Hermann Blenk

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Hermann Blenk (born December 9, 1901 in Bad Hersfeld , † October 6, 1995 in Braunschweig ) was a German physicist, aerospace engineer and university professor. He was president of the German Research Institute for Aviation in Braunschweig.

Life

He studied 1920-1924 mathematics and physics in Göttingen and in 1924 at Ludwig Prandtl Dr. phil. PhD. From 1924 to 1936 Blenk was a research associate at the German Aviation Research Institute (DVL) in Berlin- Adlershof , where he last headed the Aerodynamic Institute.

Activity in Braunschweig (1936–1945)

After the National Socialists came to power , German aviation research was to be expanded. It was decided to set up a further research facility in addition to the Aerodynamic Research Institute (AVA) in Göttingen, the DVL in Berlin-Adlershof and the German Research Institute for Gliding (DFS) in Darmstadt. The founding meeting for the new "German Research Institute for Aviation e. V. “(DFL) took place on February 10, 1936 in Berlin. At the instigation of Prime Minister Dietrich Klagges, the city of Braunschweig, where the large research facility in Völkenrode was built, was awarded the contract. The DFL's task was basic research in the fields of fluid mechanics, aircraft construction, aircraft engines and aircraft armament. On May 14, 1936, Blenk was appointed to the DFL board. The construction of the new facility was entrusted to him. In 1936 he was given a lectureship in aerodynamics at the Technical University of Braunschweig . From 1936 to 1945 he was a full professor in the Reich Service and head of the Institute for Aerodynamics. In 1938, Blenk was given the management of the DFL, which was renamed "Aviation Research Institute Hermann Göring" (LFA) in the same year. Blenk was in charge of the DFL / LFA until the end of the Second World War , although he was never a member of the NSDAP despite the urging of Prime Minister Klagges . At the end of the war, the LFA was the largest aeronautical research institute in Europe and had around 1500 employees.

Worked in Braunschweig after the end of the war

After the end of the Second World War, research results and test facilities of the dissolved LFA, especially wind tunnels, were taken over by the Allies. The aviation department of the TH Braunschweig was dissolved; aeronautical research was forbidden to Germans for many years. Blenk worked from 1945 to 1947 for the British Ministry of Supply , Station Völkenrode. From 1947 to 1953 he worked at the Federal Research Center for Agriculture (FAL) in Braunschweig. In the early 1950s, Blenk made a significant contribution to rebuilding aviation research, including the re-establishment of the Scientific Society for Aviation in Braunschweig in 1952 . V. (WGL) belonged. From 1953 to 1958 Blenk was President and from 1958 to 1969 Vice President of the DFL, which had resumed its activities. (The entry in the register of associations was retained.) He was the founder and from 1953 to 1969 head of the Institute for Flight Mechanics there. In 1955 he was appointed full professor for applied mechanics at the TH Braunschweig. He retired in 1970. From 1969 to 1972 he was head of the research center and member of the board of the German Research and Research Institute for Aviation and Space Travel . V. (DFVLR), today's DLR.

Blenk was one of the founding members of the Braunschweigische Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft (BWG) from 1944 , of which he was president from 1967 to 1971.

In addition to scientific publications, Blenk wrote a children's book in 1980 entitled How big is the world? in which the dimensions of the universe are made clear.

Honors

In 1961, Blenk received the Great Cross of Merit of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his research policy achievements . In 1972 he received the star for the Cross of Merit. He was made an honorary member of the WGL in 1962. On December 8, 1989, he was awarded the Braunschweig Citizens' Medal. Hermann-Blenk-Straße, which runs south of Braunschweig-Wolfsburg Airport , was named after him. The Hermann Blenk Research Award, endowed with 5000 euros, is awarded annually by the Lower Saxony Research Center for Aviation . Since 1944 he was a full member of the Braunschweig Scientific Society .

literature

  • Braunschweiger Aviation History Working Group V. (Ed.): Braunschweigische Luftfahrtgeschichte , Braunschweig 2010, ISBN 978-3-941737-18-1 .
  • Peter Hamel: On the 100th birthday of Hermann Blenk . In: Announcements 1/2002 of the German Aerospace Society - Lilienthal-Oberth e. V. , pp. 12f., ISSN  1617-5662 . ( Online version, pdf, 1.3 MB )
  • Norman-Mathias Pingel: Blenk, Hermann . In: Braunschweiger Stadtlexikon supplementary volume , Braunschweig 1996, ISBN 3-926701-30-7 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Wind tunnel, which wrote flight history , Braunschweiger Zeitung of February 18, 2004
  2. ^ Hermann Blenk Research Award & Karl Doetsch Young Talent Award Website of the NFL
personal data
SURNAME Blenk, Hermann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German physicist, aerospace engineer and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH December 9, 1901
PLACE OF BIRTH Bad Hersfeld
DATE OF DEATH October 6, 1995
Place of death Braunschweig