Fischamend Military Aeronautical Institute

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The kuk Military Institute Aëronautische Fischamend was the largest aviation research center of the Habsburg monarchy of Austria-Hungary .

The area comprised an airfield , airship hangars with a propeller test facility, a gas facility for hydrogen production to fill the airships , an aircraft factory, hangars, training rooms, a water tower , sidings to the Austro-Hungarian state railway Vienna-Pressburg , residential buildings for men and officers and an officers' mess .

The personnel deployed included 300 officers and 5,000 civil and military members.

Emergence

After the original location at the Vienna Arsenal was no longer sufficient, the search for a new location for the Military Aëronautical Institute began in 1908. According to press releases from the balloonist and Reichsrat member Victor Silberer , several communities in the monarchy expressed their interest.

In 1909 Fischamend was chosen . Under Mayor August Schütz, the eastern part of today's town called Markt-Fischamend applied - later, Dorf-Fischamend, west of the Fischa, also benefited considerably from the development.

The captains Hinterstoisser and Hauswirth negotiated the acquisition and use of land with the municipality and concluded contracts with the companies that were considered for the construction of the necessary buildings and infrastructure. The airfield site, the first airship hangar, a depot for gas bottles for balloon filling and a guardhouse covered the most urgent needs in this phase.

The relocation of the Austro-Hungarian Military Aëronautical Institute from the Vienna Arsenal to Fischamend was not an event of local importance. Almost all of the media at the time - newspapers, postcards and the emerging film industry - reported on this event. The first in command of the military aeronautical institute in Fischamend was Franz Hinterstoisser .

Expansion and research

After completion of the first airship hangar, the assembly of the first of the two motor balloons ordered for type testing for the airship troops, the MI Parseval , began. The Parseval and M.II Lebaudy steering balloons, which are based on German and French constructions, were manufactured under license by an Austro-Hungarian consortium of companies in order to gain experience in the aviation industry of the monarchy, which was only just emerging.

By 1914, a lively training and testing operation with balloons , airships and airplanes had taken place.

Radio communication was established with airplanes and steering balloons on a trial basis and land surveying was to be revolutionized by the photogrammetry method according to Theodor Scheimpflug .

The First World War brought the military-aeronautical establishment, which had arisen from many branch offices throughout the monarchy, a massive expansion in terms of personnel, construction and competence. The construction, modification and repair of aircraft gained particular importance. Types that were no longer suitable for the front were converted to dual-control training aircraft. Shortly before the outbreak of war, Etrich pigeons were replicated in the then still small aircraft factory.

In newly built, larger factory halls, wings and cells were reinforced, engines overhauled and repaired. The repair shop was able to manufacture any type of aircraft components made of wood or metal of the highest quality. In order to maintain the high quality throughout the monarchy, a training facility for aircraft mechanics was attached to the military-aeronautical institute, also known as the aviation arsenal, towards the end of the war.

An important branch of production was the manufacture of propellers . Step by step, the production by handwork with the highest demands was replaced by high technologies with modern measuring methods. With a copy milling machine the production of propeller blanks should be accelerated. Thousands of propellers could be made with a propeller decopying machine.

In addition to manufacturing, repairing, taking over and distributing aircraft and gas generation for the balloon companies, research and development were the main scientific and technical tasks of the aviation arsenal.

Aerodynamics luminaries of the monarchy such as Knoller , Kármán and Petróczy and Ferdinand Porsche cultivated close connections to the aviation arsenal, developed their theories here and got their prototypes made.

The propeller test stand with wind tunnel was an important research facility . Based on the statements of Knoller, Kármán and Asbóth , the propeller efficiency of the Austro-Hungarian aircraft was decisively improved with partly lower engine power.

The last major project of the military aeronautical institute in Fischamend was the development of helicopters. Observation tether helicopters should replace gas observation balloons.

Körting disaster and the fall of the monarchy

During the Körting catastrophe on June 20, 1914, the Körting military balloon and a Farman double-decker airplane collided while taking photographs for the purpose of land surveying next to the Fischamend airfield . After this airship accident with nine deaths, a week before the assassination of the heir apparent in Sarajevo, the era of the Austro-Hungarian airships came to an end.

With the end of the world war and the monarchy, the kuk aviation arsenal had to be destroyed. Research results benefited the winners. All of the facilities were sold or re-used.

In Fischamend, some buildings and street names still remind of the military-aeronautical institute.

Airships and airship hangars

In 1908 the Austro-Hungarian War Ministry decided, as the last major European power, to procure airships. From the end of 1909, the airship station in the Fischamend military aeronautical establishment was the stationing site of four military and one private motorized balloon. Two airship hangars were built. In 1911 the decision was made to limit oneself to airplanes and observation balloons for military purposes. After the Körting disaster in 1914, the airship hangars were used for other purposes.

