Herbert Gropp

Herbert Ernst Gropp (born December 13, 1908 in Hermannsdorf ; † June 27, 1940 near Graal ) was a German engineer and aircraft designer.

Life

Gropp was born as the son of the authorized signatory Ernst Gustav Gropp and grew up in Siebenhöfen . From 1914 to 1921 he completed elementary school in Geyer and then the Verbands- Realschule in Thum , where in 1926 he obtained the upper secondary qualification . In line with his career aspirations as an aircraft construction engineer, he completed an 18-month traineeship at Junkers Flugzeugwerk AG in Dessau from 1926 . During this time he was also a member of the local interest group for glider and ran into Steutz a flight training on the Schulgleiter "Hang Wind" with which he the Gleitfliegerabzeichen A flown to. Gropp also worked as a helper in the annual Rhön competitions held on the Wasserkuppe in 1926 and 1927 , in which the association with the sailors “ Der Dessauer ” and “Anhalt” took part.

After completing his internship in September 1927, he left the association in October and began studying mechanical engineering at the State Academy for Technology in Chemnitz . A flight engineering working group (FAG) had existed at the facility since 1928 , which he joined. On the side, Gropp attended a special course at the Jena Distance Learning School from 1928 to 1930 in the Aviation School department. In addition, to improve his practical skills, he worked in a locksmith's shop with a repair shop in Tannenberg during the summer holidays . The skills he acquired during this activity enabled him to build his first two aircraft designs: a light biplane , which was built from 1929 to 1930, and the motorized glider " Wren " from 1930, which he transferred to FAG Chemnitz. In March 1931, Gropp successfully completed his studies and then began developing two-stroke engines in the test department of the DKW engine works in Zschopau , which he worked until 1933. At the beginning of 1934 he found a job as a technical employee at Junkers Flugzeugwerke. In the same year he married Charlotte Pönisch.

Through an article written by Gropp and published in the aviation magazine Flugsport , its editor Oskar Ursinus became aware of him and offered him a job with his newspaper. Gropp then ended his employment at Junkers in December 1935 and in January of the following year he became an editorial engineer for aviation in Frankfurt am Main . At the same time, as assistant to Oskar Ursinus at the Muscle Strength Institute of the Polytechnische Gesellschaft zu Frankfurt aM, he was involved in the construction of test and measuring devices, which he also tested himself, with the problem of muscle power flight . As an editorial engineer, visiting international trade fairs and exhibitions to gain information in the aviation sector was one of his tasks. In June 1938 Gropp gave up his activity in Frankfurt and moved to Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in Rostock , where he became a project engineer in the design department.

Gropp died on June 27, 1940 during a test flight with the He 177 V2 . The heavy bomber fell into the Baltic Sea off Graal due to incorrectly adjusted propellers. The Heinkel works pilot and oldest son of Oskar Ursinus, Frithjof Ursinus, was also killed in the disaster. Gropp's son Herbert was born five months after his death.

literature

• Frank-Dieter Lemke: Positions of a German aerospace engineer. Herbert Gropp was only 32 years old. Self-published, 2nd edition, Berlin 2015, ISBN 978-3-95735-032-9 .