Wilhelm Emil Messerschmitt (June 26, 1898 – September 15, 1978) (known as "Willi" or "Willy") was a German aircraft designer and manufacturer. He was born in Frankfurt am Main, the son of a wine merchant. His stepfather was the American artist and Munich Academy Professor Carl von Marr. June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 188 days remaining. ... 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... Airbus A380 An aircraft is any machine capable of atmospheric flight. ... Frankfurt am Main [ˈfraŋkfʊrt] is the largest city in the German state of Hessen and the fifth largest city of Germany. ... The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (German: Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, also known as Munich Academy) was founded 1808 by Maximilian I of Bavaria in Munich as the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. In 1946, the Academy was merged with the schools for arts-and-crafts and applied arts... Carl von Marr (February 14, 1858 - July 10, 1936), American artist, was born at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of an engraver, John Marr. ...

Probably Messerschmitt's single most important design was the Messerschmitt Bf 109, designed in 1934 with the collaboration of Walter Rethel. The Bf 109 became the most important fighter in the Luftwaffe as Germany re-armed prior to World War II. To this day, it remains the most-produced fighter in history, with some 35,000 built. Another Messerschmitt aircraft, first called Me 109R but later re-designated Messerschmitt Bf 209, broke the absolute world air-speed record and held the world speed record for propeller-driven aircraft for several decades. His firm also produced the first jet-powered fighter to enter service — the Messerschmitt Me 262, although Messerschmitt himself did not design it. The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was a World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt in the early 1930s. ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... An A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-86 Sabre, P-38 Lightning and P-51 Mustang fly in formation during an air show at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. ... The Deutsche Luftwaffe or (German: Air Arm, IPA: [luftvafÉ™]) is the commonly used term for the German air force. ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II... Messerschmitts designation Me 209 was actually used for two separate projects during World War II. The first, described below, was a record-setting single-engined race plane for which little or no consideration was given to adaptation for combat. ... A Pratt and Whitney turbofan engine for the F-15 Eagle is tested at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, USA. The tunnel behind the engine muffles noise and allows exhaust to escape. ... Messerschmitt Me 262A The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe or swallow was the first operational jet powered fighter. ...

First sailplane designs and WWI

As a young man, Messerschmitt befriended German sailplane pioneer Friedrich Harth. Harth joined the German army in 1914 and while he was away at war, Messerschmitt continued work on one of Harth's designs, the S5 glider. In 1917, Messerschmitt himself signed up for military service. Following the war, the two were re-united and continued to work together while Messerschmitt commenced study at the Munich Technical College and Harth built aircraft at the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW - Bavarian Aircraft Works). The S8 glider they designed and built together in 1921 broke a world duration record (albeit unofficially) and they went into partnership for a while running a flying school. The same year, the first plane entirely designed by Messerschmitt flew — the S9 glider. Gliders are un-powered heavier-than-air aircraft. ... 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

Beginning of his career

During 1923 Harth and Messerschmitt had a falling out and went their separate ways, with Messerschmitt founding his own aircraft company at Augsburg. At first, Messerschmitt built sailplanes, but within two years had progressed via motor gliders to small powered aircraft - sports and touring types. These culminated in the Messerschmitt M 17 and Messerschmitt M 18 designs, which Messerschmitt sold to BFW in 1927, when the Bavarian state government encouraged a merger between the two companies. These were followed by the Messerschmitt M 20 light transport in 1928, which proved a disaster for BFW and Messerschmitt himself. Two Lufthansa M 20s were involved in serious crashes very soon after purchase, and this led the airline to cancel their order for the type. This caused a serious cash-flow problem for the company and led to its bankruptcy in 1931. The M 20 crashes also created a powerful enemy for Messerschmitt in the person of Erhard Milch, the head of Lufthansa who had lost a close friend in one of the crashes. 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Augsburg is a city in south-central Germany. ... Gliders are un-powered heavier-than-air aircraft. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Free State of Bavaria  (German: Freistaat Bayern), with an area of 70,553 km² (27,241 square miles) and 12. ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... It has been suggested that Miles and More be merged into this article or section. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... Air Marshall Erhard Milch Erhard Milch (March 30, 1892 – January 25, 1972) was an official of the Nazi government who oversaw the development of the Luftwaffe as part of the re-armament of Germany following World War I. Milch was born in Wilhelmshaven. ...

