Schempp-Hirth Flugzeugbau GmbH is a

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to ...

based in

Kirchheim unter Teck Kirchheim unter Teck (Swabian: ''Kircha'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, in the district of Esslingen. It is located on the small river Lauter, a tributary of the Neckar. It is 10 km (6 miles) near the Teck castle, approximately ...

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 betwe ...

History

Martin Schempp founded his own company in

Göppingen Göppingen (Swabian: ''Geppenge'' or ''Gebbenga'') is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the district Göppingen. Göppingen is home to the toy company Märklin, and it is the bi ...

in 1935, with the assistance of

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 ...

. The company was initially called "Sportflugzeugbau Göppingen Martin Schempp". In 1938, Wolf Hirth, mainly responsible for the design work, officially became a partner in the company, which then became "Sportflugzeugbau Schempp-Hirth". The company relocated to

the same year. The company's first product was the Göppingen Gö 1 ''Wolf'' glider, conceived as a rival to the ubiquitous

Grunau Baby The Schneider Grunau Baby was a single-seat sailplane first built in Germany in 1931, with some 6,000 examples constructed in some 20 countries. It was relatively easy to build from plans, it flew well, and the aircraft was strong enough to han ...

, but real success came with the Göppingen Gö 3 ''Minimoa'' the same year. During

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 ...

, the company built DFS Habicht training gliders, as well as tailplane assemblies for the Messerschmitt Bf 109. The company also built a research aircraft, the Göppingen Gö 9 to investigate

Claude Dornier Claude (Claudius) Honoré Désiré Dornier (born in Kempten im Allgäu on 14 May 1884 – 5 December 1969) was a German-French airplane designer and founder of Dornier GmbH. His notable designs include the 12-engine Dornier Do X flying boat ...

's rear-mounted " pusher" propeller plans. With its cruciform tail, this aircraft was to be a stepping-stone towards the revolutionary

Dornier Do 335 The Dornier Do 335 ''Pfeil'' ("Arrow") was a heavy fighter built by Dornier for Germany during World War II. The two-seater trainer version was called ''Ameisenbär'' ("anteater"). The ''Pfeil''s performance was predicted to be better than other ...

''Pfeil''. After the war, forbidden by the allied occupation from building aircraft, the company manufactured beds, wheelbarrows, radio cabinets, and other furniture. In 1951, the prohibitions were lifted and the company returned to sailplane building. Wolf Hirth died in 1959 but it was not until 1964 that Martin Schempp found a new designer: Klaus Holighaus who had just graduated from Darmstadt Technical University, where he was a member of its Akaflieg. Holighaus was also an excellent pilot and became a regular member of the German gliding team. Additional technical expertise was recruited in 1970 and Holighaus became Chief Executive in 1972. From 1977 Holighaus was the sole owner of the business. After Holighaus's death in a gliding accident in 1994, control of the company passed to his widow and sons, all of whom are keen glider pilots. It employs about 100 people, and is currently managed by Tilo Holighaus and Brigitte Holighaus. The company has often sub-contracted work, and has issued licences for other companies to build its designs.

Aircraft produced

Schempp-Hirth aircraft include: * Göppingen Gö 1 ''Wolf'' sailplane, 1935 * Göppingen Gö 2 improved Grunau 8, 1935 * Göppingen Gö 3 ''Minimoa'' sailplane, 1936 * Göppingen Gö 4 two-seat sailplane, 1938 * Göppingen Gö 5 Hütter H 17 sailplane, 1938 * Göppingen Gö 6 ''Minimoa Mo 2a'' two-seat sailplane, 1937 * Göppingen Gö 7 two-seat sport aeroplane (not built) * Göppingen Gö 8 scale model test airframe for Dornier Do 214, 1939 * Göppingen Gö 9 development aircraft for

''Pfeil'', 1941 * Standard Austria * Schempp-Hirth SHK *

Cirrus Cirrus may refer to: Science *Cirrus (biology), any of various thin, thread-like structures on the body of an animal *Cirrus (botany), a tendril * Infrared cirrus, in astronomy, filamentary structures seen in infrared light *Cirrus cloud, a typ ...

* Standard Cirrus * Discus * Discus-2 * Ventus * Ventus-2 * Ventus 3 *

Nimbus Nimbus, from the Latin for "dark cloud", is an outdated term for the type of cloud now classified as the nimbostratus cloud. Nimbus also may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Halo (religious iconography), also known as ''Nimbus'', a ring of ligh ...

* Nimbus-2 * Nimbus-3 * Nimbus-4 * Mini-Nimbus * Janus * Duo Discus * Arcus * Quintus

References

*''Segelflugzeuge vom Wolf zum Discus'', Peter F Selinger, Motor Buch Verlag 1989

External links

Schempp-Hirth company website
{{Authority control Aircraft manufacturers of Germany Glider manufacturers