Heini Dittmar (Born March 30, 1912,

Bad Kissingen Bad Kissingen is a German spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and seat of the district Bad Kissingen. Situated to the south of the Rhön Mountains on the Franconian Saale river, it is one of the health resorts, which beca ...

Unterfranken Lower Franconia (german: Unterfranken) is one of seven districts of Bavaria, Germany. The districts of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia make up the region of Franconia. History After the founding of the Kingdom of Bavaria the state was totall ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

– Died April 28, 1960 near

Mülheim an der Ruhr Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr () and also described as ''"City on the River"'', is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is home to many compa ...

, West Germany) was a record-breaking

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

glider pilot. Inspired by the example of his glider flying brother Edgar, Dittmar took an apprenticeship at the German Institute for Gliding (DFS). In 1932, flying his self-built glider '' Kondor'', he won a first prize at the Rhön Glider Competition. Dittmar then became a research pilot. In 1934, he,

Hanna Reitsch Hanna Reitsch (29 March 1912 – 24 August 1979) was a German aviator and test pilot. Along with Melitta von Stauffenberg, she flight tested many of Germany's new aircraft during World War II and received many honors. Reitsch was amon ...

Peter Riedel Peter Riedel (August 1905 – November 6, 1998) was a German gliding champion, and was Air Attaché for the Nazi government in Washington, D.C., before and during World War II. Between 1977 and 1985 he published the definitive history of the ...

, and

Wolf Hirth Wolfram Kurt Erhard Hirth (28 February 1900 – 25 July 1959) was a German gliding pioneer and sailplane designer. He was a co-founder of Schempp-Hirth, still a renowned glider manufacturer.Segelflugbildkalendar 2011 Hirth was born in Stuttgart ...

were members of Professor Georgii's South American Glider Expedition,Reitsch, H., 1955, The Sky My Kingdom, London: Biddles Limited, Guildford and King's Lynn, where in Argentina he achieved a new world gliding altitude record (about ). Later the same year, he achieved a new world record for long-distance using a '' Fafnir II'' and was awarded the

Hindenburg Cup The Hindenburg Cup (german: Hindenburg-Pokal) was a German aviation prize, founded in 1928 and awarded annually by President and Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg to recognize achievements in powered flight. From 1930 an additional prize was also aw ...

. In 1936, he achieved the first crossing of the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

in a glider. He then crowned his career as a glider pilot by becoming the first Gliding World Champion after his victory at the first Rhön International Gliding Competition in 1937. During and after 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 opposi ...

, Dittmar worked as an aircraft designer and

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 Testin ...

. On 2 October 1941, flying the Messerschmitt Me 163A V4 KE+SW, he became the first human to fly faster than . This record was achieved over the FAI-specified 3-km distance and was measured using an

Askania A cinetheodolite (a.k.a. ''kinetheodolite'') is a photographic instrument for collection of trajectory data. It can be used to acquire data in the testing of missiles, rockets, projectiles, aircraft, and fire control systems; in the ripple firing ...

theodolite. Later, on 6 July 1944, he reached a speed of in the Me 163B V18 bearing the ''Stammkennzeichen'' code of VA+SP, nearly losing the complete rudder surface in the process to flutter. It is unclear, however, if sufficient altitude was attained to make this a true

supersonic Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound ( Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...

flight. Dittmar died in a crash in 1960 while test-flying a light aircraft of his own design, the HD-153 Motor-Möwe, near

Essen/Mülheim airport Essen/Mülheim Airport , is a minor unscheduled airport located south-west of Essen and south-east of Mülheim, North Rhine-Westphalia. It serves the western Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region, the largest urban agglomeration in Germany. Airlines ...

.50 Jahre Deutsche Motorflugzeuge
Seite 8.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dittmar, Heini 1912 births 1960 deaths German aviation record holders German glider pilots German test pilots German World War II pilots Flight speed record holders Glider flight record holders