Theodor Borrer

Theodor Borrer (* 23. October 1894 in Röschenz ; † 22. March 1914 in Basel ) was a Swiss pioneer of aviation . From August 1913 until his fatal crash in March 1914, Borrer made over 300 flights.

Life

Theodor Borrer in late 1913 or early 1914

Theodor Borrer was born in Röschenz as the second of eight children to the married couple Theodor and Juliana Borrer-Scherrer from Grindel . In 1896 the family moved to Delsberg , where Borrer spent most of his school days. He spent his last year of school in Solothurn after his parents took over the “Zum Schlachthaus” restaurant there in 1910. According to an article by Paul Ludwig Feser in the 1964 Sankt Ursen calendar , the young Borrer was “passionately interested in everything technical” and therefore began an apprenticeship as an electrical engineer , but soon switched to the newly emerging profession of car chauffeur or taxi driver . Feser attributes this to Borrer's “motor frenzy”. In 1913 he was employed by a French family in Geneva as a private chauffeur and came to Paris with them . He attended a flight school in Mourmelon-le-Grand near Reims and received the international flight certificate on June 30, 1913 as the 39th Swiss citizen and the first from Solothurn .

On August 3, 1913, he and his flight instructor Edmond Labarre flew in his " Hanriot-Ponnier " monoplane 600 kilometers from Reims via Belfort , Pruntrut , St. Ursanne and Delémont to Solothurn, the first 350 kilometers in a row and in bad weather. When he flew with a passenger from Solothurn to Bern on August 13 of the same year , this attracted six thousand spectators at the destination; four hundred fusiliers were entrusted with the task of keeping the landing site free from the numerous onlookers. Borrer was congratulated by Federal Councilors Ludwig Forrer and Arthur Hoffmann in the Bundeshaus . From August 17th, sensational sightseeing flights followed, including to Weissenstein , where his plane landed safely. On landing, however, Labarre is said to have taken control of the aircraft. On the occasion of this event, two airmail stamps (so-called flight stamps ) were issued in Borrer's honor .

From September 7 to 11, 1913, the nineteen-year-old Borrer, who had not yet graduated from the recruiting school, took part in a maneuver of the 2nd Division near Saint-Blaise . The aviation pioneers Oskar Bider and Theodor Real were among the other participants in the maneuver . On September 28, Borrer took part in a flight day in Laufen . Then he and a passenger carried out a mail flight to Solothurn, which he had to break off after a breakdown with an emergency landing in the Rohrbachgraben between Seehof and Welschenrohr . Oskar Bider was originally intended to be the pilot for this day of the flight, but he was unable to take part because he sustained a head injury during the maneuver of the 2nd Division. According to the work Schweizer Luftfahrt (1941/42) published by the Swiss Aero Club, Bider Borrer was said to have accompanied Borrer as a passenger, but this contradicts later literature, according to which Bider was still in the hospital at that time . The aircraft was only slightly damaged during the emergency landing, Borrer and his companion were unharmed. The mail, for which a flight stamp with Borrer's name had also been printed, was not damaged. Borrer and his passenger carried the mail bags to the nearby Gänsbrunnen on the Solothurn-Münster Railway , from there they took the train to Solothurn and delivered the mail. Borrer bought a new aircraft, again a "Hanriot-Ponnier" with a more powerful Gnôme engine. With the help of friends and family, he was able to raise the required 30,000 Swiss francs .

On December 8, 1913, Borrer made the first flight from Dübendorf to Avenches and back, for which the Swiss Aero Club offered prize money of 5,000 Swiss francs.

Fatal crash

Grave in the St. Katharinen cemetery, Solothurn

On March 22, 1914, after more than 300 successful flights, Borrer took part in an international flight meeting in Basel . On this occasion, the Frenchman stepped Jean Mont Main (1888-1915), whose daring swoops to captivate the audience's attention more than were able Borrers passenger and individual flights. Borrer's heavier machine was not suitable for acrobatics. The lack of attention from the audience, however, spurred him on to imitate Montmain and, despite Montmain's warnings, also started diving. During Borrer's second dive, the engine cut out, the wings buckled and the machine crashed from a height of 300 meters. Borrer died instantly.

The Solothurner Zeitung wrote the day after the crash:

«Suddenly the wings of the apparatus were almost vertical and man and machine plunged into the depths. Old father Borrer passed out at the horrific sight. Borrer's brother and sister were also eyewitnesses to the misfortune. The crowd, which numbered in the thousands, was deeply shocked. An elderly man suffered a heart attack and was carried dead from the square. "

- Solothurn newspaper

In Swiss Aviation (1941/42) Borrer said: "The young aviator, one of the country's greatest hopes, fell as the first victim of the masses' greed for sensation". An aviation memorial erected in Solothurn in 1968 commemorates Borrer and other Solothurn aviation pioneers.

A memorial plaque in memory of Borrer has stood on Helyeplatz in Laufen since 2013.

literature

Paul Ludwig Feser: Theodor Borrer, the Solothurn aviation pioneer . In: Sankt-Ursen-Kalender . tape 111 , 1964, pp. 62-69 .
Albin Fringeli : Theodor Borrer from Grindel . A black boy, the first Solothurn pilot. In: Dr Schwarzbueb. Solothurn year and homeland book . tape 42 , 1964, pp. 98-99 .
Simon Lutz: Grindel - live and experience. Chapter: Aviation pioneer Theodor Borrer, the dream of flying. 2002, pp. 281-283.
Simon Lutz: Grindel - 100 years of aviation in the Laufental 1913–2013. Anniversary publication about the aviation pioneer Theodor Borrer and the flight day in Laufen on September 28, 1913. 2013.

