Reinhold Tiling
Reinhold Tiling (born June 13, 1893 in Absberg , Franconia ; † October 11, 1933 in Osnabrück ) was a German engineer , pilot and rocket pioneer .
Life
Reinhold Tiling was born in Absberg in today's Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district in 1893 as the son of a pastor. When he was called up for military service at the beginning of the First World War , he had just started studying mechanical engineering and electrical engineering . In 1915 he volunteered as a fighter pilot for the air force that was being set up .
After the war ended, Tiling initially earned his living as an aerobatic pilot . He soon became known nationwide because of his daring demonstrations. In 1926, Tiling became flight manager at Netter Heide Airport in Osnabrück. Presumably inspired by Hermann Oberth's book The Rocket for Planetary Spaces , he began to turn to rocket technology in 1924 and started his first experiments with rockets in 1928. Tiling developed reusable rocket planes that were supposed to take off as rockets and land with their wings folded out. This principle was used by NASA for flights of the space shuttle until mid-2011 .
To ensure a safe and undamaged landing of his missiles, Tiling developed two types of missiles:
- In the case of the so-called rocket aircraft, two wings, which previously served as a tail unit, folded down at a right angle from the rocket after the flight had ended. So it could slide to earth like a glider .
- In the so-called gyroplane, the tail unit spread like a propeller after the end of the flight. This created a rotation that slowed the missile. In 1929 Tiling applied for a patent for the gyroplane .
His rockets achieved the necessary thrust and a sufficient burn time through a groundbreaking improvement of conventional powder rockets. A massive powder charge extended the burn time, but had a small thrust. The so-called “soul”, a through hole in the powder, increased the thrust, but lasted only a short time. By combining individual components of both systems in different chambers, Tiling achieved an optimal ratio of thrust and burning time.
Since 1929 Gisbert Freiherr von Ledebur (1899–1980) made a workshop available to him at his Arenshorst Castle in Bohmte near Osnabrück. After a few successful demonstrations in June 1929, during which his missiles reached a height of up to 1,000 meters, the then state of Oldenburg offered him an experimental field on the East Frisian island of Wangerooge . There rockets, which were intended for the transport of mail, reached a height of 8000 m and flew up to 8 km.
On March 13, 1931, Tiling and his colleague Karl Poggensee near Berlin succeeded in launching a solid rocket. The missile flew for eleven seconds and reached an altitude of 1,800 meters. More rocket launches were made in the weeks that followed.
Tiling's breakthrough came on April 15, 1931 on the Ochsenmoor on Dümmer south of Hude with the first launch of a mail rocket that safely carried 188 postcards. In numerous other launches, Tiling was able to prove the performance and reliability of its rockets. He was now famous all over Germany and showed his rockets at many public flight demonstrations. The experiments have now also met with great interest from military authorities. The Reichsmarine had been promoting the development of so-called "arrow missiles" since 1929 . Despite the support of friends and patrons, Tiling struggled with financial difficulties throughout his career.
While preparing for a demonstration, an explosion occurred on October 10, 1933 in his workshop at Arenshorst Castle, presumably due to overheating when pressing the powder to fill a rocket . Reinhold Tiling, his assistant Angela Buddenböhmer and his mechanic Friedrich Kuhr suffered extremely severe burns, which they succumbed to the following day. The cast iron grave cross Tilings on the Hasefriedhof in Osnabrück shows the representation of a rocket.
The remains of the workshop at that time are still preserved at Arenshorst Castle in Bohmte. A plaque commemorates the work of Reinhold Tiling.
Honors
A crater of the earth's moon is named after Reinhold Tiling, which lies on the back of the moon at 53 ° 06'S 132 ° 36'W.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Tiling, Reinhold |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German engineer, pilot and rocket pioneer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 13, 1893 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Absberg , Franconia |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 11, 1933 |
| Place of death | Osnabrück |