THE FIRST JET
PILOT
"The
story of german test pilot Erich Warsitz"
di Lutz Warsitz
( recensione di Maurilio MARANGIO )
L'autore, Lutz Warsitz, descrive in “THE
FIRST JET PILOT"
gli eventi che hanno portato alla realizzazione ed allo sviluppo di due aerei
rivoluzionari per la storia dell'aviazione, ovvero l'Heinkel He.178 e l'Heinkel
He.176, ciò grazie alla testimonianza diretta di suo padre, Erich Warsitz.
Forse non tutti sanno che, l'era pionieristica
degli aerei a reazione è, infatti, legata non solo ai nomi
di Wernher von Braun, Hans Pabst von Ohain
ed Ernst Heinkel ma anche a quello di Erich Warsitz, ingegnere e collaudatore
che ebbe modo di progettare e pilotare queste macchine, per l'epoca,
rivoluzionarie.
Erich Warsitz nacque in Germania il 18
ottobre 1906 ad Hattingen nel Ruhr. Iniziò a volare all'Accademia di Hangelar
vicino a Bonn ed iniziò, ben presto, la sua attività di collaudatore a Rechlin,
presso il Centro di Prova della Luftwaffe.
Nel 1936 Erich Warsitz, ebbe modo di entrare
al Ministero dell'Aviazione Tedesca (RLM) grazie all'appoggio di Wernher von
Braun nonchè del dott. Ernst Heinkel, che apprezzarono le sue capacità che lo
fecero diventare famoso in tutto il mondo come scienziato e collaudatore.
Erich Warsitz lavorò a fianco di Wernher von
Braun dapprima alla realizzazione dell'He.112 e successivamente dell'He.176 non
limitandosi alla progettazione ed alla realizzazione dell'aereo ma arrivando,
finanche, a pilotarlo convincendo, in ciò, il famoso pilota Ernst Udet,
che ne aveva proibito il volo non ritenendo l'He.176 un aereo ma "una cosa
senza ali".
Collaborò, altresì, alla realizzazione dell'
He.178 che portò in volo la domenica del 27 agosto 1939, solamente alcuni giorni
prima dello scoppio di Guerra.
Dopo la fine della Guerra Erich Warsitz
rimase in Germania nel settore americano ma, nella notte tra il 5 ed il 6
dicembre del 1945, intorno alle tre del mattino, venne rapito da quattro
ufficiali sovietici che lo portarono in Russia, affinchè sviluppasse e
realizzasse per loro dei caccia a reazione. Stante il suo rifiuto venne
deportato in Siberia, nella nota colonia penale n. 7525/13, dove venne
"ospitato" fino al 1950, anno in cui fece ritorno in Germania.
Il capitano Erich Warsitz morì il 12 luglio
del 1983 a Barbengo, Svizzera, all'età di 76 anni.
Così lo ricorda Hans Pabst von Ohain in una
lettera del 14 aprile 1988 indirizzata alla moglie di Warsitz: "Negli anni mi
sono trovato spesso a pensare ad Erich Warsitz. Ancora oggi ammiro l'importante
contributo da Lui dato per lo sviluppo dei motori a turbina e degli aerei a
reazione, senza dimenticare il Suo coraggio, il Suo altruismo, le Sue capacità
tecniche e la Sua abilità come pilota. Il Suo ritratto al “National
Air and Space Museum”, Washington D.C.,
che lo raffigura alla guida del primo Heinkel He.178 sarà, per sempre, una
testimonianza indelebile di questo."
THE FIRST JET PILOT
di Lutz Warsitz, pubblicato in
lingua inglese dalla Pen & Sword Books, è un libro di notevole interesse storico
e le numerose foto inedite contenute al suo interno lo rendono appetibile anche
dall'aspetto modellistico. Ulteriori informazioni possono trovarsi sul sito
www.firstjetpilot.com
(tutte le foto sottoriportate sono
qui riprodotte per gentile concessione dell'Autore -
Lutz Warsitz - n.d.r.)
(foto di Lutz Warsitz)
(foto di Paul Johnson - The National
Archives, UK)
(foto di Karl-Ernst Heinkel)
english text
THE
FIRST JET PILOT
by Author Lutz Warsitz,
published by Pen & Sword Books
http://www.firstjetpilot.com
Flight Captain ERICH WARSITZ
© LUTZ WARSITZ • 6992 CIMO / SWITZERLAND
TEL: + 41 76 3401447 • E-MAIL:
lutz.warsitz@firstjetpilot.com
Page 2
Not even seventy years have passed since the origins of the age of rockets
and jets. This period is connected with names such as Wernher von Braun,
Hans Pabst von Ohain and Ernst Heinkel - but also with Erich Warsitz in
particular, who boldly climbed into the newly designed aircraft of the time
and flew them. My father risked his life to test new power plants which
revolutionized the whole of aviation technology - he was the first person to
fly a jet aircraft - the Heinkel He 178 - and a liquid-fuel rocket aircraft
- the Heinkel He 176. In so doing he was one of the crucial individuals who
laid down the basic rules which have made it possible for modern aviation
technology to span time and space.
