Herbert Alois Wagner (22 May 1900 – 28 May 1982) was an Austrian scientist who developed numerous innovations in the fields of
aerodynamics
Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dyn ...
, aircraft structures and
guided weapons
A precision-guided munition (PGM, smart weapon, smart munition, smart bomb) is a guided munition intended to precisely hit a specific target, to minimize collateral damage and increase lethality against intended targets. During the First Gulf ...
. He is most famous for Wagner's function describing
unsteady lift
Unsteady may refer to:
*Unsteady flow
In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids—liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including ''aerodynamics'' (the stud ...
on wings and developing the
Henschel Hs 293
The Henschel Hs 293 was a World War II German radio-guided glide bomb. It is the first operational anti-shipping missile, first used unsuccessfully on 25 August 1943 and then with increasing success over the next year, ultimately damaging or sink ...
glide bomb
A glide bomb or stand-off bomb is a standoff weapon with flight control surfaces to give it a flatter, gliding flight path than that of a conventional bomb without such surfaces. This allows it to be released at a distance from the target rat ...
.
Early life
Wagner attended the Austrian Naval Academy from 1914 to 1917 and served as an Ensign in the
Austrian Navy
The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (german: kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', hu, Császári és Királyi Haditengerészet) was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the A ...
during World War I. He survived the sinking of his ship after it was struck by an enemy torpedo. After the war he returned to his studies, earning a doctorate 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 ...
when he was only 23. His doctoral thesis entitled "Origin of the dynamic lift of wings" contained the solution of one of fundamental unsteady aerodynamics problems concerned with lift force on wings that are suddenly set into motion. The result later became known as "Wagner's function".
In the mid-1920s he worked for
Rohrbach Metall-Flugzeugbau
Rohrbach Metall-Flugzeugbau was an airplane factory located in Berlin, Germany and founded in 1922 by Dr.-Ing Adolf Rohrbach. Rohrbach was a pioneer in building airplanes based on the metal stressed skin principle.
At the time of the early aircra ...
on new designs for
flying boat
A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...
s. During that time he also invented the so-called ''Wagner beam'', a method of constructing aircraft structural components from sheet metal. Following a short stint as a professor at 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 ...
, he returned to industry at
Junkers Flugzeugwerke, helping to design aircraft and aircraft engines working together with
Hans von Ohain
Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain (14 December 191113 March 1998) was a German physicist, engineer, and the designer of the first operational jet engine. Together with Frank Whittle he is called the "father of the jet engine". His first test unit ran ...
. There he played an instrumental role in the development of the first
jet engine
A jet engine is a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition can include rocket, Pump-jet, water jet, and hybrid propulsion, the term ...
s. He left Junkers following a disagreement with the management, and settled at
Henschel Flugzeugwerke in Berlin.
World War II research
Wagner helped the computer pioneer
Konrad Zuse
Konrad Ernst Otto Zuse (; 22 June 1910 – 18 December 1995) was a German civil engineer, pioneering computer scientist, inventor and businessman. His greatest achievement was the world's first programmable computer; the functional program-c ...
as an intermediary concerning orders that Zuse got from the
Reich Ministry of Aviation
The Ministry of Aviation (german: Reichsluftfahrtministerium, abbreviated RLM) was a government department during the period of Nazi Germany (1933–45). It is also the original name of the Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus building on the Wilhelmstrasse ...
.
While at Henschel, Wagner began to study remotely controlled aircraft. In July 1940 he began work on a prototype
glide bomb
A glide bomb or stand-off bomb is a standoff weapon with flight control surfaces to give it a flatter, gliding flight path than that of a conventional bomb without such surfaces. This allows it to be released at a distance from the target rat ...
that could be used to attack thinly armored warships and merchant ships. This ultimately evolved into the
Hs 293
The Henschel Hs 293 was a World War II German radio-guided glide bomb. It is the first operational anti-shipping missile, first used unsuccessfully on 25 August 1943 and then with increasing success over the next year, ultimately damaging or sink ...
guided missile
In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket ...
