Henry Kremer

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Henry Kremer (born May 8, 1907 in Dvinsk , † April 8, 1992 in Tel Aviv , Israel ) was a British industrialist and a sponsor of the Muscle Power Flight through the Kremer Prize Foundation .

Life

Kremer was born as the second of five children to the married couple Nachman Kremer and Ester Rosa Kremer (née Dubovsky) on May 8, 1907 in Latvia in the city of Dvinsk (today's name Daugavpils). At the beginning of the First World War , his parents emigrated to England . Kremer then attended school in Great Britain and Switzerland and later became a British citizen. His parents started a plywood and chipboard company in the UK .

In 1927 Kremer joined his parents' company and proved to be talented in developing new materials and manufacturing methods. On November 21, 1931, he married Norah Court (1910-2000).

When World War II broke out, he held several patents. This also included the manufacturing process for the plywood used to build the de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito . In 1941 Kremer developed a manufacturing process for plywood from sawdust, wood shavings and tree resin. Thus, natural wood that was not available during the war could be replaced by molded panels that were used during the war and later commercially. This was the first product of its kind in the UK and started the particle board industry. In 1953 he developed a process for making glass fibers that were chopped up and mixed with glue. The use of epoxy resin resulted in a durable structural material.

In 1951 Kremer founded Microcell and subsequently expanded its business into a group of companies. The group had three main fields of activity: aircraft technology, plastics and electronics. In 1959 the company merged with British Tire and Rubber plc . In a patent from 1954, which was kept secret for a few years, Kremer describes a process for coating short glass fibers with aluminum to produce chaff . These were lighter than the previously used aluminum foil, so they could stay in the air longer. Corresponding ejection devices were developed for V-bombers of the Royal Air Force . In 1959, cavity-free radome experiments were carried out on behalf of the Royal Aircraft Establishment in order to achieve better performance from radar systems. The successful manufacturing process was later used extensively by industry.

Since working with de Havilland , Kremer's interest in aviation had remained and he was very interested in physical fitness. Both topics are included in Robert Graham's project to develop a muscle-powered aircraft and Graham briefed Kremer from time to time on the progress of the Man-Powered Aircraft Committee (MAPAC) and the successor body, Human Powered Aircraft Group of the Royal Aeronautical Society .

In 1959, Kremer, Graham, HG Bennison, Fred East and Air Commodore Bryan Hatfield stopped for lunch at the Cambridge Hotel in Camberley , at which Graham enthusiastically talked about muscular power flight and suggested a prize. Kremer volunteered immediately. The astonished and delighted Graham turned to his other companions and convinced himself that they had also heard Kremer's offer. Bennison confirmed this. The award was announced in November 1959 and stated in the Royal Aeronautical Society Journal of January 1960 that the award was for "the first successful flight of a British-designed, built and flown muscular aircraft" within the British Commonwealth under the terms the Royal Aeronautical Society took place.

For the next 27 years, Kremer's sponsorship led to the construction of many muscle-powered aircraft, as well as winning the award for flying a reclining figure eight and the spectacular crossing of the English Channel in 1979. During this time, his sponsorship totaled more than £ 150,000 (equivalent to today approx. € 3,628,783). Realizing this could only be the first step in muscle power flight, he donated an additional £ 100,000 in prize money to the Royal Aeronautical Society to promote the design of more robust and practical aircraft. A speed competition was thus conceived, which was an extraordinary success. The fifth and final winner was able to reach a speed of 44 km / h on the 1,500 meter long course. More than £ 150,000 is currently up for grabs in the Kremer Prize .

Kremer was considered reluctant and avoided the limelight. The Royal Aeronautical Society made him honorary membership in 1975. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale honored him with the Paul Tissandier Diploma in 1978 and the FIA Gold Air Medal in 1987 , their highest honor. Kremer was also an honorary member of the FIA.

Henry Kremer died on April 8, 1992 in Tel Aviv and was buried in Ra'anana . He left his wife Norah and two sons and two daughters.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Flight Magazine, January 9, 1959, Flight Magazine
  2. ↑ FAI Awards List of FIA awards
personal data
SURNAME Kremer, Henry
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British entrepreneur and founder of the Kremer Prize
DATE OF BIRTH May 8, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH Daugavpils
DATE OF DEATH April 8, 1992
Place of death Tel Aviv