Military airship MI Parseval

The construction of the first airship of the kuk Luftschifferabteilung was based on plans by the Prussian major August von Parseval . His first voyage took place on November 26th, 1909. The Fischamender school director, fire brigade captain and music teacher Adolf Kaiser dedicated his march “To the stars” to this event.

Military airship M.II Lebaudy

The airship supplied by the Motor-Luftfahrzeuggesellschaft was built according to the system of the French Ing. Julliot and the Lebaudy brothers. It was a joint production of the Austrian-American Rubber Company and Daimler Motorengesellschaft - first run on May 30, 1910.

Military airship M.III Körting

Its first voyage took place on January 1, 1911. On June 20, 1914, it collided with an airplane and crashed.

Military airship M.IV System Boemches

Its first voyage took place on April 16, 1912.

Private airship Stagl-Mannsbarth

The construction of what was then the largest impact airship in the world came from Ing.Hans Otto Stagl and Oblt. Franz Mannsbarth and was to be sold to the Austro-Hungarian military. It was manufactured by the Österreichisch-American Gummiwarengesellschaft and Daimler Motorengesellschaft - first run on March 10, 1911.

Körting airship hangar

The Körting airship hall with sentry box and balloon gas bottle depot was the first large building of the military aeronautical institute when it was completed in August 1909. It served the Austro-Hungarian airships Parseval , Lebaudy and Körting as a depot, filling station and home.

After the Körting airship accident, the hall was used for other research projects and as an aviation material depot. From 1916 to 1918 it housed the propeller test bench including a horizontal wind tunnel.

Stagl Mannsbarth airship hangar

Since the Körting hall in Fischamend was too small and a private airship could not be accommodated in a military structure, this hall was built for the private airship Stagl-Mannsbarth. An underground pipe was laid from the gas factory to supply hydrogen gas.

The private airship was to be offered to the Austro-Hungarian military administration - however, in 1911 they decided against any further airship purchases. In order to save the owners of the hall and airship from a financial crash, the military bought the hall to use it as an airship hall for the Austro-Hungarian military airship M.IV Boemches and after 1914 as a depot.

With the airship Stagl-Mannsbarth, attempts were made to aerophotogrammetry and passenger traffic.

Gas factory

In the 19th century was used as a lifting gas for balloons mostly coal gas . In order to increase the efficiency of the Austro-Hungarian military airships, the construction of a hydrogen production plant was already found to be inevitable during the planning in 1908.

In 1910 the system, consisting of a boiler house, energy center, water gas and hydrogen gas system, chimney and gasometer, was completed. Furthermore, underground gas lines to the compressor station and airship hangars were built.

Aircraft factory

The aircraft production in Fischamend began in 1912 with the manufacture of Etrich monoplanes. The motives of the Austro-Hungarian aviation troops to manufacture aircraft themselves were varied. Obtaining budget funds for new acquisitions for the monarchy's joint armed forces was immensely difficult, and generously endowed budgets were available for maintenance and repairs. Arguments for manufacturing in Fischamend were based on the military's distrust of private business and industry. Personal animosities as well as military gratitude for secrecy were decisive.

Almost all kuk aircraft types, prototypes as well as German and captured aircraft can be verified in Fischamend for trials and trials.

Etrich Monoplan (Fd) types 70, 71, 72. Etrich-Taube

Due to strict confidentiality, no precise statements can be made about the exact start of production and the number of items.

Lohner BI (Fd) type 73.

Following on from the success of the Lohner arrow flyer, Lohner developed the Type B (type 11.) for military purposes. These were delivered from September 1912 to May 1913. It did not prove itself in the rough everyday operation.

The remaining aircraft were to be retired from mid-1915. Due to the lack of training planes, some of the Fischamender aircraft factory were converted into double-control training planes and others were completely rebuilt. The changes included reinforcements of the fuselage and wings. From December 1915 to October 1916, 36 conversions and new constructions as type 73 were delivered to the pilot replacement companies.

Lohner B.II (Fd) type 74.

The Lohner Mountain Airplane Type C was delivered from February 1914. After a crash in March 1914, in which the pilot and passenger were killed, the type was banned from flying. After the modified aircraft did not meet the requirements of the front after changes based on the test results, the remaining aircraft were withdrawn from the front in May 1915 and converted from the beginning of 1916 to March 1917 in the Fischamend aircraft factory to 53 double-control training aircraft, type 74.

Brandenburg BI types 75, 76, 176, 77, 78, 79. and 279.

The tried and tested Brandenburg FD of the Hansa-Brandenburg , which were purchased by the kuk aviation troops as multi-purpose aircraft, were overhauled in the spring of 1916 in the Fischamender aircraft factory.

