Fritz Gosslau (25 March 1898 – 1 December 1965) was a German engineer, known for his work on the

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug and in Germany ...

Study

Gosslau was born in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

. In 1923, he completed his engineering studies by gaining a diploma from the

Technical University of Berlin The Technical University of Berlin (official name both in English and german: link=no, Technische Universität Berlin, also known as TU Berlin and Berlin Institute of Technology) is a public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was ...

. In 1926, he obtained his PhD on the topic ''Rechnerische und experimentelle Untersuchungen über Wärmebeherrschung und Leistungssteigerung in luftgekühlten Flugmotorenzylindern'' – calculated and experimental studies on heat control and performance improvement in air-cooled aircraft engine cylinders.

Work

During the 1930s, Gosslau worked on the development of

aircraft engine An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbines, although a few have been rocket powered and in recent years ma ...

s at Siemens. When the company abandoned production of aircraft engines, he moved to '' Argus Motoren Gesellschaft''. Gosslau was part of the construction team of the Argus As 410 and 411 engines. He was also involved in the construction of a 24-cylinder air-cooled engine that developed 3,500

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are th ...

. In early 1937, Gosslau developed proposals for a remote, unmanned missile for special military use. This remote controlled target aircraft completed its maiden flight on 14 July 1939. On 9 November 1939, he proposed the development of a motorized wing-mounted missile providing a range of several hundred kilometers, and through radio-navigation, a high accuracy. For this missile, Gosslau used a

pulse jet engine 300px, Diagram of a pulsejet A pulsejet engine (or pulse jet) is a type of jet engine in which combustion occurs in pulses. A pulsejet engine can be made with few or no moving parts, and is capable of running statically (i.e. it does not need ...

(''Pulsationsschubrohres''). By the start of production, he had developed this into a highly reliable unit.US-Patent 2382707
Device for regulating internalcombustion engines
/ref> From 1942, Gosslau participated in the development team of the Fieseler Fi 103, also called V1 – an unmanned, explosive payload missile. Towards the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Gosslau became involved with its construction as a suicide weapon, and his name is connected with the establishment of the

Leonidas Squadron The ''Leonidas'' Squadron, formally known as ''5th Staffel of Kampfgeschwader 200'', was a unit which was originally formed to fly the '' Fieseler Fi 103R (Reichenberg)'', a manned version of the V-1 flying bomb, in attacks in which the pilot wa ...

.Friedrich Georg: ''Hitler's Miracle Weapons: The Secret History of the Rockets and Flying Craft of the Third Reich.'' Volume 2: ''From the V-1 to the A-9.'' Helion & Company, Solihull 2004, , S. 181ff. After the war, Gosslau joined Dürkopp, the motorcycle manufacturer, where he was chief designer from 1948. In 1954, he moved to the

Heinkel Flugzeugwerke Heinkel Flugzeugwerke () was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight, with ...

(aircraft manufacturer) and took over the development of new engines. In 1958, after the engine development branches of Heinkel and

Messerschmitt Messerschmitt AG () was a German share-ownership limited, aircraft manufacturing corporation named after its chief designer Willy Messerschmitt from mid-July 1938 onwards, and known primarily for its World War II fighter aircraft, in part ...

were acquired by

Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG (JFM, earlier JCO or JKO in World War I, English: Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works) more commonly Junkers , was a major German aircraft and aircraft engine manufacturer. It was founded there in Dessau, Germ ...

(aircraft and engine manufacturer), Gosslau became a director of Junkers until 1963, when they were converted to a stock company, a technical board of the

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

-based company. Gosslau died in

Grünwald, Bavaria Grünwald (German for ''green forest'') is a municipality in the district of Munich, in the state of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the right bank of the Isar, 12 km southwest of Munich (centre). it had a population of 11,303. Grünwal ...

, aged 67.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gosslar, Fritz 1898 births 1965 deaths Junkers people Engineers from Berlin Technical University of Berlin alumni V-weapons people