Erich Warsitz was born in Germany on 18 October 1906; his place of birth was
Hattingen in the Ruhr. He learned to fly at the Academic Flying Group at
Hangelar near Bonn. At that time the German aviation industry was operating
at full blast, and at Rechlin, the Luftwaffe’s test centre, he was soon
flying everything the aircraft factories could produce. This was the
starting point of an activity which, only a little while later, would bring
him into intimate contact with developments in aviation which were of
tremendous historical importance. Late in 1936 Erich Warsitz was seconded by
the RLM (the German Imperial Aviation Ministry) to Wernher von Braun, later
to become world-famous as a space scientist, and Dr. Ernst Heinkel, one of
the greatest aircraft designers of his era, because he had been recognized
as one of the most experienced test-pilots of the time, and because he also
had an extraordinary fund of technical knowledge.
Page 3
In 1937, working closely with Wernher von Braun, Erich Warsitz undertook the
initial flight testing of the Heinkel He 112. Wernher von Braun: “The rocket
engine was initially installed in a Heinkel 112, and Erich first left the
ground in the thing at the Neuhardenberg airfield, a hundred kilometres to
the East of Berlin. However, this was only the start. The same rocket engine
and another - developed by the Walter company in Kiel - were subsequently
installed in a small aircraft known as the Heinkel 176, which, in contrast
to the 112, was designed to fly solely on rocket power, i.e. there was no
piston engine in the nose. In fact, this aircraft was what we would now call
an utterly wild machine; so wild, in fact, that Erich Warsitz was prohibited
from flying it by the famous pilot Ernst Udet - a Luftwaffe General at the
time - after he had observed a brief flight by the machine. It was not an
aeroplane, said Udet; “it’s just a thing; it hasn’t even got wings”, and it
could not possibly fly. It took a while for Erich to convince Udet that he
should undertake further flights. This point was really a prelude to space
flight, playing a very important role in the development of the crucial
elements, the technology and also the piloting skills required for the
development of manned space flight”. There came a moment when Erich Warsitz
felt that a series of brief hops in the Heinkel He 176 had made him familiar
with its characteristics and nasty tricks, and he suddenly made up his mind
to carry out the first real flight in the machine late in the evening of a
fine day in early Summer. Once he had declared his decision, an uncanny
silence settled on all the engineers and fitters; nobody spoke a word: all
of them knew that they stood at the threshold of a event which was crucial
for the future.
Page 4
Erich Warsitz : “At approximately 300 km / hr, shortly before lift-off, the
machine veered off to the left. The port wing touched the ground - and a
catastrophe appeared to be imminent. However, I was desperate to get this
flight under my belt, come hell or high water, so I left the throttle where
it was; suddenly the machine leaped into the air, on an entirely different
heading. Moments later I was feeling jubilant, flying round the Northern tip
of the island of Usedom at 800 km / hr, virtually in silence. I had no time
to carry out any tests, as it was already time to concentrate on the landing.
I pushed the nose down, and a moment later was sweeping over the Peene
towards the ground at 500 km / hr. I reached the edge of the airfield, and
after a series of mandatory bounces the machine rolled to a halt. The
world’s first liquid-fuel-rocket-powered flight had been successful!”
The He 176 rocket aircraft had been developed in close collaboration with
the RLM, but in spite of its success, Heinkel did not receive the support he
had hoped for. In fact, there were many important individuals at the Air
Ministry who showed an interest, but the Second World War was imminent, and
other concerns took centre stage.
Page 5
Erich Warsitz: “Long before this I had become familiar with a weird and
entirely different sound at the Heinkel factory: this was the first Heinkel
jet engine undergoing test-runs.” Professor Pohl of Göttingen University was
acquainted with Heinkel, and in 1936 Heinkel had received a letter from him
which ran: “I have a very capable fellow here who is working on a jet engine.
Our means are limited, and we are unable to offer him any further help.
