Kurt Tank is a German aircraft designer and test pilot who was at the forefront of aircraft construction. He developed a number of world-famous aircraft, such as the Condor and Marut.
Kurt Tank: biography
Kurt Voldemar Tank was born on February 24, 1898 in East Prussia (the city of Bromberg-Schwedenhöhe). When the First World War began, he voluntarily went to war. Soon he was already a lieutenant and commanded a company that fought on the Western Front, where he was wounded. The tank ended the war with the rank of captain and had several awards for courage.
From 1918 to 1922 he studied at the Higher Technical School in Berlin, which he graduated with success, acquiring the specialty of electrical engineer. However, in his student years he was already extremely passionate about creating gliders, so he constantly went to lectures by Professor Everling on aerodynamics. In addition, Kurt Tank also attended classes in aircraft engineering on his own initiative. They were led at that time by Professor Reisner.
Tank's first glider was unsuccessful. Soon, he designed a new model and called it the “Devil”. He was so keen on his work, disappearing for days in the workshops, that he realized too late: he did not have time to prepare all the drawings for the defense of his thesis. Then the young man decides to take a desperate step: he lays on the table in front of professors Hoff and Percival his working drawings of The Devil and, to his surprise, gets a good grade.
First experience
After graduation, Kurt Tank works in one of the small aircraft manufacturing companies. In 1924, he received an engineering degree and immediately entered the Rohrbach Metallflugzeugbau Rohrbach factory in Berlin. Before entering the enterprise, he receives a pilot's certificate. However, he had no experience at all, since in the flight school he went through only the initial training program, flying several times on the simplest biplane.
At the Rohrbach factory, he takes part in the development of not only flying boats, but also one of the first Roland passenger aircraft. But at first it was only theoretical research regarding the controllability and reliability of aircraft. As soon as there was even the slightest opportunity, he got into the car and honed his ability to fly a seaplane.
During tests of the Ro-III boat, it turned out that when landing it hits the water too hard, and this creates additional inconvenience to the pilots. The tank proposed equipping the boat with a special damping keel, and the idea was accepted. Perhaps this is the first independent work that showed that Kurt Tank as an aircraft designer can take place.
Confession
From the moment he began work on improving the seaplane, the main concern was the problem of its strength. While flying Ro-III, he quickly gained recognition as a test pilot. Having become much more experienced, in 1936 he received a doctorate in technical sciences and the rank of Flugkapitan, and also won several awards. However, Kurt Tank, whose years of life was completely devoted to airplanes, truly cherished only because he was a test pilot.
I must say that the Ro-III aircraft is well known, because it set a lot of records. The aircraft designer himself flew it bravely and a lot. In addition, he also conducted research regarding the installation of pushing screws and the height of the motors. Erns Udet, the then-famous pilot, was going to set another record on the Tank’s plane - to cross the entire Atlantic Ocean from west to east. However, it did not take place: for technical reasons, the car had to be planted right in the open sea.
Cooperation
For a while he worked with another well-known German aircraft designer Willy Messerschmitt. As a test pilot, Tank could not agree with his ideas aimed at maximizing the relief of the machine in order to increase its speed. As you know, Messerschmitt believed that the strength of aircraft is not as important as the professionalism of the pilot.
However, Kurt Tank did not share such views of his colleagues and was confident that with increasing speeds, the strength and safety standards of aircraft should only increase. Therefore, a thirty-year-old aircraft designer leaves the Messerschmitt plant, while the relations of two talented engineers remained warm and friendly in the future.
Jobs at Focke-Wulf
In 1927, the Tank transferred to the company Albatros Flugzeugwerke. Four years later, it will be taken over by another Focke-Wulf company based in Bremen. Here since November 1931, he has been the chief designer and at the same time heads the flight test department.
Kurt Tank and his Fw-58 Weihe, Fw-56 Stosser and Fw-200 Condor (Condor) aircraft have earned truly international recognition. The first of them was ready by the end of 1933, and the aircraft designer himself became the technical director of this largest company.
New aircraft development
In 1936, work began on the new Fw-200 Condor. At first, this aircraft was positioned as a transatlantic airliner, so it made its first flight in the summer of 1937 in that quality. However, during the war years, Kurt Tank decided to use him as a long-range reconnaissance to search for enemy convoys in the waters of the North Atlantic. After they were discovered, the aircraft independently attacked the transports or sent an entire armada of German submarines at them.
According to some reports, in total, from September 1939, 259 Fw-200 Condor were released, which entered service with the Luftwaffe. Some of these machines were even used as transport aircraft for flights of the country's top leaders. However, most of them, and these are seven options, were still either bombers or long-range reconnaissance. Various modifications of the Condor were distinguished from each other by the design of missile containers or bomb holders, the presence of a radar or homing system, and most importantly, by weapons.
The development of the aircraft Fw-190
The talent of this man was manifested during the design of the new Fw-187 fighter, which first flew into the air in 1937. And next year, the tactical reconnaissance aircraft Fw-189 was also ready. Work on the new Fw-190 began with the fact that the Fokke-Wulf company set about creating a new fighter on the instructions of the German Reichminister of Aviation. With the onset of autumn 1937, the design team, led by Tank himself, began to prepare two projects at once, differing only in the power plant.