Some of the improved FDD types were used as unarmed reconnaissance aircraft by the Austro-Hungarian aviation companies and were positively assessed.

From August 1916, the Fischamend aircraft factory converted aircraft in need of repair into training aircraft. At the same time, by the end of the war, the Fischamender aircraft factory built hundreds of Brandenburg BIs, some of them as training aircraft with double taxation, under license. Originally delivered with a 100 hp Mercedes engine, Daimler engines from 100 to 145 hp were installed for overhauls or new builds. This aircraft was the most important and most built training aircraft of the Austro-Hungarian aviation troops. It reached top speeds of 120 km / h.

Propeller testing institute

The further development of aircraft in the years 1909 to 1918 required the aerodynamic improvement of propellers. The largest testing facility for propellers was located on the premises of the Austro-Hungarian Military Aëronautical Institute in Fischamend. This was set up in the former airship hangar.

By ministerial decree of June 6, 1909, a chair for airship and automotive engineering was set up at the Technical University in Vienna. The first drafts for an aeromechanical laboratory were made in 1910 by the board of directors, Professor Richard Knoller . The centerpiece of this system was a wind tunnel in which aircraft parts, engines and propellers in natural size and in models were examined. The concept devised and implemented by Knoller was conceptually adopted by Ludwig Prandtl and is used in many foreign wind tunnels under the Göttingen wind tunnel.

Since large sums of money had to be spent on propellers, the ministry endeavored to obtain optimized propellers.

In Fischamend, propellers with a straight leading edge and a high degree of efficiency have been demonstrably developed and manufactured. These were especially important for the development of helicopters.

Richard Knoller was a pioneer and is considered the founder of aviation science in Austria.

Helicopter development

In Fischamend, Prof. Knoller's propeller laboratory , the wind tunnel and specialists such as Theodore von Kármán , Oszkár Asbóth , Karl Balabán and Wilhelm Žurovec provided the necessary conditions for successful development.

The aerodynamicists Oblt. Dr. Theodore von Kármán and lieutenant engineer Wilhelm Źurovec were supposed to construct a prototype under the command of the aviation arsenal Petróczy , taking into account the propeller laboratory .

The concept envisaged setting up a generator powered by a gasoline engine on the ground and conducting the electrical energy via tether ropes to an electric motor in the aircraft. Also Oeffag and Austro Daimler under Ferdinand Porsche was involved in the development.

Between July 1917 and March 1918, 50 flights were carried out in Fischamend's large balloon hangar. Heights of more than 10 meters were reached.

PKZ-1

In August 1917, MAN in Mátyásföld received the order to build a man-carrying helicopter. The aircraft, which was completed in February 1918, is referred to in post-war literature as the Petróczy-Kármán-Źurovec PKZ-1. The PKZ-1 captive helicopter weighed 650 kg, 195 kg of which was the Daimler electric motor with 190 to 250 HP (140 to 184 kW) without cooling. In flight, the energy should be transmitted from the ground through an 800 m long aluminum cable.

During the first flight, the device took off at a record speed of 700 rpm and rose to a height of 50 cm. After three men climbed on board, the helicopter continued to hover. After further flight attempts, the overstrained engine burned down and could no longer be repaired due to the war-related shortage of materials.

PKZ-2

The PKZ-2 was invented by Wilhelm Źurovec. In the design he used the concept of counter-rotating rotors to compensate for the counter torque. A tubular frame, which was easily dismantled for transport and braced with ropes, sat on a central air sac, three branches were supported with smaller air sacs. These were inflated by a pump on the rotor drive. The shackles were attached to the outriggers. By means of pulleys on the ground, they were played out and drawn in in the same direction with an electrically driven winch.

On June 10, 1918, the PKZ-2 was presented to a high-ranking military delegation. Because the engines overheated, their performance decreased. The helicopter got out of control and was badly damaged in the crash. It was not repaired.

Historical processing

The Fischamender Historikerverein ILF is currently working on the role of Fischamends in the development of aviation with a focus on the Austro-Hungarian Military Aëronautische Anstalt.

The HGM Zeltweg shows a special exhibition on the Fischamend military aeronautical institute.

In the visitor world of Vienna Airport , top exhibits from the period 1908–1918 from Fischamend were on view as part of the “Movement in the Air” exhibition.

A plaque is mounted on the visitor terrace of the airport showing an aerial photo of the aviation arsenal from 1916. It points to the Fischamend in sight.

The book "The Military Aëronautische Anstalt Fischamend" Volume 1 is devoted to the Austro-Hungarian airships from 1908 to 1914 in the Military Aëronautische Anstalt.

Numerous model replicas of the kuk military-aeronautical institute were realized as part of diploma theses by students of the HTL Mödling .

