other test pilots had been killed or gravely injured while trying to land the piloted version of the V1 (known as the Reichenberg), so she made test flights late in the war to learn why and found the craft's extremely high stall speed was thwarting test pilots, who had no experience landing at extremely high speeds. Reitsch's background with the very fast Me163 along with simulated landings at a safe high altitude led her to a successful landing of the Reichenberg, but only at over 200 km/h. The 1965 spy thriller and war movie Operation Crossbow (film), was made from a story from Duilio Coletti and Vittoriano Petrilli. ... The V-1 (German: Vergeltungswaffe 1) was the first guided missile used in war and the forerunner of todays cruise missile. ...

Führerbunker

A Fieseler Fi 156 Storch similar to the one Reitsch landed in the Tiergarten near the Brandenburg Gate during the Battle of Berlin

During the last days of the war Reitsch was asked to fly her intimate companion Colonel-General Robert Ritter von Greim into embattled Berlin to meet with Hitler. Red Army troops were already in the downtown area when Reitsch and von Greim arrived on 26 April in a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch. With her long experience at low altitude flying over Berlin Reitsch landed on an improvised airstrip in the Tiergarten near the Brandenburg Gate (Greim was wounded in the leg when Red Army soldiers fired at the light aircraft during its approach). They made their way to the Führerbunker where Hitler promoted von Greim to Hermann Goering's former command of a now wholly defunct Luftwaffe. On Hitler's orders, she escaped Berlin with von Greim during the evening of 28 April by flying out through heavy Soviet anti-aircraft fire. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Tiergarten (Animal Garden) is a large park and a former borough of Berlin, since 2001 a part of the expanded borough Mitte. ... The Brandenburg Gate The Brandenburg Gate (German: Brandenburger Tor) is a former city gate and one of the main symbols of Berlin, Germany. ... Combatants Soviet Union Poland Nazi Germany Commanders 1st Belorussian Front – Georgiy Zhukov 2nd Belorussian Front – Konstantin Rokossovskiy 1st Ukrainian Front – Ivan Konev Army Group Vistula – Gotthard Heinrici then Kurt von Tippelskirch[2] Army Group Centre – Ferdinand Schörner Berlin Defense Area – Helmuth Reymann then Helmuth Weidling #[3] Strength 2,500... Combatants Soviet Union Poland Nazi Germany Commanders 1st Belorussian Front – Georgiy Zhukov 2nd Belorussian Front – Konstantin Rokossovskiy 1st Ukrainian Front – Ivan Konev Army Group Vistula – Gotthard Heinrici then Kurt von Tippelskirch[2] Army Group Centre – Ferdinand Schörner Berlin Defense Area – Helmuth Reymann then Helmuth Weidling #[3] Strength 2,500... Robert Ritter von Greim. ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... For other organizations known as the Red Army, see Red Army (disambiguation). ... is the 116th day of the year (117th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Fieseler Fi 156 Storch (stork) was a small liaison aircraft built by Fieseler before and during World War II, and production continued in other countries into the 1950s for the private market. ... Tiergarten (Animal Garden) is a large park and a former borough of Berlin, since 2001 a part of the expanded borough Mitte. ... The Brandenburg Gate The Brandenburg Gate (German: Brandenburger Tor) is a former city gate and one of the main symbols of Berlin, Germany. ... This is a reconstruction of the layout of the Führerbunker. ... Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (also spelled Hermann Goering in English) (January 12, 1893–October 15, 1946) was a prominent and early member of the Nazi party, founder of the Gestapo, and one of the main architects of Nazi Germany. ... is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Capture

Reitsch was soon captured along with von Greim and the two were interviewed together by American military intelligence officers. When asked about being ordered to leave the Fuhrerbunker on 28 April 1945 Reitsch and von Greim reportedly repeated the same answer, "It was the blackest day when we could not die at our Führer's side." Reitsch also said, "We should all kneel down in reverence and prayer before the altar of the Fatherland." When the interviewers asked what she meant by "Altar of the Fatherland" she answered, "Why, the Führer's bunker in Berlin..."^[2] She was held and interrogated for eighteen months. Her parents died during the last days of the war after expulsion by the Polish from their hometown of Hirschberg. The armed forces of the United States of America consist of the United States Army United States Marine Corps United States Navy United States Air Force United States Coast Guard[1] The combined United States armed forces consists of 1. ... is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Germans expelled from the Sudetenland // The expulsion of Germans after World War II refers to the forced migration of people considered Germans (Reichsdeutsche and some Volksdeutsche) from various European states and territories during 1945 and in the first three years after World War II 1946-48. ...

Later gliding career

Following her release Reitsch settled in Frankfurt am Main. After the war German citizens were forbidden from flying but within a few years gliding was allowed. In 1952 Reitsch won third place in the World Gliding Championships in Spain (and was the only woman to compete). She continued to break records including the women's altitude record (6,848 metres) and became German champion in 1955. Frankfurt am Main [ˈfraŋkfʊrt] is the largest city in the German state of Hessen and the fifth largest city of Germany. ... For other uses, see Glider (disambiguation). ... Year 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The World Gliding Championships is a gliding competition held every two years or so. ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ...

During the mid-1950s Reitsch was interviewed on film and talked about her wartime flight tests of the Fa 61, Me 262 and Me 163. In 1959 She was invited to India by prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru to begin a gliding centre. In 1961 Reitsch was invited to the White House by US president John F. Kennedy. From 1962 to 1966 she lived in Ghana where she founded the first black African national gliding school.^[3] ... The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet was the only operational rocket fighter aircraft. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (Hindi: , IPA: (November 14, 1889 – May 27, 1964) was a major political leader of the Congress Party, a pivotal figure in the Indian independence movement and the first Prime Minister of independent India. ... Year 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see White House (disambiguation). ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ... John Kennedy and JFK redirect here. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ...

Throughout the 1970s Reitsch broke gliding records in many categories, including the "Women's Out and Return World Record" twice, once in 1976 (715 km) and again in 1979 (802 km) flying along the Appalachian Ridges in the United States. She was the first woman to cross the Alps in a glider. The Appalachian Mountains are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. ... Alp redirects here. ...

Reitsch died in Frankfurt at the age of 67 on 24 August 1979 following a heart attack. Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... Heart attack redirects here. ...

See also

• Leonidas Squadron

The Leonidas Squadron was formaly know as 5th Staffel of Kampfgeschwader 200 and had originally been formed to fly the Fieseler Fi 103 Re Reichenberg (Selbstopfer), a manned version of the V-1 flying bomb that never got beyond the experimental stage. ...

References and notes

External links

• Hanna Reitsch
• Grey Falcon article on Hanna Reitsch