Kurt Waldemar Tank (February 24 1898 - June 5 1983) was a resourceful
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
aeronauticalAerospace engineering is the branch of engineering behind the design, construction and science of aircraft and spacecraft. It is broken into two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering...
engineerEngineers are concerned with developing economical and safe solutions to practical problems, by applying mathematics and scientific knowledge while considering technical constraints. The term is derived from the Latin root "ingenium," meaning "cleverness"...
and test pilot, heading the design department at
Focke-WulfFocke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.-History:...
from 1931-45. He designed several important aircraft of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, including the
Focke-Wulf Fw 190The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger, was a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s. It was used by the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. The design was the last mass produced piston-engine German fighter to see action in the war. It partially...
fighter aircraftA fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets by dropping bombs. Fighters are small, fast, and maneuverable...
.
Early life
Tank was born in
Bromberg (Bydgoszcz)Bydgoszcz is a city currently located in northern Poland, on the Brda and Vistula rivers, with a population of 360,142 , agglomeration more than 400 000, which makes it the 8th biggest city in Poland...
,
Province of PosenThe Province of Posen was a province of Prussia from 1848–1918 and as such part of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. The area was about 29,000 km2....
. His grandfather was a cavalry sergeant in the Uhlans and his father, Willi Tank, was a grenadier sergeant in the
3rd DivisionThe 3rd Division was a unit of the Prussian/German Army. It was formed in Stettin in May 1816 as a Troop Brigade . It became the 3rd Division on September 5 1818. From the corps' formation in 1820, the division was subordinated in peacetime to the II Army Corps...
. When
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
broke out Tank wished to join the
Imperial German Army Air ServiceThe Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte, known before 1916 as Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches , was the over-land air arm of the German military during World War I...
, but his father insisted he instead follow the family tradition and enlist in the cavalry. He ended the war as a captain, with many decorations for bravery.
Career
After the war, Tank graduated from the
Technical University of BerlinThe Technical University of Berlin is located in Berlin, Germany....
in 1923. A mentor from the university secured him his first job, in the design department of Rohrbach Metallflugzeug GmbH, where he worked on flying boats and assisted in the design of the passenger aircraft, the Roland RoVIII. Tank moved on to
Albatros FlugzeugwerkeAlbatros-Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturer best known for supplying the German airforces during World War I.The company was based in Johannisthal, Berlin, where it was founded by Walter Huth and Otto Wiener on December 20, 1909 . It produced some of the most capable fighter aircraft...
, where he worked as a test pilot. The Albatros company went
bankruptBankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay its creditors. Creditors may file a bankruptcy petition against a debtor in an effort to recoup a portion of what they are owed or initiate a restructuring...
in 1929 and in 1931, under government pressure, was merged with
Focke-WulfFocke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.-History:...
.
Tank then started work on the design of the
Fw 44The Focke-Wulf Fw 44 is a 1930s German two-seat biplane known as the Stieglitz . It was produced by the Focke-Wulf company as a pilot training and sport flying aircraft. It was also eventually built under license in several other countries....
Stieglitz (Goldfinch), a two-seat civilian biplane. It was Focke Wulf's first commercially successful design, launched in 1934. This led to burgeoning growth for the company as Hitler began to prepare the country for war.
In 1936 Tank designed the
Focke-Wulf Fw 200The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor was a German all-metal four-engine monoplane that entered service as an airliner. Later versions for the Luftwaffe were used as long-range reconnaissance and anti-shipping bomber aircraft as well as transport planes for troops and VIPs.-Design and development:The Fw 200...
Condor to a
LufthansaDeutsche Lufthansa AG is the largest airline in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried, and the flag carrier of Germany. The name of the company is derived from Luft , and Hansa .The airline is the world's fifth-largest airline in terms of overall passengers carried,...
specification. The first flight was in July 1937 after just under one year of development with Tank at the controls.
