Wilhelm Messerschmitt is a German engineer, aircraft designer and manufacturer of fighter aircraft. His cars were in service with Nazi Germany and took part in air battles during the Second World War.
Biography
Willy (Wilhelm Emil) Messerschmitt was born in Germany in Frankfurt on June 26, 1898. When the boy was about 6-7 years old, his family moved to Bamberg, a small textile town located in Northern Bavaria. His father was a successful wine merchant, and his mother was a housewife.
In his youth, Willy Messerschmitt, like most of his peers, was literally fascinated by the ability of a person to fly. He was especially delighted by the large and beautiful airships bearing the name of their inventor Count F. von Zeppelin. This passion for aircraft led the future aircraft designer to a real school, where those who planned to devote their lives to studying various sciences and technologies received their education. In the same place, Messerschmitt meets Frederick Hart, an aviation enthusiast, architect, and glider enthusiast. Soon they will join forces in the design, construction and testing of the first aircraft.
When the First World War breaks out in 1914, Hart will be called up for military service, and Willy Messerschmitt will remain and continue his work on the S5 glider. In 1922, they again began to work together to create aircraft and even opened their own flying school. Hart kept arguing with Messerschmitt about the imperfection of his designs. Soon their cooperation ceased altogether.
Work for the benefit of Nazi Germany
It is known that Willy Messerschmitt (photo in the article) was a very ambitious person, so he almost immediately joined the Nazi party as soon as Hitler came to power. The aircraft designer met with Hermann Goering, Reichminister of Aviation, and became his close friend. During World War II, Messerschmitt was listed as technical adviser to the Luftwaffe.
In his youth, he registered his own company for the production of gliders and light aircraft in Augsburg. Thanks to his connections with the Nazis, he became a fairly prominent figure in the Third Reich. Willy Messerschmitt was awarded several state awards for his work, he often appeared in the media, and also met with senior government officials.
Aircraft designs
With the outbreak of war, his factories earned at a furious pace, releasing a huge number of aircraft. However, over time, one by one his workers began to be drafted into the army, and finding new ones became increasingly difficult. Therefore, slave labor began to be used at its factories - workers brought from countries occupied by the fascists.
Willy Messerschmitt, whose biography was mainly connected with the construction of short-lived gliders, believed that fighters should not have excessively reinforced structures. In his opinion, a military pilot should have survived solely due to personal flying skills, and not due to the strength of the aircraft. Therefore, his aircraft were lighter, more maneuverable and faster than fighters of the same class developed by other aircraft designers.
After the war
When the Allied forces entered Bavaria in April 1945, Willy Messerschmitt was captured by the British. He was placed under house arrest on his estate in Oberammergau. In 1948, he was tried by a military tribunal as an accomplice to the Nazis. He spent two years in prison on charges of using slave labor at his enterprises. In addition, after his release, he was forbidden to work in the aviation industry. Messerschmitt had to engage in the production of consumer goods. His company produced sewing machines, prefabricated houses, and even small cars.
In 1952, using his previous achievements, the German aircraft designer created the Hispano HA-200 jet aircraft for Spanish aviation. Three years later, a moratorium on the production of lethal vehicles was lifted in Germany. The company Messerschmitt AG almost immediately received permission to manufacture the new Fiat G. 91 aircraft, as well as the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter for the West German Air Force. In the 60s, the aircraft designer worked on the light supersonic interceptor Helwan HA-300, entered service with the Egyptian air force. This aircraft was the last of its developments. Subsequently, the Messerschmitt company underwent two mergers with other airlines, where the illustrious aircraft designer was chairman until 1970, until he resigned. He died in a hospital in Munich on September 15, 1978.