Edward George Uhl

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Edward George Uhl ( March 24, 1918 in Elizabeth , New Jersey - May 9, 2010 in Easton , Maryland ) was an American engineer . He is known for his involvement in the anti-tank missile Bazooka and his later management work in the aerospace industry.

Life

After Edward Uhl graduated from high school in 1936 , he graduated from Lehigh University in 1940 , where he studied technical physics . The university education he was able to deny due to the scholarship of the reserve officer training program . After graduating, he first took a job with the National Carbon Company in Fostoria . In 1941 he joined the United States Army as an officer and was assigned to the United States Army Ordnance Corps .

His supervisor was Leslie Skinner , who developed missile weapons for the raging Second World War in the Indian Head Powder Factory . Building on the early attempts of Robert Goddard , they developed the Bazooka anti-tank missile. Uhl was primarily involved in the development of the thrower; so it was his idea to fire the gun from the shoulder. During a demonstration, Uhl hit a moving target tank, which ultimately sealed the success of the bazooka.

Towards the end of the war, Uhl moved to the Pacific theater on the staff of Douglas MacArthur . After the war, in 1946, he left the army with the rank of lieutenant colonel .

Uhl was then hired by the aircraft manufacturer Glenn L. Martin Company in Middle River, Maryland , to advance the company in rocket technology. In 1948 he became project manager for guided missiles , and he was also involved in the development of the Viking sounding rocket and the MGM-1 Matador cruise missile . Uhl rose in the company and was appointed vice president of the technology department in 1952. In 1957 he was entrusted with the construction of the new plant in Orlando (Florida) and later became its operations manager . In this role he was responsible for the development and production of the MGM-18 Lacrosse , AGM-12 Bullpup and MGM-31 Pershing missiles . In 1959 Uhl moved to Ryan Aeronautical in San Diego , where he held the position of operations manager and vice president of the technology department.

In 1961, Uhl was named President of the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation in Hagerstown . His greatest success was the A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft . Under Uhl, the space division of Fairchild was expanded. Their most important development was the groundbreaking ATS-6 satellite .

After leaving Fairchild in 1985, he was still a member of the board of directors of various companies such as Bank Maryland National Bank and the technology companies American Satellite Corporation , Bunker Ramo Corporation and Johns Hopkins University .

Private

Uhl's first wife, Maurine Keleher, died in 1966 after 23 years of marriage. He lived with his second wife, Mary Stuart Brugh, for 44 years until his death. Uhl had four children.

The rocket pioneer and NASA manager Wernher von Braun was Uhl's longtime hunting friend .

literature

Web links

  • Patents from Edward George Uhl: [4]

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b T. Rees Shapiro: Edward Uhl, 92; helped invent bazooka, headed by Fairchild Industries in: Washington Post , May 23, 2010 [1]
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Frederick N. Rasmussen: Edward G. Uhl in: The Baltimore Sun , May 13, 2010, [2]
  3. ^ A b Steven Greenhouse: Edward Uhl, Who Helped Invent Bazooka, Dies at 92 , in: The New York Times , May 16, 2010 [3]
personal data
SURNAME Uhl, Edward George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American engineer
DATE OF BIRTH March 24, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH Elizabeth , New Jersey
DATE OF DEATH May 9, 2010
Place of death Easton , Maryland