Nazi Germany and WWII

The establishment of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium ("Reich Aviation Ministry" - RLM) by the Nazi government in 1933, headed by Milch, led to a resurgence in the German aircraft industry and the resurrection of BFW. Collaborating with Robert Lusser, Messerschmitt designed the flagship product of the relaunched company, a low-wing sports monoplane called the Messerschmitt M 37, but better known by its later RLM designation of Bf 108 Taifun. The following year, Messerschmitt would incorporate many design features of this aircraft into the Bf 109 fighter. Reichsluftfahrtministerium (Reich Aviation Ministry / German Air Ministry / German Aviation Administration) Note: If you are looking for the RLM-GL/C list, please go to List of RLM aircraft designations The Reich Air Ministry (Reichsluftfahrtministerium or RLM), was a German civil service organization in charge of development and production of aircraft... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Robert Lusser (1900 - 1969) was a German engineer and aircraft designer. ... The Messerschmitt Bf 108 Taifun was a single-engined sports and touring aircraft developed by Bayerische Flugzeugwerke. ...

Nevertheless, only the ties that Messerschmitt had formed with leading Nazis Rudolf Hess and Hermann Göring (through Theo Croneiss) saved him from sharing the fate of Milch's other great enemy, Hugo Junkers. To stay in business in the face of Milch ensuring that he would get no government contracts, Messerschmitt had signed agreements with Romania for sales of the M 37 and a transport plane, the Messerschmitt M 36. When Milch learned of this, he publicly denounced Messerschmitt as a traitor, and the Gestapo was sent to question him and other BFW officials. Probably due to Croneiss' intervention, no further action was taken. Rudolf Hess Not be confused with Rudolf Hoess (Höß in German) Walter Richard Rudolf Hess (Heß in German) (April 26, 1894 – August 17, 1987) was a prominent figure in Nazi Germany as Adolf Hitlers deputy in the Nazi Party. ... Hermann Wilhelm Göring (also Goering in English) (January 12, 1893 – October 15, 1946) was Nazi war criminal. ... Hugo Junkers (3 February 1859 - 3 February 1935) was an innovative German engineer, as his many patents in varied areas (gas engines, aeroplanes) show. ... The Deaths Head emblem similar to Skull and crossbones, often used as the insignia of the Gestapo The (help· info) (contraction of Geheime Staatspolizei; secret state police) was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. ...

When in 1936, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 won the RLM's single-seat fighter contest to become one of the main Luftwaffe aircraft types, Messerschmitt and his factory took an important role in the RLM's armament plans, increasing in significance even further when Messerschmitt's Bf 110 also won the multi-purpose fighter contest. The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was a World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt in the early 1930s. ... The Messerschmitt Bf 110 (later Me 110) was a twin-engine heavy fighter in the service of the Luftwaffe during World War II. Later in the war it was changed to fighter-bomber and night fighter operations, and it became the major night fighter type of the Luftwaffe. ...

In 1938, Messerschmitt was appointed chairman and managing director of Bayerische Fugzeugwerke and the company was renamed after him to Messerschmitt AG. This same year, the company began work on what would eventually become the Me 262 of the Messerschmitt Me 210, planned as successor for the Bf 110. The Me 210 turned out to be plagued by massive development problems that were only solved by evolving the type into the Messerschmitt Me 410, and the resulting problems and delays again put the reputation of both Messerschmitt and his namesake company in jeopardy. 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Messerschmitt is a famous German aircraft manufacturer, known primarily for their World War II fighter aircraft, notably the Bf 109 and Me 262. ... The Messerschmitt Me 210 was a heavy fighter designed before the start of World War II to replace the Bf 110 in that role. ... The Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse (Hornet) was a Luftwaffe heavy fighter and Schnellbomber of World War II developed from the badly flawed Me 210. ...