Web links

Commons : Theodor Borrer - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Peter Brotschi : “One of the greatest daredevils” landed in Solothurn 100 years ago. In: Solothurner Zeitung. 3rd August 2013
Peter Brotschi: "The beauty of this floating in the sea of air keeps you captivated." In: Solothurner Zeitung. August 14, 2013

Peter Brotschi: The wings folded up in a nosedive - Theodor Borrer was dead immediately. In: Solothurner Zeitung. March 21, 2014

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c Paul Ludwig Feser: Theodor Borrer, the Solothurn aviation pioneer . In: Sankt-Ursen-Kalender . tape 111 , 1964, pp. 63 .
↑ ^a ^b Guido Brunner et al .: People from the Thierstein . Culture at the roundabout, [Breitenbach SO] 2010, p. 14th f .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Erich Tilgenkamp et al .: Swiss aviation. Ed .: Swiss Aero Club. Volume 2. Aero-Verlag, Zurich 1941/42, p. 224.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e George Struble: Origins of the Swiss aviator department: Part I . In: Tell . tape 25 , no. 3 . American Helvetia Philatelic Society, 1999, ISSN 1042-2072 , p. 11 ( swiss-stamps.us [PDF; 4.3 MB ]).
↑ Schweizer Luftfahrt writes Laupen instead of walking, but the eyewitness report by Albin Fringeli in Dr Schwarzbueb clearly shows that walking is correct.
↑ ^a ^b Paul Ludwig Feser: Theodor Borrer, the Solothurn aviation pioneer . In: Sankt-Ursen-Kalender . tape 111 , 1964, pp. 67 .
^ Albin Fringeli: Theodor Borrer from Grindel . A black boy, the first Solothurn pilot. In: Dr Schwarzbueb. Solothurn year and homeland book . tape 42 , 1964, pp. 98-99 .
^ Paul Ludwig Feser: Theodor Borrer, the Solothurn aviation pioneer . In: Sankt-Ursen-Kalender . tape 111 , 1964, pp. 68 .
↑ Erich Tilgenkamp et al .: Swiss aviation. Ed .: Swiss Aero Club. Volume 2. Aero-Verlag, Zurich 1941/42, p. 210 f
^ Solothurn newspaper . Solothurn March 23, 1914, p. 1 .
↑ Erich Tilgenkamp et al .: Swiss aviation. Ed .: Swiss Aero Club. Volume 2. Aero-Verlag, Zurich 1941/42, p. 211
↑ Solothurn aviator memorial inaugurated . In: Solothurner Zeitung . No. 269 , November 18, 1968: "Not only the memory of Theodor Borrer, our pilot No. 1, but also that of the other brave Solothurn aviators from the early days of aviation should be honored"
↑ Simon Tschopp: Flugspektakel: The daring man with his flying geese graces the Laufental. In: Basellandschaftliche Zeitung . August 29, 2013. ( bz.ch )

personal data
SURNAME	Borrer, Theodor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Swiss aviation pioneer
DATE OF BIRTH	October 23, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH	Röschenz
DATE OF DEATH	March 22, 1914
Place of death	Basel

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on December 21, 2011 .

[feser63-1] Paul Ludwig Feser: Theodor Borrer, the Solothurn aviation pioneer . In: Sankt-Ursen-Kalender . tape 111 , 1964, pp. 63 .

[menschen-2] Guido Brunner et al .: People from the Thierstein . Culture at the roundabout, [Breitenbach SO] 2010, p. 14th f .

[luftfahrt224-3] Erich Tilgenkamp et al .: Swiss aviation. Ed .: Swiss Aero Club. Volume 2. Aero-Verlag, Zurich 1941/42, p. 224.

[struble-4] George Struble: Origins of the Swiss aviator department: Part I . In: Tell . tape 25 , no. 3 . American Helvetia Philatelic Society, 1999, ISSN 1042-2072 , p. 11 ( swiss-stamps.us [PDF; 4.3 MB ]).

[5] Schweizer Luftfahrt writes Laupen instead of walking, but the eyewitness report by Albin Fringeli in Dr Schwarzbueb clearly shows that walking is correct.

[feser67-6] Paul Ludwig Feser: Theodor Borrer, the Solothurn aviation pioneer . In: Sankt-Ursen-Kalender . tape 111 , 1964, pp. 67 .

[fringeli-7] Albin Fringeli: Theodor Borrer from Grindel . A black boy, the first Solothurn pilot. In: Dr Schwarzbueb. Solothurn year and homeland book . tape 42 , 1964, pp. 98-99 .

[feser68-8] Paul Ludwig Feser: Theodor Borrer, the Solothurn aviation pioneer . In: Sankt-Ursen-Kalender . tape 111 , 1964, pp. 68 .

[luftfahrt210-9] Erich Tilgenkamp et al .: Swiss aviation. Ed .: Swiss Aero Club. Volume 2. Aero-Verlag, Zurich 1941/42, p. 210 f

[10] Solothurn newspaper . Solothurn March 23, 1914, p. 1 .

[luftfahrt211-11] Erich Tilgenkamp et al .: Swiss aviation. Ed .: Swiss Aero Club. Volume 2. Aero-Verlag, Zurich 1941/42, p. 211

[soz2-12] Solothurn aviator memorial inaugurated . In: Solothurner Zeitung . No. 269 , November 18, 1968: "Not only the memory of Theodor Borrer, our pilot No. 1, but also that of the other brave Solothurn aviators from the early days of aviation should be honored"

[13] Simon Tschopp: Flugspektakel: The daring man with his flying geese graces the Laufental. In: Basellandschaftliche Zeitung . August 29, 2013. ( bz.ch )