, used with considerable effectiveness in late 1943 and early 1944. Several notable successes were achieved, including the first sinking of a ship by a remotely controlled weapon, the destruction of
HMS ''Egret'' on 27 August 1943. Another notable success for the Hs 293 was the sinking of the transport
HMT ''Rohna'' with the loss of over 1000 soldiers, sailors and crewmen.
However, the Allies developed several
electronic countermeasures
An electronic countermeasure (ECM) is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems, like infrared (IR) or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting info ...
against the Hs 293 and other radio guides weapons, such as electronic jammers. Those and the increasing Allied air superiority prevented the Hs 293 from having any significant impact in the later war years.
He also designed the
Henschel Hs 117
The Henschel Hs 117 ''Schmetterling'' (German for ''Butterfly'') was a radio-guided German surface-to-air missile project developed during World War II. There was also an air-to-air version, the Hs 117H.
The operators used a telescopic sight and ...
''Schmetterling'' surface-to-air guided missile.
Post-war activities
After the war, Wagner was the first of many German scientists brought to America as part of
Operation Paperclip
Operation Paperclip was a secret United States intelligence program in which more than 1,600 German scientists, engineers, and technicians were taken from the former Nazi Germany to the U.S. for government employment after the end of World Wa ...
, arriving at Frederick, Maryland on 18 May 1945 with seven large cases of blueprints and other technical data. Wagner and his team were moved to the Special Devices Center, a U.S.-Navy run research unit housed at the Castle Gould and Hempstead House, the former estate of
Daniel and Florence Guggenheim at Sands Point, Long Island. There he supported U.S. efforts to deploy glide bombs against Japan.
Wagner then moved to the new
Naval Air Missile Test Center
Pacific Missile Test Center (PMTC) is the former name of the current Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division. The name of the center was the Naval Air Missile Test Center prior to PMTC. It is located at Naval Base Ventura County/Naval Air Stat ...
in Point Mugu, California, the centerpiece of the U.S. Navy's research into guided missiles. There he helped develop the control mechanisms for advanced missiles, several of which remain (in upgraded forms) in service today. A formerly classified FBI counterintelligence report describes his approach to his work:
An excellent German scientist of good character and who is not interested in politics... He has given no evidence of being either pro-Nazi or pro-Communist and is disinterested politically... Once belonged to the German SS for a four week’s instruction course but dropped out of same on his own volition... Is an opportunist who is interested only in science and does not subscribe to any political ideology... Since the death of his wife, Wagner has been drinking considerably but is not a drunkard.[His abridged FBI file is available through the US National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland. Record Group 65 (Records of the ]FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
). "FBI HQ: Investigative Reports; Classified Subject Files. Released under the Nazi and Japanese War Crimes Disclosure Acts. Classification 105: Foreign Counterintelligence. File 105-10525 for Herbert Alois Wagner.
Wagner left US government service and formed his own technical consulting firm, HA Wagner Company. He sold this company to
Curtiss-Wright
The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, with factories and operations in and outside the United States. Created in 1929 from the consolidation of Curtiss, Wright, and v ...
in 1957 and returned to Germany to take up a position as professor of Technical Mechanics and Space Technology at the
RWTH Aachen University
RWTH Aachen University (), also known as North Rhine-Westphalia Technical University of Aachen, Rhine-Westphalia Technical University of Aachen, Technical University of Aachen, University of Aachen, or ''Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hoch ...
. He continued to serve as technical advisor to several U.S. defense companies during this period. Wagner was awarded the
Ludwig-Prandtl-Ring
The Ludwig Prandtl Ring is the highest award of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Luft- und Raumfahrt (German Society for Aeronautics and Astronautics), awarded "for outstanding contribution in the field of aerospace engineering". The award is named ...
from the
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Luft- und Raumfahrt
German Society for Aeronautics and Astronautics (DGLR; german: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Luft- und Raumfahrt - Lilienthal-Oberth e.V.) is a German aerospace society. It was founded in 1912 under the name of ''Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft für ...
(German Society for Aeronautics and Astronautics) for "outstanding contribution in the field of aerospace engineering" in 1980. He died aged 82 on 28 May 1982.
References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Herbert A.
Aerodynamicists
Austrian emigrants to the United States
Austrian scientists
Junkers people
Messerschmitt Me 262
1900 births
1982 deaths
Operation Paperclip