The municipality of Fischamend uses boards in the local area to point out the history of the Military Aëronautical Institute.

Under the motto Fliegerstadt Fischamend, the Fischamender Stadtbote reports on historical facts about the military-aeronautical institute in every issue.

Publications

  • Rudolf Ster, Reinhard Ringl: The kuk military-aeronautical institute Fischamend. Volume 1 - The Great Age of the Austro-Hungarian Airships 1908–1914. Carina-Verlag, Hetzendorf 2017, ISBN 978-3-9503429-8-7 .
  • Alexander Kustan, Reinhard Ringl: Franz Hinterstoisser - Commander of the Austro-Hungarian Military Aëronautischen Anstalt - Commander of the Austro-Hungarian Airship Department 1897–1903 and 1907–1912. ILF self-published, Fischamend 2019, ISBN 978-3-200-06445-4 .

Web link

http://www.ilf.or.at/

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Rudolf Ster, Reinhard Ringl: The kuk military aeronautical institute Fischamend . Ed .: ILF. tape 1 . carinaverlag, Hetzendorf 2017, ISBN 978-3-9503429-8-7 , p. 200 .
  2. ↑ a b c exhibition "The kuk military-aeronautical institute Fischamend" in the HGM Zeltweg
  3. ↑ a b c Exhibition “Movement in the Air” in the visitor world of Vienna Airport in spring 2019
  4. ^ The propeller copy milling machine - Fischamend Aviation Community. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  5. ↑ The propellers-Dekopiermaschine - Interest Group Aviation Fischamend. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Fischamend . In: Wikipedia . February 2, 2020 ( Special: Permanent Link / 196434524 [accessed February 3, 2020]).
  7. ↑ Prof. Melichar and ILF on the trail of the kuk aviation arsenal - interest group aviation Fischamend. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Google Maps. Retrieved February 3, 2020 (de-US).
  9. ↑ Rudolf Ster, Reinhard Ringl: The Austro-Hungarian Military Aeronautical Institution Fischamend . Ed .: ILF. tape 1 . carinaverlag, ISBN 978-3-9503429-8-7 , p. 200 .
  10. ^ Exhibition "The kuk military aeronautical establishment Fischamend" in the HGM Zeltweg
  11. ↑ Home. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  12. ↑ "Propeller Test Bench - Propeller Wind Tunnel " - Association of Aviation Fischamend. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  13. ↑ Home. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  14. ↑ Fesselhubschrauber PKZ - interest group aviation Fischamend. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  15. ^ Exhibition "Movement in the Air" in the visitor world of Vienna Airport in spring 2019
  16. ^ Exhibition "The kuk military aeronautical establishment Fischamend" in the HGM Zeltweg
  17. ↑ Home. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  18. ↑ Aviation interest group Fischamend. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  19. ↑ Home. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  20. ^ New exhibition at Vienna Airport “Movement in the Air” - Aviation Fischamend interest group. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  21. ^ New exhibition at Vienna Airport “Movement in the Air”. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  22. ↑ HTL-Duo contributes airship hall. March 21, 2019, accessed February 3, 2020 .
  23. ↑ “The Aviation Arsenal” at Vienna Airport - Fischamend Aviation Interest Group. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  24. ↑ "Fischamend Aviation Interest Group": "The Aviation Arsenal" at Vienna Airport. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  25. ↑ Publications - Interest Group Aviation Fischamend. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  26. ↑ Book presentation "The Austro-Hungarian Military Aëronautische Anstalt Fischamend, Volume 1 - The Great Era of the Austro-Hungarian Airships 1908–1914" - Association of Aviation Fischamend. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  27. ↑ A brilliant presentation of airship travel 1908–1914 in Fischamend - Fischamend Aviation Interest Group. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  28. ↑ Book presentation on March 30th in the Army History Museum! Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  29. ^ The Stagl-Mannsbarth-Luftschiffhalle in the military aeronautical institute Fischamend - interest group aviation Fischamend. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  30. ↑ The legendary Körting airship hangar of the Fischamend Military Aëronautical Institute - Fischamend Aviation Interest Group. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  31. ↑ "Propeller Test Bench - Propeller Wind Tunnel " - Association of Aviation Fischamend. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  32. ↑ Model building exhibition: Aviation in the HTL. January 21, 2017, accessed February 3, 2020 .
  33. ↑ Diploma thesis: Era of the airships. March 15, 2018, accessed February 3, 2020 .
  34. ↑ HTL creates space for the airships. December 8, 2018, accessed February 3, 2020 .
  35. ↑ Prof. Melichar and ILF on the trail of the kuk aviation arsenal - interest group aviation Fischamend. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  36. ↑ Fischamend. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  37. ↑ a b Publications - Aviation Interest Group Fischamend. In: ilf.orf.at. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .

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