Franz Zeno Diemer (3 July 1889, in

Oberammergau Oberammergau is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. The small town on the Ammer River is known for its woodcarvers and woodcarvings, for its NATO School, and around the world for its 380-year tradition of ...

– 27 April 1954, in

Friedrichshafen Friedrichshafen ( or ; Low Alemannic: ''Hafe'' or ''Fridrichshafe'') is a city on the northern shoreline of Lake Constance (the ''Bodensee'') in Southern Germany, near the borders of both Switzerland and Austria. It is the district capital (''K ...

) was a flight pioneer in Bavaria, setting a number of world records, and Flight Officer for Bavarian Lifeguard Regiment.

Early life

He was born in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, the son of the painter,

Michael Zeno Diemer Michael Zeno Diemer (8 February 1867, Munich - 28 February 1939, Oberammergau) was a German painter. Now known primarily for his marine paintings and postcard designs, he was initially famous for his panoramic paintings of battles. Life and w ...

and his wife, Hermine (née Von Hillern), eldest daughter of the writer, Wilhelmine von Hillern. Trained as an engineer, in 1912 he joined the Bavarian Lifeguard Regiment, at that time a flying squadron. He was a member of "Bogohl 8" (the bomber squadron operated by the Senior Military Command) with the rank of Flying Officer. In July 1921 he joined Dornier in

as test pilot and for trial flying of new aircraft. In 1922, after Dornier's move to Marina di Pisa

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, he worked as test pilot, head of the aerodynamics department and manager of the advertising department. From 1935 on he worked exclusively as manager of the advertising department and was editor in chief of the company newspaper "Dornier-Post" which appeared from the autumn of 1935 until July 1938. From August 1939 to the end 1944, he was in the German Air Force, but post

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

he rejoined Dornier and assumed charge of the suggestions scheme, retiring in March 1946.

Functions at BMW

Test pilot for BMW. On 17 June 1919 he flew a DFW F37Lewin identifies the aircraft only as "the DFW airframe", while Norbye claims it was "a wartime Fokker biplane". powered by a

BMW IV The BMW IV was a six-cylinder, water-cooled inline aircraft engine built in Germany in the 1920s. Power was in the 180 kW (250 hp) range. World record On 17 June 1919 Franz Zeno Diemer flew a DFW F37, powered by a BMW IV engine to ...

engine to an unofficial world record height of from Oberwiesenfeld, reaching that altitude in 89 min. On 13 September 1919 he set a world altitude record for a passenger aircraft (8 people on board, ) in a

Junkers F.13 The Junkers F 13 was the world's first all-metal transport aircraft, developed in Weimar Republic, Germany at the end of World War I. It was an advanced Cantilever#Aircraft, cantilever-wing monoplane, with enclosed accommodation for four passenge ...

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 foundati ...

aircraft engine (the pilot, however, may have been Moes).BMW Historical Archives

Later in Life

Died in

Notes

References

External links