Vera von Bissing

Gerhard Fieseler (l.) And Vera v. Bissing (r.) At the aerobatic championships in Berlin-Tempelhof in 1931

Vera von Bissing (born October 23, 1906 in Frankfurt am Main ; † June 15, 2002 in Eschwege ) was a German aerobatic pilot in the 1930s .

Youth and education

Vera von Bissing came from a wealthy officer family who lived in Mulhouse / Alsace until 1918 , where the daughter spent her sheltered youth. Her early wish to learn to fly met with fierce opposition, especially from her mother, so that von Bissing had to fight for it until she was of legal age. At the beginning of November 1929 she received the permit and on the 11th of the same month began her training in Frankfurt-Rebstock with flight instructor Wiegmeyer on a Raab-Katzenstein RK II b Pelikan (D-1193). The first solo flight took place on December 5th. Before she got her A2 pilot's license on January 27, 1930 , there was still a small break, for which she blamed her flight instructor. Soon she got her own airplane, a used Raab-Katzenstein Kl I c Schwalbe (D-1742), with which she moved to Kassel to be trained as an aerobatic pilot by the German aerobatic master Gerhard Fieseler . In September she received aerobatics I and II. Fieseler had taught her something that was extremely impressive - the outside loop , which he had developed himself. She was now the first woman who mastered this exhausting figure and also presented it.

Flying as a job

With this training Vera von Bissing was able to quickly acquire an excellent reputation not only in Germany, but also in other European countries. This also increased the fees she could and got for her performances. She flew every plane she could get. This also included the twin-engine aircraft designed by Alexander Lippisch on behalf of the Dresden cigarette company Haus Bergmann and built by Fieseler as the F 3 Wasp , which Fieseler himself had described as unflyable for normal pilots after the flight and the first test flights. For Vera von Bissing, flying was “the most beautiful thing in the world”, as she once said. As one of the best European aerobatic pilots, she was made an honorary member by the WIAA ( Woman's International Association of Aeronautics ) in 1932 . In 1933 she took part in the International Women's Aerobatic Championship in Paris and won in a convincing manner. She wanted to defend this title the following year; an illness made this impossible for her. Another German won the title with Liesel Bach . From then on, you and Vera von Bissing were to face each other in many competitions. The old Schwalbe was now obsolete and had been replaced by a modern and more powerful BFW M 35 b with the registration D-EXIV, a low-wing aircraft that now bore its logo, like the predecessor aircraft. Gerhard Fieseler, who was trained in graphics, designed it himself for her at the time.

More Achievements

Because of her reputation she also received advertising contracts, B. from the cigarette company Haus Bergmann, as well as from the fuel company Shell . Although she was basically apolitical, she joined the NSDAP on March 1, 1933 , but apparently never revealed her membership. She probably only considered this step as beneficial for her flying career. In this she remained successful. On the occasion of the 1936 Summer Olympics , she competed in the women's aerobatic competition against Liesel Bach and won. The order was reversed a few days later when the audience, which this time had to judge, declared Bach the winner at the big flight day in Tempelhof . In the same year Vera von Bissing was made an honorary member of the Paris-based Ligue Internationale des Aviateurs . That was her last success as a freelance aerobatic pilot.

The inclusion

In 1937, with the creation of the NSFK , she was informed that aerobatic pilots would no longer be used for payment on all flight days. This would have deprived her of her economic basis, at least domestically, if she had not accepted an offer from the NSFK corps leader that was sent to her at the same time . After that, she should be hired as a clerk for this party structure with a fixed salary. Her aircraft should be officially purchased by the NSFK, but should still be available for her performances. She had no choice but to accept this suggestion. Eschwege became her place of residence and work, where she stayed until the end of her life. In addition to her duties at the new employer, she still had the opportunity to take part in foreign competitions with her M 35 b, such as B. at the Dutch aerobatic championship in May 1937 in Eelde near Groningen. There she was fourth against seven male participants. On a major day at the Rotterdam airport one month later, she also showed her skills in comparison with her French colleague Maryse Hilsz . In August 1938 she took part in a flight day in Eastbourne, England, about which the Flight magazine wrote that her demonstration deserved its own article (which never came). She also had great success at the same event the following year. The participation in the reliability flight of the sport pilots in 1938, like all 12 other participants on the Klemm Kl 25 provided by the NSFK , was her last aeronautical appearance. In addition, she showed her skills again in the same year at the major flight day organized by her teacher Gerhard Fieseler in Kassel, where she was one of the highlights together with Hanna Reitsch and Albert Falderbaum .

