Hermann Lerbs

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Hermann Lerbs (born August 8, 1900 in Hönisch , † December 10, 1968 in Hamburg ) was a German physicist .

Live and act

Hermann Lerbs began studying mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Hanover in 1918 and for some time at the University of Göttingen . After graduating as a technical physicist in Hanover in 1924, he worked as an assistant at the physical institute there. In 1927 Lerbs went to Hamburg to the Hamburgische Schiffbau-Versuchsanstalt (HSVA) under the direction of Günther Kempf . Here he was initially concerned with the development of a speed measuring device for Bremen, which is under construction . Lerbs constructed a dynamic pressure log that worked reliably and was marketable. After the ship's maiden voyage in 1929, cavitation damage occurred to the propellers, which led to the replacement of the propellers. Lerbs carried out systematic experiments on this and also dealt with this problem during his doctorate in 1935 at the Technical University in Hanover.

In 1939 Lerbs became the second managing director of HSVA. In the same year, his investigations led to the construction of a ring-shaped, six-meter-high circulating tunnel, which enabled investigations using propeller models. Lerbs designed comparable systems for research institutes in Sweden and the Netherlands . The physicist completed his habilitation in Hanover in 1943 and was given a teaching position in 1944.

Since after the end of the Second World War until 1951 no ships could be built in Germany, Lerbs first went to England . Here he worked at the Admiralty Experiment Works in Haslar until 1948 . He then went to Washington, DC , where he did research at the David Taylor Model Basin. Here he created the most important works on propeller theory and received a call from the University of Berkeley , which he did not accept. In 1955 Lerbs became professor at the University of Hamburg . He was in charge of the propulsion and propeller department and took over the management of HSVA in November 1955. From 1961 to 1966 Lerbs took over the chairmanship of the Shipbuilding Society and then became its honorary member.

On September 30, 1968, Lerbs stopped teaching for health reasons and died a few months after leaving the HSVA in his hometown.

Importance to science

Hermann Lerb's research can be regarded as groundbreaking for the vortex theory of the propeller. Both improvements to propellers and exact calculations for the design of specific propellers for a given ship were possible due to his scientific theories.

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personal data
SURNAME Lerbs, Hermann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German physicist
DATE OF BIRTH August 8, 1900
PLACE OF BIRTH Honorable
DATE OF DEATH December 10, 1968
Place of death Hamburg