Karl Maybach

Karl Maybach (born July 6, 1879 in Cologne-Deutz , † February 6, 1960 in Friedrichshafen ) was a German designer .

Life

Karl Maybach's grave of honor in Friedrichshafen's main cemetery

Karl Maybach was the eldest son of the automobile designer Wilhelm Maybach . He earned a degree in mechanical engineering and worked from 1904 to 1906 in Cannstatt for the Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft . With the knowledge he gained there as a test engineer , he moved to a design office in Paris .

In 1909 Karl Maybach became the technical director of Luftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH in Bissingen an der Enz . The aim of the company was to create special engines that were particularly suitable for airship construction . In order to be able to work better with the main customer ( Zeppelin ), Karl Maybach and the company moved to Friedrichshafen in 1912.

During the First World War he achieved a technically great success with the super-compressed aero engine Mercedes Mb.IVa .

Karl Maybach and Käthe Lewerenz married in October 1915. The couple had five children.

After the end of the First World War, Maybach turned to the development of the diesel engine . He developed reliable and modern engines for rail and ship traffic, especially for submarines. After the takeover of the Nazis Maybach turned to the construction of tank engines.

With this knowledge, Karl Maybach succeeded in maintaining his work after the Second World War through a development contract from the French army for a tank diesel engine. From December 1946 about 75 of his engineers and technicians worked at the Laboratoire de recherches balistiques et aéro-dynamiques in Vernon , he himself lived there with his family from September 1947. As early as 1950, the first civil diesel engines followed again in Friedrichshafen.

Karl Maybach left his company in 1952 after tying it to Daimler-Benz AG and thus securing the future of his workforce. He retired to his domicile in Garmisch until his death .

Karl Maybach died on February 7, 1960 at the age of 80. His grave of honor is located in the main cemetery in Friedrichshafen.

Honors

Karl Maybach stele on Maybachplatz in Friedrichshafen

During his lifetime

Awarded an honorary doctorate from the Technical University of Stuttgart (1924)
Grant of honorary citizenship of Friedrichshafen (1929)
Awarded the Great Federal Cross of Merit (1954)
Appointment as honorary professor by the Technical University of Stuttgart (1959)

Posthumously

Karl Maybach High School in Friedrichshafen
Maybachstrasse in Friedrichshafen
Maybach-Weg in Friedrichshafen
Maybachplatz with steles by Wilhelm and Karl Maybach in Friedrichshafen

literature

Erik Eckermann (Hrsg.): Technology pioneer Karl Maybach - drive systems, cars, companies. 3. Edition. Springer, Wiesbaden 2020, ISBN 978-3-658-25117-8 .
Harry Niemann : Karl Maybach - his engines and automobiles. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-613-02457-8 .
Harry Niemann: Maybach Myth. 4th edition. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-613-02275-3 .
Hans Christoph Graf von Seherr-Thoss: Maybach, Karl. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 16, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-428-00197-4 , pp. 525-528 ( digitized version ).

Web links

Commons : Karl Maybach - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Karl Maybach ( Memento from January 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) at Maybach.de
Karl Maybach at Who's Who.de
Denazification files of Karl Maybach in the online offer of the Sigmaringen State Archives
Literature by and about Karl Maybach in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

↑ Christian Vanpouille: La cité de la Madeleine de sa création à nos jours. (PDF, 3.76 MB) December 2005, accessed on July 29, 2011 (French): “You 4 au 6 December 1946, arrivent à Vernon en provenance de Fredrichschaffen, les premiers ingénieurs et techniciens allemands (~ 75) du groupe Maybach grand industriel allemand et fabricant, entre autres, de moteurs de chars… Un bâtiment complet étant réservé au professeur Karl Maybach qui n'arrivera à Vernon avec sa famille que le 29 septembre 1947 "

personal data
SURNAME	Maybach, Karl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Engine designer
DATE OF BIRTH	July 6, 1879
PLACE OF BIRTH	Cologne-Deutz
DATE OF DEATH	February 6, 1960
Place of death	Friedrichshafen

[mado-1] Christian Vanpouille: La cité de la Madeleine de sa création à nos jours. (PDF, 3.76 MB) December 2005, accessed on July 29, 2011 (French): “You 4 au 6 December 1946, arrivent à Vernon en provenance de Fredrichschaffen, les premiers ingénieurs et techniciens allemands (~ 75) du groupe Maybach grand industriel allemand et fabricant, entre autres, de moteurs de chars… Un bâtiment complet étant réservé au professeur Karl Maybach qui n'arrivera à Vernon avec sa famille que le 29 septembre 1947 "