Would this man be of interest to you?” And so it was that Heinkel immediate
hired Hans Pabst von Ohain, and assigned him his own laboratory at the
Rostock factory. In February 1937 the first turbine was already running on
the test-stand. By the time the second turbine - the He S3 A - was finished,
Heinkel had designed the Heinkel He 178 for it, and the engine was installed
in the airframe in early 1939. Almost from the outset, the He 176 was
developed with the approval of the RLM, and under contract to that body, but
this did not apply to the He 178! The later project was developed by Heinkel
without the knowledge of the RLM, and it was this small machine which opened
up the jet era just a little while later. Hans Pabst von Ohain: “I well
remember my first meeting with Erich Warsitz at Peenemünde, early in the
Summer of 1939. Heinkel had invited me to be present for the second flight
of the He 176, and it was a great experience for me to observe Warsitz’s
courage and outstanding skill, and his impressive flight display. That
evening there was a great celebration, and I had the opportunity to speak
briefly to him about the imminent test-flight of the He 178.” On Sunday, 27
August 1939, only a few days before the outbreak of War, everything was
ready. Beautiful weather prevailed, and the Heinkel He 178 was towed to the
take-off position. Heinkel himself and his staff were looking around in some
excitement, for they had all realised that the future belonged to jet
aircraft - rather than to the rocket-powered equivalent - because of their
longer flight duration and greater operational safety.
Page 6
After the second circuit Warsitz set the aeroplane up for the landing. The
turbine responded to the throttle lever very obediently. Just above the
ground he corrected the machine’s attitude, pulled off a perfect landing and
came to a halt just short of the waters of the Warnow. The world’s first jet
flight had been a total success! All the tension evaporated, and everyone
was absolutely delighted. The fitters lifted Dr. Heinkel and Erich Warsitz
onto their shoulders, and after a short de-briefing they headed for the
Casino to toast the first triumphant flight, which clearly showed the way
forward for the future of aviation. : “One last time I checked all the
control surfaces for freedom of movement, checked the running turbine at
various speeds, checked pump pressures, temperatures and much more besides,
then gave the ground-crew the sign to close the canopy. Slowly I applied
full-throttle. As the aircraft started moving, I remember feeling a little
disappointed at the lack of thrust, because the machine was gathering speed
slowly, instead of shooting along like the 176. However, after a ground-run
of about three hundred metres it was picking up speed at a very high rate. I
found I could hold the machine exactly on course using the brakes, and then
the aircraft lifted off. All the control surfaces felt almost completely
normal, while the turbine steadily sang its high-pitched song. It was
wonderful to be flying; not a trace of wind was blowing, and the sun was
just visible, very low on the horizon. I had been told in no uncertain terms
that I was to land immediately after a single fairly large circuit, but at
that point my enthusiasm overcame me: I accelerated slightly, and thought:
oh, just one more circuit, then!”
Hans Pabst von Ohain: “Once again Warsitz’s courage and tremendous flying
skill had introduced the world of aviation to a completely new principle of
flying.”
Page 7
After the end of the War Erich Warsitz was living in an apartment in the
American sector, but at three a.m. on the night of 5 / 6 December 1945 he
was abducted by four Russian officers. Innumerable interrogations followed,
concentrating on his former work on the development of rocket and jet
aircraft in the OKH (the German Army Supreme Command) and RLM, at Peenemünde
and the Heinkel factory. He was required to sign a contract which obliged
him to co-operate with the Russians for a period of five years on the
development of related technology, but he refused. As a result he was
condemned to twenty-five years forced labour. Shortly after this he was
transported to Siberia, to the notorious penal colony 7525/13. After his
return in 1950, he initially worked as a self-employed contractor, until in
1965 he “retired to the Alps”, as we say.
My book THE FIRST JET PILOT represents my father’s opportunity to describe
the events of the period from his own personal experience and his own
perspective; from the technical standpoint in his role as engineer, and from
the flying standpoint as the first and only test-pilot of these
revolutionary machines. He was an important eye-witness to this pioneer
period; an era which, even today, is still virtually unknown to the general
public because of the strict secrecy which shrouded the whole project. To
find more about the book: http://www.firstjetpilot.com In April 1983 my
Father suffered a severe brain infarct, which was to be the cause of his
death. On 12 July 1983 Flight Captain Erich Warsitz died at Barbengo,
Switzerland, at the age of 76 years. In a letter dated 14 April 1988 Hans
Pabst von Ohain wrote to my Mother: “In later years I often found myself
thinking of Erich Warsitz again. I still admire him today, and am of the
firm conviction that he made an important contribution to the rapid
development of jet turbine engines and rockets for manned aircraft, thanks
to his courage and selfless devotion, not to mention his technical and
piloting skills. His picture in the “National Air and Space Museum”,
Washington D.C., piloting the first Heinkel He 178, will always be a
permanent testimony of this.”
torna a RECENSIONI
