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THE 456th FIGHTER INTERCEPTOR SQUADRON |
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THE PROTECTORS OF S. A. C. |
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Dr. Alexander M. Lippisch |
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Lippischs Biography
As a boy of 14, Lippisch witnessed a flight by Orville Wright in September 1909. He followed the accounts of Dunne's and Etrich's experiments with inherent stability, and after military service during World War I, applied his interest to glider design. His first tailless glider was built in 1921, by Gottlob Espenlaub, the German glider enthusiast who would later collaborate with the Swiss designer Alexander Soldenhoff on his designs
The Lippisch-Espenlaub E2 was the first of over 50 swept-wing, tailless designs produced by Lippisch over the next three decades. Though this first effort was less than impressive, it at least was a starting point from which Lippisch began serious, systematic development of tailless designs. In 1924, he was designated Director of the Aeronautical Department of the RhonRossitten-Gesellschaft (RRG, which later became the German Research Institute for Soaring Flight).
With limited resources at his disposal, Lippisch chose an unconventional, step-by-step method of developing his designs, testing the original concept first as a flying model, then as a man-carrying glider, and finally as a powered aircraft. Lippisch considered this approach would produce results in less time and with less expense than a wind tunnel research program . From this design philosophy evolved two famous series of tailless aircraft -- the Storch (stork) and the Delta.
Between 1927 and 1932, eight Storch aircraft were designed by Lippisch, all of them high-wing monoplanes with sweepback. In 1926, a succession of large, free-flying models of various configurations, including canards and the "flying plank" design later adopted by Fauvel in France, led to the Storch I experimental glider, first test-flown in 1927 by Bubi Nehring. Lack of aileron effectiveness was evident in this and the Storch 11 and III that followed. The ailerons were redesigned to approximate the form of the Zanonia seed and Igo Etrich's Taube . Etrich himself recommended the configuration to Lippisch; his faith in the principle was reaffirmed when the 1929 Storch IV glider demonstrated impressive stability and control characteristics with Gunther Gronhoff at the controls. Development work on the Storch series was temporarily interrupted in 1928 when Lippisch collaborated with Fritz von Opel and the rocket manufacturer Sander in performing rocket-powered flights of some Lippisch tailless models. These successful experiments were followed by a manned flight of a rocket-powered tail-first glider, the Ente (duck). Although these experiments also met with moderate success, Lippisch returned to his original interests in 1929. These experiments, and subsequent research on the basic principles of rocket propulsion, provided the foundation for later projects with rocket-propelled aircraft in the late 1930s.
In 1929, the Storch V appeared equipped with a small, 8-hp DKW engine for Lippisch's first attempt at powered flight with the Storch series. Following successful test flights by Gronhoff, a public demonstration of the Storch V was made at Tempelhof Airfield at Berlin in October 1929, with the expectation of obtaining some government financial backing. None came, but the transatlantic pilot Captain Herman Kohl expressed interest in the idea of a tailless aircraft for flights across the Atlantic. With this order in hand, Lippisch stopped work on the Storch VI and began the design of what would eventually become the renowned Delta series. Lippisch later worked on three more versions of the Storch; the Storch VII, powered by a 24-hp engine, won a prize for the first 300 km overland flight of a tailless aircraft when Gronhoff flew the aircraft from the Wasserkuppe to Berlin in 1931 in 1 hour, 55 minutes. The Storch VIII was a privately financed craft that could be flown either with or without tail surfaces attached. The Storch IX training glider appeared in 1933, and was successful enough to prompt two variations, the IX a and b.
Lippisch's methodical, step-by-step experiments had been quite successful with the Storch series, but the Storch was merely a foundation for further efforts to build a pure, all-wing aircraft. From the Storch, with its swept back leading and trailing edges, came the Delta, also a swept back wing but with one essential difference: the trailing edge, from wing tip to wing tip, was a straight line. This triangular wing allowed a thick midsection, with the potential for storing all loads inside the wing.
Following his customary routine, Lippisch proceeded from drawing to flying model to full-scale glider, and finally in June 1931, the powered Delta I was flown on the Wasserkuppe. Again, Gunther Gronhoff's test flights were so successful that another Templehof demonstration was conducted; and again, the Lippisch aircraft was clearly a success, with accounts of Gronhoff's aerobatic skill with the revolutionary airplane appearing in the press in Europe and the United States. Unfortunately, no financial backing materialized.
