Walter Flinsch (7 February 1903 – 3 February 1943) was a German rower who competed in the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

and in the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

. In 1928 he was eliminated in the first

repechage Repechage (; french: repêchage, "fishing out, rescuing") is a practice in series competitions that allows participants who failed to meet qualifying standards by a small margin to continue to the next round. A well known example is the wild car ...

round of the single sculls event. Four years later he won the silver medal as member of the German boat in the coxless fours competition. He was also part of the German boat which eliminated in the

of the eight event.

Personal life

Flinsch worked as a pilot for

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...

before the

Second World War 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. During the war, he served as a

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...

in the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

. On 3 February 1943, Flinsch lost control piloting a Heinkel He 177 bomber. He successfully bailed out of the aircraft, but did not open his parachute and was killed.

References

1903 births 1943 deaths Olympic rowers for Germany Rowers at the 1928 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1932 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Germany Olympic medalists in rowing German male rowers Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Lufthansa people Luftwaffe pilots German test pilots {{Germany-rowing-Olympic-medalist-stub