CHECKSIX / Reports: Erich Warsitz

Not even seventy years have passed since the origins of the age of rockets and jets. This period is connected with names such as Wernher von Braun, Hans Pabst von Ohain and Ernst Heinkel - but also with Erich Warsitz in particular, who boldly climbed into the newly designed aircraft of the time and flew them. My father risked his life to test new power plants which revolutionised the whole of aviation technology - he was the first person to fly a jet aircraft - the Heinkel He 178 - and a liquid-fuel rocket aircraft - the Heinkel He 176. In so doing he was one of the crucial individuals who laid down the basic rules which have made it possible for modern aviation technology to span time and space. Erich Warsitz was born in Germany 100 years ago, on 18 October 1906; his place of birth was Hattingen in the Ruhr . He learned to fly at the Academic Flying Group at Hangelar near Bonn. At that time the German aviation industry was operating at full blast, and at Rechlin, the Luftwaffe’s test centre, he was soon flying everything the aircraft factories could produce. This was the starting point of an activity which, only a little while later, would bring him into intimate contact with developments in aviation which were of tremendous historical importance. Late in 1936 Erich Warsitz was seconded by the RLM (the German Aviation Ministry) to Wernher von Braun, later to become world-famous as a space scientist, and Dr. Ernst Heinkel, one of the greatest aircraft designers of his era, because he had been recognised as one of the most experienced testpilots of the time, and because he also had an extraordinary fund of technical knowledge.

In 1937, working closely with Wernher von Braun, Erich Warsitz undertook the initial flight testing of the Heinkel He 112. Wernher von Braun: “The rocket engine was initially installed in a Heinkel 112, and Erich first left the ground in the thing at the Neuhardenberg airfield, a hundred kilometres to the East of Berlin. However, this was only the start. The same rocket engine and another - developed by the Walter company in Kiel - were subsequently installed in a small aircraft known as the Heinkel 176, which, in contrast to the 112, was designed to fly solely on rocket power, i.e. there was no piston engine in the nose. In fact, this aircraft was what we would now call an utterly wild machine; so wild, in fact, that Erich Warsitz was prohibited from flying it by the famous pilot Ernst Udet - a Luftwaffe General at the time - after he had observed a brief flight by the machine. It was not an aeroplane, said Udet; “it’s just a thing; it hasn’t even got wings”, and it could not possibly fly. It took a while for Erich to convince Udet that he should undertake further flights. This point was really a prelude to space flight, playing a very important role in the development of the crucial elements, the technology and also the piloting skills required for the development of manned space flight”. There came a moment when Erich Warsitz felt that a series of brief hops in the He 176 had made him familiar with its characteristics and nasty tricks, and he suddenly made up his mind to carry out the first real flight in the machine late in the evening of a fine day in early Summer. Once he had declared his decision, an uncanny silence settled on all the engineers and fitters; nobody spoke a word: all of them knew that they stood at the threshold of a event which was crucial for the future.

Erich Warsitz: “At approximately 300 km/h, shortly before lift-off, the aircraft veered off to the left. The port wing touched the ground - and a catastrophe appeared to be imminent. However, I was desperate to get this flight under my belt, come hell or high water, so I left the throttle where it was; suddenly the aircraft leaped into the air, on an entirely different heading. Moments later I was feeling jubilant, flying round the Northern tip of the island of Usedom at 800 km/h, virtually in silence. I had no time to carry out any tests, as it was already time to concentrate on the landing. I pushed the nose down, and a moment later was sweeping over the Peene towards the ground at 500 km/h. I reached the edge of the airfield, and after a series of mandatory bounces the plane rolled to a halt. The world’s first liquid-fuelrocket-powered flight had been successful!” The He 176 rocket aircraft had been developed in close collaboration with the RLM, but in spite of its success, Heinkel did not receive the support he had hoped for. In fact, there were many important individuals at the Air Ministry who showed an interest, but the Second World War was imminent, and other concerns took centre stage. Erich Warsitz: “Long before this I had become familiar with a weird and entirely different sound at the Heinkel factory: this was the first Heinkel jet engine undergoing test-runs.” Professor Pohl of Goettingen University was acquainted with Heinkel, and in 1936 Heinkel had received a letter from him which ran: “I have a very capable fellow here who is working on a jet engine. Our means are limited, and we are unable to offer him any further help. Would this man be of interest to you?”

And so it was that Heinkel immediate hired Hans Pabst von Ohain, and assigned him his own laboratory at the Rostock factory. In February 1937 the first turbine was already running on the test-stand. By the time the second turbine - the He S3 A - was finished, Heinkel had designed the He 178 for it, and the engine was installed in the airframe in early 1939. Almost from the outset, the He 176 was developed with the approval of the RLM, and under contract to that body, but this did not apply to the He 178! The later project was developed by Heinkel without the knowledge of the RLM, and it was this small machine which opened up the jet era just a little while later. Hans Pabst von Ohain: “I well remember my first meeting with Erich Warsitz at Peenemuende, early in the Summer of 1939. Heinkel had invited me to be present for the second flight of the He 176, and it was a great experience for me to observe Warsitz’s courage and outstanding skill, and his impressive flight display. That evening there was a great celebration, and I had the opportunity to speak briefly to him about the imminent test-flight of the He 178.” On Sunday, 27 August 1939, only a few days before the outbreak of War, everything was ready. Beautiful weather prevailed, and the aircraft was towed to the take-off position. Heinkel himself and his staff were looking around in some excitement, for they had all realised that the future belonged to jet aircraft - rather than to the rocket -powered equivalent - because of their longer flight duration and greater operational safety.

