Karl Arnstein

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Arnstein, Karl (4727316897) .jpg

Karl Arnstein (born March 24, 1887 in Prague , † December 12, 1974 in Bryan , Ohio ) was one of the most important engineers of zeppelin and airship construction in Germany and the USA.

Career

Karl Arnstein was the son of poor Jewish parents. He studied engineering at the Technical University in Prague (graduating with "summa cum laude" in 1910) and at the same time attended lectures on mathematics, philosophy and education at the German University there . In 1912 he was awarded the title "cum laude" for Dr.-Ing. PhD. From 1911 he was assistant to Prof. Joseph Melan at the Institute for Bridge Construction at the TH Prague. Here he dealt with the design of bridges and won a competition for the Lorraine Bridge in the Swiss capital Bern. From 1911 he became chief engineer at Eduard Züblin in Strasbourg. During this time he constructed the Langwieser Viaduct on the Chur – Arosa railway line ; At that time this bridge was the widest span railway bridge in the world and the first made of reinforced concrete.

Graf Zeppelin recognized Arnstein's abilities, particularly in the areas of lightweight construction and statics, and called him to Friedrichshafen in 1915, where he became chief designer at Zeppelin airship construction . Here he was significantly involved in the development of the airships LZ 104 , LZ 120 "Bodensee" and LZ 126 / ZR-3 "USS Los Angeles" .

In 1924 Arnstein went to Akron , Ohio, as a senior engineer (and later Vice-President) at the newly established Good Year Zeppelin Corporation . There he constructed the airship hangar, 360 m long, 100 m wide and 60 m high, which was completed in 1929, as well as the designs for 230 impact and 80 rigid airships, including those of the USS Akron , while constantly improving the support structures using aluminum alloys and the USS Macon for the US Navy, the latter being the only flying aircraft carrier to date.

From 1940 until his retirement in 1957, Arnstein was head of the Goodyear Aircraft Corporation. Under his direction, stratospheric balloons, microlight helicopters, seaplanes, 4,000 Corsair fighter planes for the Navy, but also streamlined trains (New Haven Comet train ) and prefabricated aluminum houses were built.

Arnstein received an honorary doctorate from RWTH Aachen University as early as 1927. In 1930 he became an American citizen. Since 1919 he was married to Bertha Marie ("Bertl") Jehle (1898–1999), his sister-in-law Olga Jehle married his colleague Paul Jaray , aerodynamicist at Luftschiffbau Zeppelin as early as 1912 .

The Arnstein couple had four children, including the immunologist K. Frank Austen . Karl Arnstein's special private interest was in the fine arts, he was a knowledgeable collector, especially of French prints.

swell

  • Philo-Lexicon. Handbook of Jewish Knowledge . Frankfurt am Main: Jüdischer Verlag, 1992 (reprint by Philo-Verlag, 1936)
  • Killy, Walter (Ed.): German Biographical Encyclopedia (DBE). Munich: DTV, 2001 (not consistently reliable here)
  • Biographical Sketch of Dr. Arnstein (with photo)
  • Art collection, data of the wife: [1]
  • The Bryan Times (Bryan, Ohio) December 13, 1974 (for date and place of death)

literature

  • Dale Topping, When Giants Roamed the Sky - Karl Arnstein and the Rise of Airships from Zeppelin to Goodyear (Eric Brothers)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://rave.ohiolink.edu/archives/ead/OhAkUAS0012 accessed on January 3, 2017
personal data
SURNAME Arnstein, Karl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian engineer in the German and American zeppelin and impact airship construction
DATE OF BIRTH March 24, 1887
PLACE OF BIRTH Prague
DATE OF DEATH December 12, 1974
Place of death Bryan, Ohio