On August 12, 1939, she showed her skills in England:

“Fräulein Vera von Bissing took off in her BFW M35 to give one of those highly polished and perfectly executed aerobatic exhibitions that have made her name famous throughout Europe. Her program ranged from simple loops to half bunts in both upward and downward directions. Her slow rolls were gems of precision, while the old Siemens-engined M.35 seemed to be just as at home doing steep turns on its back as when flying in a more orthodox attitude. "

- Flight

War and post-war period

In addition to her further work for NSFK Group 8, which has since expanded considerably, the Air Force also appeared as a client to Vera von Bissing during the war . As a civilian, she became the head of a transfer command that brought new, overhauled or repaired aircraft to the air parks from Eschwege. She herself said she often made courier flights, mostly between Berlin and Paris. In between, she was able to get her D-EXIV out of the hall and fly something with it.

When the Americans moved in, she was arrested and held for a long time. With tears in her eyes, as she said, she had to watch from her cell window as her plane, now painted with American stars, disappeared forever in the direction of the west.

Vera von Bissing, who initially worked as an interpreter for the occupying power after her release, later made no serious attempts to gain a foothold in the aviation industry. B. her colleague Liesel Bach. She kept herself and her parents afloat by running a laundry. The traditional community of old eagles honored her by becoming a member. She herself joined the Association of German Female Pilots (VDP) in 1979 .

She died on June 15, 2002 in Eschwege, where she was buried in the family grave.

literature

• Evelyn Zegenhagen: "Dashing German Girls". Aviators between 1918 and 1945. Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2007, ISBN 978-3-8353-0179-5 .
• Wolfgang Meighörner (Ed.): Woman and flight: The sisters of Icarus. Jonas Verlag for Art and Literature, Marburg 2004, ISBN 3-89445-329-X .
• The book of German flight history.
  • Volume 1: Peter Supf: prehistory, turning point, time to come. 2., through., Verb. u. exp. Edition. Drei Brunnen Verlag, 1956.
  • Volume 2: Peter Supf: Pre-war period, wartime period, post-war period until 1932. 2., through., Verb. u. exp. Edition. Drei Brunnen Verlag, 1958.
  • Volume 3: Georg Brütting: The great time of German aviation until 1945. 2nd edition. Drei Brunnen Verlag, 2004, ISBN 3-7956-0289-0 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Excerpt from: Evelyn Zegenhagen: Dashing German Girls.
2. ↑ Data from the flight log
3. ↑ Bach, excerpt from logbook D-2495, p. 106.
4. ↑ Vera von Bissing, excerpt from diary, DFI Verlag 22/1933, p. 10.
5. ↑ Vera von Bissing, excerpt from the diary, DFI Verlag 1/1934, p. 20.
6. ↑ Crab apple / Stocks: Women fly. P. 26.
7. ^ Forthcoming Events. (PDF) Flight , August 3, 1939, accessed on December 6, 2011 (English): “AUGUST […] Sat., 12th. […] Eastbourne Flying Club; Flying Display and Garden Party. " 
8. ↑ EASTBOURNE'S AFTERNOON. (PDF) An International Atmosphere at the Eastbourne Club's Garden Party - Interesting Demonstrations at Display. Flight, August 17, 1939, accessed December 6, 2011 . 
9. ↑ Bach: To the old gods ... p. 18, episode from transfer flights

Web links

• Association of German female pilots