Trial and post-war career

Following World War II, Messerschmitt was tried by a denazification court, and in 1948 was convicted of being a "fellow traveller". He was imprisoned for two years as the court found that he had used slave labour in his factories. When allowed to go free and return to work, it was on the condition that he was forbidden to manufacture aircraft. Instead, he turned his company to manufacturing prefabricated buildings, sewing machines, and small cars - most notably the Messerschmitt Kabinenroller. Exporting his talents, he designed the Hispano HA200 jet trainer for Hispano Aviacion in Spain in 1952 before eventually being allowed to return to aircraft manufacturing in Germany to licence-produce the Fiat G91 and then Lockheed F-104 Starfighter for the West German Luftwaffe. Denazification (German: Entnazifizierung) was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary and politics of any remnants of the Nazi regime. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... A modern machine (Singer Symphonie 300) A sewing machine is a mechanical (or electromechanical) device that joins fabric using thread. ... Messerschmitt Kabinenroller KR 200 The Messerschmitt KR-200, or Kabinenroller, was a three-wheeled microcar designed by the aircraft engineer Fritz Fend and produced by the German motor company Messerschmitt in the 1950s. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Aeritalia G.91, also known as the Fiat G.91 and nicknamed Gina was an Italian fighter aircraft that was intended to serve as standard equipment for NATO air forces in the 1960s. ... F-104 Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter was a high-performance supersonic interceptor aircraft, capable of high speeds and climb rates. ...

Messerschmitt saw his company through mergers first with Bölkow in 1963 and then Hamburger Flugzeugbau in 1969, at which point it became MBB (Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm) with Messerschmitt as chairman until 1970 when he retired. He died eight years later in hospital in Munich. Bölkow was a German aircraft manufacturer based in Stuttgart. ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... Hamburger Flugzeugbau was a Hamburg-Finkenwerder based aircraft company established as a subsidiary of Blohm + Voss in July 1933 to build seaplanes. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... Munich (German: München, (pronounced listen)German Federal State of Bavaria. ...

Criticism

Messerschmitt's designs were characterized by a clear focus on performance, especially by striving for light-weight construction, but also by minimizing parasitic drag from aerodynamic surfaces. His critics accused him of taking this approach too far in some designs. His falling out with Harth had been over designs Harth felt to be dangerously unstable, and the Me 210 displayed instability, too, which could only be cured by enlarging the airframe and the aerodynamic surfaces, increasing drag and weight. Messerschmitt's design philosophy also is evident in his arguments with Alexander Lippisch, who was designing the tailless Me 163 rocket fighter for production at the Messerschmitt works. While Lippisch maintained the tailless design on principle had an advantage with regard to total drag, Messerschmitt pointed out that the design compromises necessary to make a tailless aircraft safely controllable defeated this purpose by increasing drag to the original level and above. Alexander Lippisch earned his PhD in 1943 at the University of Heidelberg. ... The Me 163 Komet was the only operational rocket fighter aircraft. ...

Awards

Messerschmitt was appointed an Honorary Professor by the Munich Technical College in 1930, and the Vice-President of the Deutsche Akademie für Luftfahrtforschnung (German Academy of Aeronautical Research). The German government also awarded him the title of Wehrwirtschaftsführer (defense industry leader). In 1938, Adolf Hitler bestowed upon Messerschmitt the German National Prize for Art and Science. 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... The German National Prize for Art and Science was an award created by Adolf Hitler in 1937 as a replacement for the Nobel Prize (he had forbidden Germans to accept the latter award in 1936). ...

Bibliography

• Frank Vann: Willy Messerschmitt. First full biography of an aeronautical genius. Sparkford: Stephens, 1993