Hirth, Hellmuth |
| AIRCRAFT ENGINE DESIGNER, AVIATION PIONEER (GERMANY) |
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BORN 24 Apr 1886, Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg - DIED 1 Jul 1938, Karlsbad (now: Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic) CAUSE OF DEATH liver rupture (consequences of) GRAVE LOCATION Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg: Waldfriedhof (Abteilung 09 N) |
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Hellmuth Hirth was the son of the inventor and businessman Albert Hirth (1858-1935). He was educated as a mechanic and went to the USA when he was seventeen years old, where he worked for the Singer company and for Thomas Alva Edison. In 1904 he returned to Germany and in 1908 he became the manager of the British branch of his father's company Fortuna-Werke. But he decided that he wanted to become a pilot and for a while he worked for August euler in Darmstadt. After that he worked as chief engineer for Edward Rumpler and from 1912 at the Albatros-Werken in Berlin. When Graf Zeppelin heard of his plans to build a huge airplane he asked his friend Robert Bosch for resources and the Gotha RI plane was constructed soon afterwards. Hirth designed engines for motor cycles as well and his younger brother Wolf won races with them. In 1931 Hellmuth founded the Hirth-Motoren GmbH in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen where he developed the HM-60 aircraft engine that was used all over Germany., In 1936 his company constructed the first jet engines, designed by Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain (1911-1998). He died in 1938 in Karlsbad from the consequences of a liver rupture that he sustained in a plane crash during the First World War. Family • Father: Hirth, Albert • Brother: Hirth, Wolf Related persons • worked for Rumpler, Edmund |
| Images | |
 The grave of Albert Hirth, Hellmuth Hirth and Wolf Hirth at the Waldfriedhof, Stuttgart. Picture by Androom (31 Jan 2007) |
 The grave of Albert Hirth, Hellmuth Hirth and Wolf Hirth at the Waldfriedhof, Stuttgart. Picture by Androom (31 Jan 2007) |
Sources • Hellmuth Hirth – Wikipedia |
