Karl Friedrich Rapp (24 September 1882 in

Ehingen Ehingen (Donau) (; Swabian: ''Eegne'') is a town in the Alb-Donau district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, situated on the left bank of the Danube, approx. southwest of Ulm and southeast of Stuttgart. The city, like the entire district of ...

(Danube) – 26 May 1962 in

Locarno , neighboring_municipalities= Ascona, Avegno, Cadenazzo, Cugnasco, Gerra (Verzasca), Gambarogno, Gordola, Lavertezzo, Losone, Minusio, Muralto, Orselina, Tegna, Tenero-Contra , twintowns =* Gagra, Georgia * Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic ...

) was a German founder and owner of the

Rapp Motorenwerke GmbH Rapp Motorenwerke GmbH was a German aircraft engine manufacturer based in Munich, Bavaria. Founded in 1913, the firm changed its name in 1917 to Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH (BMW). The company later became known as after its engine-production a ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. In time this company became BMW AG. He is acknowledged by BMW AG as an indirect founder of the company.

Early life

Little is known of Karl Rapp's childhood and adolescent years. However, it is known that Rapp learned the engineering profession and was employed by Züp automotive company from approx. 1908 to 1911. It is believed he was active as a technical designer with

Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (abbreviated as DMG, also known as ''Daimler Motors Corporation'') was a German engineering company and later automobile manufacturer, in operation from 1890 until 1926. Founded by Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900) and ...

until 1912. Rapp left the Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft to head a branch of Flugwerk Deutschland GmbH.

Aircraft engine manufacturing

Flugwerk Deutschland GmbH probably transferred its headquarters from Gelsenkirchen-Rotthausen to

Brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

near Aachen. The articles of association were ratified on 15 February 1912, and the entry in the Aachen Commercial Register was effected on 5 March 1912. The object of the business was the manufacture and sale of aircraft, the construction, and sale of machinery and equipment in the areas of aircraft engineering, and the operation of airfields and aerodromes. On 20 May 1913, a branch was set up for aero-engine production at Schleissheimer Straße 288 (near the first airport on the

Oberwiesenfeld Oberwiesenfeld is a station on the Munich U-Bahn which opened on October 28, 2007. It is located at the Moosacher Straße at the northern end of the Olympiapark, Munich, Olympiapark, near the Olympic Village, Munich, Olympic Village in Am Riese ...

) in Munich-

Milbertshofen Milbertshofen (Central Bavarian: ''Muibatshofa''), Am Riesenfeld and Am Hart (Central Bavarian: ''Am Hoart'') are three boroughs situated in the north of Munich in Germany. Jointly, they form the city district 11 Milbertshofen-Am Hart. , the t ...

, and Karl Rapp and

Joseph Wirth Karl Joseph Wirth (6 September 1879 – 3 January 1956) was a German politician of the Catholic Centre Party who served for one year and six months as the chancellor of Germany from 1921 to 1922, as the finance minister from 1920 to 1921, as a ...

were given power of attorney in Munich. Rapp, working as an engineer and operations manager for the company, engaged in the construction of several biplanes and a monoplane. Rapp also designed aero-engines, one of which was the FD 1416 aero-engine. The company took participation in the General Air Show in Berlin in 1912. However, the company was dissolved by a resolution of the shareholders on 16 April 1913, and Joseph Wirth was appointed as sole liquidator. After the liquidation process had been brought to an end, the company was wound up on 8 August 1916.

Rapp Motorenwerke - the BMW foundation

Karl Rapp and

Julius Auspitzer The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the c ...

founded Karl Rapp Motorenwerke GmbH with a capital stock of RM 200,000 on 29 April 1913 on the site of Flugwerke Deutschland (after the company went into liquidation). General Consul Auspitzer was the company's sole shareholder, with the operational side of the company managed by Karl Rapp. The idea was for the new company to build and sell "engines of all types, in particular internal combustion engines for aircraft and motor vehicles", in addition to building an engine for the 2nd Kaiser's Trophy Competition, (but it was not ready in time). The company expanded rapidly and employed 370 coworkers by 1915. Several aircraft prototypes were designed in the Rapp Motorenwerke, but success eluded all these prototypes because of weaknesses in the design. At the beginning of the First World War, the company was one of the key Bavarian companies for the war effort, and appeared to have gained a certain reputation, despite the fact that none of the designs and developments achieved any real success. Although the Prussian Army Administration rejected a delivery of Rapp engines as unsuitable, the Bavarian Army Administration and the Imperial Naval Office of the Imperial Austro-Hungarian Army Administration continued to order Rapp engines licensed through Austro-Daimler. On behalf the Austrian war Ministry,

Franz Josef Popp Franz Josef Popp (14 January 1886 in Vienna – 29 July 1954 in Stuttgart) was one of three men responsible for the founding of BMW AG and the First General Director of BMW AG from 1922 to 1942. A number of different candidates have been pu ...

supervised the handling of the order in Munich. The decision by the Prussian Army Administration to order 600 units of the innovative high-altitude aero-engine (project name "BBE"), originated by the designer Max Friz, entails reorganizing the legal structure of the company. The unsuccessful managing director and shareholder Karl Rapp resigned from the company around that time, most likely due to ill-health. In this connection, Rapp-Motorenwerke is renamed Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH. On 4 October 1917, Franz Josef Popp is appointed Managing Director of the company. The new company takes over the employees and manufacturing facilities. Until the end of the war, aero-engines remain the company's only product. The BBE aero-engine was a big success under the designation

BMW IIIa BMW IIIa was an inline six-cylinder SOHC valvetrain, water-cooled aircraft engine, the first-ever engine produced by Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG, who, at the time, were exclusively an aircraft engine manufacturer. Its success laid the foundatio ...

Later life

After Rapp left the company (immediately it was renamed BMW) he became chief engineer and head of the Aeroengine Department of the L.A. Riedlinger Machine Factory where he was probably employed until October 1923. Rapp lived in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

from 1934, running a small observatory making solar observations. Karl Friedrich Rapp died in 1962 in

References

External links