Erich Warsitz: “One last time I checked all the control surfaces for freedom of movement, checked the running turbine at various speeds, checked pump pressures, temperatures and much more besides, then gave the ground-crew the sign to close the canopy. Slowly I applied full-throttle. As the aircraft started moving, I remember feeling a little disappointed at the lack of thrust, because the machine was gathering speed slowly, instead of shooting along like the 176. However, after a ground-run of about three hundred metres it was picking up speed at a very high rate. I found I could hold the machine exactly on course using the brakes, and then the aircraft lifted off. All the control surfaces felt almost completely normal, while the turbine steadily sang its high-pitched song. It was wonderful to be flying; not a trace of wind was blowing, and the sun was just visible, very low on the horizon. I had been told in no uncertain terms that I was to land immediately after a single fairly large circuit, but at that point my enthusiasm overcame me: I accelerated slightly, and thought: oh, just one more circuit, then!” After the second circuit Warsitz set the aeroplane up for the landing. The turbine responded to the throttle lever very obediently. Just above the ground he corrected the machine’s attitude, pulled off a perfect landing and came to a halt just short of the waters of the Warnow. The world’s first jet flight had been a total success! All the tension evaporated, and everyone was absolutely delighted. The fitters lifted Dr. Heinkel and Erich Warsitz onto their shoulders, and after a short de-briefing they headed for the Casino to toast the first triumphant flight, which clearly showed the way forward for the future of aviation. Hans Pabst von Ohain: “Once again Warsitz’s courage and tremendous flying skill had introduced the world of aviation to a completely new principle of flying.”

After the end of the War Erich Warsitz was living in an apartment in the American sector, but at three a.m. on the night of 5/6 December 1945 he was abducted by four Russian officers. Innumerable interrogations followed, concentrating on his former work on the development of rocket and jet aircraft in the OKH (the German Army Supreme Command) and RLM, at Peenemuende and the Heinkel factory. He was required to sign a contract which obliged him to co-operate with the Russians for a period of five years on the development of related technology, but he refused. As a result he was condemned to twenty-five years forced labour. Shortly after this he was transported to Siberia, to the notorious penal colony 7525/13. After his return in 1950, he initially worked as a self-employed contractor, until in 1965 he “retired to the Alps”, as we say. In the early 1980’s I decided to write about my father and his extraordinary life for my matriculation. He was very proud of this project, and allowed me to interview him for more than a year. One day he commented: “perhaps you’ll write a book about me one day.”

My book “Flugkapitn Erich Warsitz - der erste Duesenflugzeugpilot der Welt” [Aircraft Captain Erich Warsitz - the World’s First Jet Pilot] represents my father’s opportunity to describe the events of the period from his own personal experience and his own perspective; from the technical standpoint in his role as engineer, and from the flying standpoint as the first and only test-pilot of these revolutionary machines. He was an important eye-witness to this pioneer period; an era which, even today, is still virtually unknown to the general public because of the strict secrecy which shrouded the whole project. In April 1983 my Father suffered a severe brain infarct, which was to be the cause of his death. On 12 July 1983 Aircraft Captain Erich Warsitz died at Barbengo, Switzerland, at the age of 76 years. In a letter dated 14 April 1988 Hans Pabst von Ohain wrote to my Mother: “In later years I often found myself thinking of Erich Warsitz again. I still admire him today, and am of the firm conviction that he made an important contribution to the rapid development of jet turbine engines and rockets for manned aircraft, thanks to his courage and selfless devotion, not to mention his technical and piloting skills. His picture in the “National Air and Space Museum”, Washington D.C., piloting the first Heinkel He 178, will always be a permanent testimony of this.”

Lutz Warsitz, Cimo / Switzerland

author: Lutz Warsitz (& Erich Warsitz)
publisher: Books on Demand GmbH, Norderstedt
ISBN: 978-3-8334-5378-6
180 pages, 80 photos
price: € 29.- (plus costs for shipment)

We would like to thank Mr. Lutz Warsitz for making his father`s story available to us. Also we wanna thank Mr. Karl-Ernst Heinkel und the Deutsche Museum Munich for allowing us to use some of their photos. May Captain Warsitz receive the honor he deserves: to be accepted as one of the greatest pioneers in aviation history!

Robert Kysela, managing editor CHK 6

Vist the website of Erich Warsitz: www.erichwarsitz.com The complete book about Erich Warsitz is available (in German language only):

ErichWarsitz_Buch