World War II
The
Fw 190The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger, was a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s. It was used by the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. The design was the last mass produced piston-engine German fighter to see action in the war. It partially...
Würger (shrike), first flying in 1939 and produced from 1941 to 1945, was a mainstay
LuftwaffeLuftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1933 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956.Schweizer Luftwaffe is also the name of the Swiss Air...
single-seat fighter-bomber during World War II, and Tank's most prolific (over 20,000 produced) and famous design. In January 1943, he was named honorary Professor with a chair at the Technical University of Braunschweig, in recognition of his services to the development of flight.
In 1944, the
Reichsluftfahrtministerium (German Air Ministry) decided that new fighter aircraft designations must include the chief designer's name. Kurt Tank's new designs were therefore given the prefix Ta. His most notable late-war design was the
Ta 152The Focke-Wulf Ta 152 was a World War II Luftwaffe high-altitude fighter-interceptor. The Ta 152 was a development of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 aircraft, but the prefix was changed from "Fw" to "Ta" to recognize the contributions of Kurt Tank who headed the design team...
, a continuation of the Fw 190 design.
Post war
After the war Tank negotiated with the United Kingdom, the Nationalist government of China, and representatives of the Soviet Union and when the negotiations proved unsuccessful, accepted an offer from
ArgentinaArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
to work at its aerotechnical institute, the Instituto Aerotécnico in
CórdobaCórdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province....
under the name of (Prof. Dr.) Pedro Matthies. It is recorded that the British government decided not to offer him a contract on the grounds that he was too important, and they could not see how he could be integrated into an existing research project or design group.
He moved to Córdoba, with many of his Focke-Wulf co-workers, in 1947. One of these was
Ronald RichterRonald Richter was an Austrian, later Argentine, scientist who became famous in connection with the Huemul Project and the National Atomic Energy Commission. This was intended to generate energy from nuclear fusion in the 1950s in Argentina, during the presidency of Juan Perón...
who intended to power airplanes with nuclear fusion power, to be developed in the
Huemul ProjectThe Huemul Project was a secret project proposed by the German scientist of Austrian origin Ronald Richter to the government of Argentina during the first presidency of Juan Domingo Perón....
which was later proven to be a fraud.
The Instituto Aerotécnico later became Argentina's military aeroplane factory, the
Fábrica Militar de AvionesThe Fábrica Militar de Aviones is Argentina's main manufacturer of military aircraft. Formed on October 10, 1927 it is owned by the Argentine government. It was privatized in 1995 with Lockheed Martin given its concession for 25 years with two additional ten-year options. It is currently known as...
. There, he designed the IAe Pulqui II based on the
Focke-Wulf Ta 183The Focke-Wulf Ta-183 Huckebein was a jet-powered fighter aircraft, designed during World War II as the successor to the Messerschmitt Me 262 and other day fighters in Luftwaffe service. It was developed only to the extent of wind tunnel models when the war ended, but the basic design was further...
design that had reached mock-up stage by the end of the war. It was a state-of-the-art design for its day, but the project was axed in 1953 due to Argentina's financial crisis. When President
Juan PerónJuan Domingo Perón was an Argentine general and politician, elected three times as President of Argentina, after serving in several government positions, including the Secretary of Labor and the Vice Presidency. He was overthrown in a military coup in 1955...
fell from power in 1955 the ex Focke-Wulf team dispersed, many to the United States.
Tank instead moved to
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
. There he designed, for Hindustan Aeronautics, the
Hindustan MarutThe Hindustan Aeronautics HF-24 Marut was an Indian fighter-bomber aircraft of the 1960s. It was India's first jet aircraft, first flying on 17 June 1961...
fighter-bomber, the first military aircraft constructed in India. The first prototype flew in 1961; the Marut was retired from active service in 1985. Tank left Hindustan Aeronautics in 1967 and by the 1970s had returned to live in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
, basing himself in Germany for the rest of his life. He died in
MunichMunich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg...
in 1983.