Richard von Kehler

Honoring the German participants in the 1934 European flight in the Flugverbandshaus in Berlin, from left to right Erhard Milch (standing), Hans Seidemann , Richard von Kehler, picture from the Federal Archives

Richard von Kehler (born May 3, 1866 in Kolmar ; † January 20, 1943 in Berlin-Grunewald ) was a German airship pioneer, military, balloonist and entrepreneur.

Life

Kehler studied mechanical engineering in Karlsruhe , where he joined the Germania fraternity (now Teutonia ). In the years 1889 to 1893, Kehler carried out his first balloon trips as a member of the German Association for the Promotion of Airship Travel . From 1894 to 1900, Kehler was assigned to the Prussian Airship Department as an officer in the Kurmärkischer Feldartillerie-Regiment No. 39 in Perleberg . At that time he was captain and battery chief .

In 1896/1897 Kehler was a two-time balloon pilot for the Berlin Scientific Aviation Association . His ascent with a hydrogen balloon on December 28, 1905 in Bitterfeld established the tradition of the important central German balloon launch site. Kehler was from 1936 to 1939 chairman of the Berlin Bibliophile Evening .

In 1906, Kehler took his leave as captain of the reserve and became involved in the still young aviation industry as an entrepreneur. Initially in 1908 he was managing director of the newly founded Luftfahrzeug-Gesellschaft mbH (LFG) together with Major August von Parseval . In 1909 he founded Flugmaschinen Wright GmbH , which manufactured around 100 aircraft, but was dissolved in 1913 after a patent dispute was lost. Kehler acquired license no. 6 to operate airships of the Parseval type , which LFG manufactured in the Bitterfeld shipyard.

During the First World War , Kehler took on tasks in the staff of the German airship troops .

In 1924 he became president of the German Aero Club . In 1933 he worked again as an entrepreneur. He ran a balloon factory near Stralsund and supplied clubs and the military with good quality balloons.

literature

Kehler, v. , Richard. In: Robert Volz: Reich manual of the German society . The handbook of personalities in words and pictures. Volume 1: A-K. Deutscher Wirtschaftsverlag, Berlin 1930, DNB 453960286 , p. 898.

Web links

Literature by and about Richard von Kehler in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

^ G. Kirschner: Directory of members of the Karlsruhe Burschenschaft Teutonia. 1966.
^ Wieland Schmidt: On the Chronicle of the Berlin Bibliophile Evening. In: Imprimatur. A yearbook for book lovers. NF 8 (1976), pp. 41-59, here p. 48
↑ E.-H. Hirschel, H. Prem, G. Madelung: Aeronautical Research in Germany. Springer, Berlin 2007, ISBN 3-540-40645-X . P. 39.

personal data
SURNAME	Kehler, Richard von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German balloonist, airship pioneer, military
DATE OF BIRTH	May 3, 1866
PLACE OF BIRTH	Kolmar
DATE OF DEATH	January 20, 1943
Place of death	Berlin-Grunewald

[1] G. Kirschner: Directory of members of the Karlsruhe Burschenschaft Teutonia. 1966.

[2] Wieland Schmidt: On the Chronicle of the Berlin Bibliophile Evening. In: Imprimatur. A yearbook for book lovers. NF 8 (1976), pp. 41-59, here p. 48

[3] E.-H. Hirschel, H. Prem, G. Madelung: Aeronautical Research in Germany. Springer, Berlin 2007, ISBN 3-540-40645-X . P. 39.