The first aircraft was equipped with a 12-cylinder Daimler-Benz DB 601 engine, made in the form of an inverted letter V, with liquid cooling. A second air-cooled star-shaped engine BMW-139 was installed on the second car. At the same time, the aircraft designer managed to convince the customer that the in-line engine often used in German aircraft this time would be ineffective.
On departure, the first prototype showed a speed of 595 km / h. On it, test pilot Kurt Tank made several test flights. However, the test of these high-speed aircraft each time became more and more difficult, so the aircraft designer had to abandon all subsequent flights. Fw-190B-9 already reached a speed of 730 km / h, as it was equipped with a water-methanol accelerator, which allowed it to become the fastest fighter, surpassing all allied aircraft.
Activities during the war
In the fall of 1942, information appeared that the American army intended to gather large aviation forces in Italy and Britain, consisting of a large number of bombers who were to fight against Nazi Germany. The question arose about the urgent need for a high-altitude fighter. Messerschmitt and Tank were invited to reflect on this idea. In record time, by the end of that year, a new Ta-152 fighter appeared.
For this work and for all his previous achievements, Tank received the title of professor at the Technical University of Braunschweig. In addition, German Goering himself signed a special order that all types of newly created aircraft, developed under the personal guidance of this talented aircraft designer, will henceforth be designated as "Ta" - according to the first two letters of his name.
Even when it was already clear to everyone that the Third Reich had lost the war, the Tank worked tirelessly. He became the first developer of a disk-shaped helicopter, which they did not have time to test. This car was supposed to fly like an ordinary plane and at the same time move in any direction and, if necessary, hover in the air.
After the war
Remained a few days before the collapse of the Third Reich. The tank was well aware that the German aviation industry no longer exists. Soon, Berlin was captured by allied forces and divided into sectors. War criminals began to be caught throughout Germany, and subsequently they suffered well-deserved punishment. Among them were such large figures as Reich Marshal German Goering, leader of the Nazi party Rudolf Hess, head of the largest concern "Friedrich Krupp" Gustav Krupp, Reich Minister of War Industry Albert Speer and tank general SS Mayer. Kurt Tank was not involved in any of the crimes, so he was not arrested.
Despite the fact that the former Germany no longer existed, life went on and it was necessary to look for work somewhere not only for oneself, but also for its employees. The closest employers at that time were the winners. The fact is that all the Fokke-Wulf factories, fleeing from American and British bombing, moved east from Bremen a long time ago to Posen, Marienburg and Cottbus. So they ended up in territory controlled by Soviet troops.
A large number of employees with families were left without work and any livelihoods. But then rumors spread that the Russians wanted to create some kind of bureau of German scientists, designers and production workers in order to build new models of aircraft based on their unique experience. So Tank got into negotiations with the Soviet representatives, which, however, did not lead to anything. He tried to establish contacts with the British and even with the Chinese ruler, Chai Kanshi. However, his invitation from Argentina saved him. As you know, this country at one time worked closely with the Nazis, providing them with their own bases for submarines.
Work in Argentina
Kurt Tank and his family move to a new residence. Here he does his favorite job and designs a new fighter for the Argentine Air Force with a turbojet engine. The basis was taken by the development of engineer Hans Multhopp. It was a project of the Ta-183 fighter, in which a number of changes were introduced. The first tests of the new FMA Pulqui II aircraft took place at the end of June 1950. It was piloted by captain E. Weiss. His reviews of the car were quite critical.
In total, six such aircraft were built, after which, four years later, the project was closed. In 1955, President Perron, who invited Tanka to work, was deprived of power due to a coup. Aircraft factory in Cordoba close. Kurt Tank and his planes are no longer needed here. German engineers and aircraft designers had no choice but to leave Argentina. The tank arrives in Germany and tries to continue the work begun, but to no avail.
Indian Air Force Aircraft Development
In 1955, the aircraft designer again forced to leave his homeland. He is moving to India. At one of the airlines located in Bangalore, he, together with a group of specialists, is engaged in a project to create a multi-role fighter, which was called the HF-24 Marut. However, the first take-off of this aircraft was unsuccessful - it crashed. Despite this, work continued.
In November 1967, industrial copies of this machine appeared. The Marut fighter was the first military aircraft designed and built in India. Four years later, he took part in the fighting on the border with Pakistan.
Return
In 1970, the aircraft designer came to his homeland. For several years he was a consultant to the Berlin company Messerschmitt-Belkov-Blom.
Kurt Tank (his photo can be seen in the article) died in Munich in early June 1983. His whole life was a reflection of the era that thousands of German intellectuals survived. By the will of fate, it so happened that all of them were forced to work for the benefit of their own, albeit Nazi, government aimed at conquering the world. But, despite this, he still managed to make a truly invaluable contribution to the history of aircraft construction.