For the next several years, Lippisch, serving with the RRG (in 1933 reorganized under the title Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fur Segelflug [DFS, German Research Institute for Soaring Flight]), produced dozens of designs for tailless aircraft; some never left the drawing board, and some made it to the model stage. Others, like the Delta, eventually flew and underwent countless modifications as tests revealed deficiencies in stability and control. The Delta series progressed through the Delta IVC, at which point the series designation was changed to DFS 39. The DFS 40, or Delta V, was the last of the series to fly, in 1939.
As the decade came to a close and Germany prepared for war, Lippisch transferred to the Messerschmitt Company in January 1939, where he again became involved in the application of rocket propulsion to tailless aircraft.
After the war ended, Lippisch moved to the United States, where after a few years of government service, he joined Collins Radio Company as an expert on special aeronautical problems. In 1966, he founded Lippisch Research Corporation and developed the X-113A Aerofoil Boat.
Alexander Lippisch died in 1976.
A Pioneer German Aerodynamist. Alexander was born in Munich, Germany, on November 2, 1894. He received his Engineering Doctorate degree from Heidelberg University in Physical Sciences. His aviation career plans were interrupted by service in the German Army in World War I, he was finally assigned to work with the Zeppelin Company in 1918. The early post-war years, devoted to theoretical studies and experiments with advanced and unique approached to high-speed aircraft performance, produced his first successful tailless design, a glider, in 1921. Because the designs he proposed were considered radical departures from the norms of aero design of that period, financial support for his work was difficult to find. By the time he had flown a rocket powered glider in 1928 (the first rocket powered flight in history) he had developed all the elements of aerodynamic theory to confirm that tailless delta wing high speed aircraft were possible and by 1934 he proposed such a design.
With his employment by the Messerschmitt Company in 1939, and with the priorities of World War II, Lippisch designed and successfully demonstrated in 1940 the rocket powered ME 163 interceptor at speeds in excess of 600 MPH a world record.
As Director of the Aeronautical Research Institute of Vienna, Alexander Lippisch confirmed that supersonic designs where the delta wing excelled were possible. With his emigration to the United States in 1946, he continued work on these theories for the U.S. Air Force. His subsequent endeavors with the aero industries were devoted to ground effects experiments - until his death on 11 February 1976.
Dr. Alexander M. Lippisch
Aviation Pioneer
1894-1976Born in Munich, Germany in 1894. Inspired by Orville Wright’s demonstration flights at Tempelhof Field, Berlin in 1908. Began his career in aeronautics at Zeppelin-Dornier in Lindau, Germany in 1918. While at Zeppelin-Dornier, he developed methods for performance and stability calculations for aircraft. He designed the first systematic series of wing sections and tested them in the wind tunnel in Göttingen, Germany in August 1918. Inducted into the German Infantry in WW I, fought on the Russian front where he contracted severe pneumonia. Upon recovery, he joined an aerial reconnaissance and mapping squadron. After WW I he joined a group of engineers and surveyors to develop practical methods of aerophotogrammetry for mapping. However, the project was terminated by the Versailles Treaty. In 1921, Dr. Lippisch began his work on the development of sailplanes and gliders since the Treaty of Versailles forbade motorized aircraft development and production in post WW I Germany. His most famous, world record setting sailplanes included the “WIEN”, flown by R. Krönfeld, the “FAFNIR”, flown by G. Grünhoff, and the “SAO PAULO”, flown by H. Dittmar. Herr Heinie Dittmar became Dr. Lippisch’s chief test pilot during the ME 163 development program at Messerschmitt. While designing sailplanes at the Wasserkuppe in Gersfeld, Germany, from 1921 to 1939, Dr. Lippisch began his research into tailess and delta wing aircraft. His 60 degree delta wing design was successfully tested in Göttingen’s supersonic wind tunnel in 1939. He saw the delta as the solution to supersonic flight. In 1939 he and his staff joined Messerschmitt A. G. in Augsburg, Germany for the development of a high speed, rocket propelled experimental aircraft, known as the ME 163A. The considerable success of the experimental plane led to the production version, the ME 163B. A liquid fueled rocket engine powered interceptor which was the fastest aircraft flown in WW II. It could climb from a dead start to 40,000 feet in 3.25 minutes and it set the world speed record for aircraft, over 1145 KPH, in 1941 with Heinie Dittmar at the controls. The record setting flight remained a secret throughout the war. The U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio added the ME 163B to its permanent collection on December 10, 1999 with a special ceremony in the Museum's Hall of Honor. Mr. Rudi Opitz, the guest speaker at the dedication, was assigned to the ME 163 program in 1940 as the official Luftwaffe test pilot. He was responsible for the flight tests and pilot training program of the ME 163B, the military version of the rocket powered interceptor. In 1943, Dr. Lippisch moved to Vienna, Austria were he directed the Luftfahrtforshungsandstalt Wien (LFW), an aeronautical research institute for the development of high speed aircraft. There he designed the pure delta prototype known as the DM-1, to be powered by a unique coal burning ramjet and a rocket engine to assist in takeoff, with a German Air Force designation of P-13A. As construction of the prototype began, WW II ended. However, under the direction of the U. S. Army, personally authorized
and inspected by General Patton, the prototype was completed and shipped to the U. S. for wind
tunnel testing.In 1945, Dr. Lippisch was in the custody of the Air Technical Intelligence branch of the U. S. Army Air Force, first in Paris and then transferred to London for debriefing. Dr. Lippisch was transferred, along with his senior staff, Ernst Sielaf and Dr. Ringleb, under the Defense Department’s “Project Paper Clip”, to Wright Field, Ohio. The “Project Paper Clip” program, run by the newly formed U. S. Air Force and Navy Liaison Office assembled and transplanted German scientists, including Dr. Wernher von Braun, from the Allied Zones of Germany to the U. S. for further debriefing. During that time he also consulted for several U. S. Aircraft companies, Convair in particular, ultimately resulting in the development and production of the first U. S. Air Force delta fighter, the F102A Delta Dagger. In 1947, Dr. Lippisch was assigned to the Philadelphia Naval Yard, Naval Air Material Command, for a three year term as an aeronautical scientist after which he could reenter the United States and apply for citizenship, which he and his family did. In 1950, he joined the Collins Radio Company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa as a consultant for aeronautical problems. There he established the Collins Aeronautical Laboratory where he continued research on the delta wing under contracts with the Defense Department’s Office of Naval Research. He also developed two and three-dimensional wind tunnels for the educational market. Two significant concepts to come out of the Collins Aeronautical Laboratory, changed in 1959 to the Collins Hydrodynamics Laboratory, were the Aerodyne, a wingless VTOL craft and the Aerofoil Boat, a ground-effects water/air craft. Dr. Lippisch retired from the Collins Radio Company in 1964 after a serious bout with cancer. Upon recovery he formed the Lippisch Research Corporation in order to continue his research. In 1967, the West German Defense Department awarded two contracts for further development of both the Aerodyne, to be built by Dornier, and the Aerofoil Boat, to be built by Rheinflug, under the scientific and technical supervision of Dr. Lippisch. Both projects were carried out through the initial prototype phases and underwent testing with excellent results but not pursued beyond that level. During the same time, under contract by Kiekheafer Mercury, he designed and built several versions
of a unique Aerofoil Boat application that he termed the Aero-Skimmer. A ground-effect flying boat propelled by an outboard motor. Mr. Kiekheafer‘s motive for the project was to develop a hull that would be stable at high speeds and therefore able to set new unlimited outboard motor speed records without jeopardizing the safety of the driver or, in this case the pilot. The initial tests were very successful with trials on Norfolk Lake in Arkansas and Lake X, Florida. However, the project was never completed.Dr. Alexander Lippisch died at the age of 81 on February 11, 1976, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was survived by his wife Gertrude, three sons, two daughters and ten grandchildren. Dr. Lippisch was a member of the following professional societies:
• AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics)
• AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science)
• ASNE (American Society of Naval Engineers)
• SNAME (Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers)
• DGLR (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Luft-und Raumfahrt)
• EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association)
• Club der Luftfahrt, Bonn, Germany
• Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, London, England
• Member, International Aerospace Hall of Fame, San Diego, California
Lippisch Aerodyne Research
(WW2-1972)
By Rob Arndt
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| Dr. Alexander Lippisch was born in Munich, Germany in 1894. |
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| Known for his love of delta-winged aircraft he designed a series of delta-winged gliders in the 1930s that eventually led to the introduction of the world's first and only rocket-powered interceptor during WW2 - the Me 163 Komet. |
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| World's greatest test pilot Hanna Reitsch flew both the DFS-194 and Me-163! |
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Hanna
piloting the Reichenberg R-IV |
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Lippisch P.13A art |
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Lippisch DFS-194 which led to the Me-163 Komet |
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Messerschmitt Me-163 Komet during World War II |
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Lippisch P-13A |
Messerschmitt-Lippisch P.08 Grosstransporter
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Hanna Reitsch with Alexander Lippisch, center, and Willy Messerschmitt, right
Lippisch P.13A
Art by Daniel Uhr
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Lippisch P.01-111
Art by Tor Pedersen
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DM-1 Mistels |
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Siebel Si-204D |
Siebel Si-204A |
Siebel Si-204D |
US DC-3 plane |
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Lippisch influence on Ho XIII
öttingen K1253 wing profile. His last designs, however, concerned supersonic deltas and the use of ramjet power.
During the war Dr. Lippisch explored a wide range of delta craft and a few circular disc designs based on the AVA G
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Lippisch Supersonic delta |
After the war, Dr. Lippisch's delta DM-1 glider and delta jet fighter designs led directly to the Convair XF-92 and subsequently to the highly successful F-102 Delta Dagger and F-106 Delta Dart fighters of the US (which was eager to apply German delta-wing technology to the emerging jet technology of the time period). The end product by Convair became the B-58 Hustler.
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In Langley Wind-tunnel in US
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The delta Lippisch DM-1 when captured
DM-1 data
Span
5.92 meters
Length
6.6 meters
Height
3.18 meters
Wing Area
20 sq meters
Wing Sweepback
60 deg
Weight empty
297 kg
Weight loaded
460 kg
Typical Release Altitude
8,000 meters
Speed max
560 km/h
Speed landing
72 km/
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Modified version of MD-1 in a wind- tunnel
Convair XP-92 result from wind tunnel testing of the the DM-1
XP-92 research led directly to the Convair XF-92
Progressive Convair F-102 "Delta Dagger"
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The ultimate Convair product derived from the DM-1... The B-58 Hustler
Lippisch postwar US Transcontinental Bomber
based on a secret Third Reich bomber concept of 1945 unrelated to the Amerika Bomber program
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German work on delta wing planforms, directed by Dr. Alexander Lippisch, led to a US Navy proposal in 1947 for a short-range carrier-based interceptor fighter using a similar layout. Project studies were initiated by the Douglas design team led by Ed Heinemann with the object of producing a fighter optimized for a high rate of climb and capable of intercepting enemy aircraft before they reached their targets. These studies led to a design which, rather than being a pure delta, was a tailless aircraft with a sweptback wing of extremely low aspect ratio, following Dr. Lippisch's own evolution of this layout for the Messerschmitt Me-163 target-defence interceptor.
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Douglas F4D Skyray
Meanwhile, Dr. Lippisch joined American Collins Radio Company in 1950 where he performed feasibility studies on a wingless VTOL aircraft - his Aerodyne. In theory, the Aerodyne would outperform conventional aircraft, achieve supersonic speed, while not suffering the difficulties of "tail-sitter" configurations like the Convair XFY-1 Pogo, Lockheed XFV-1 Salmon, or Ryan X-13 Vertijet.
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Lippisch designed aerodyne model flight testing at Collins. Another Lippisch aerodyne configuration at Collins Designs like these were studied at AVA Göttingen during World War II but deemed as highly impractical.
To generate lift and propulsion the Lippisch Aerodyne would utilize two co-axial propellers, the slipstream from each being deflected downwards through flaps for VTOL. Control was to be achieved by deflecting part of the slipstream emerging from the tail boom and by flaps in the propeller flaps. Despite provision for a cockpit, only unmanned craft were built and tested at Collins, operated via electric cables. Collins did manage to construct a full-scale mock up of the Aerodyne and Lippisch patented the idea in 1959.
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Lippisch US patent # 2,918,230
Another “Fluid Sustained Aircraft” design by Lippisch
Full-scale model of the aerodyne, meant as an unmanned military machine The massive jet for the aerodyne
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Lippisch Aerodyne in NASA Ames Wind tunnel
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Lippisch-Collins Interceptor Drone
Lippisch Rescue Aerodyne
In 1967, Dornier picked up the Lippisch Aerodyne concept with the intent on further development. Dr. Lippisch consulted on the craft, now known as the Dornier E-1. The craft was developed from 1968-1971. It was successfully flight tested in 1972 with smooth altitude stabilization and minimal ground effects.
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Dornier aerodyne test rig
Despite the validation of Dr. Lippisch's Aerodyne design, no operational manned or unmanned craft were built. The Harrier jump-jet, world famous for its VTOL capabilities employs many of Lippisch's VTOL principals.
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What might have been… |
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| Ultimate Lippisch Combat Aerodyne |
Lippisch vision of the future |
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