This collection contains interviews with Reimar and Walter Horten that were recorded by David Myhra.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains interviews with Reimar and Walter Horten taped by David Myhra, author of The Horten Brothers and Their All-winged Aircraft. It includes various topics relating to the Hortens, and comprises sixty original tapes donated by Myhra, as well as two copies made by NASM, one consisting of sixty-one master reel-to-reels, and another of 120 reference CD-Rs. A box of "transcripts" for some of the tapes is also included in the collection, although it is unclear which transcripts go with which tapes.
Arrangement:
This finding aid was generated from the original recording labels. Mr. Myhra labeled most of the tapes, but each group of tapes is labeled differently. Dates are included when provided but the list does not follow a chronological order, which is irrelevant anyway considering the wandering nature of Mr. Myhra's interviews. The finding aid is arranged in groups, which roughly correspond to each set of interviews. In addition, NASM has given each tape a new number which runs consecutively from one through sixty. The original number given by David Myhra is listed in the description of each tape. The new NASM numbers for the original tapes correspond to the NASM reel numbers and the NASM CD-R numbers as to make locating each copy more convenient.
Biographical / Historical:
Reimar Horten and his brother Walter, two largely self-taught aircraft designers, were born in Bonn, Germany; Walter on March 3, 1912, and Reimar on March 12, 1915. Their interest in aircraft began as early as 1925 when they joined a fliers' club in Bonn. In 1932 Reimar and Walter commenced work on their first piloted all-wing sailplane the Ho I. The basic concept of the flying wing dates from the dawn of aviation, but the Horten brothers became the virtuosos of this aircraft. The Horten all-wing sailplanes were gliders without a fuselage or tail section. Because the fuselage and the tail section of a regular plane produced 30% to 50% of an airplane's drag, the benefit of the sailplanes was clear. During the time preceding World War II the brothers improved upon the Ho I glider, creating other models including the Ho II, Ho III, and the Ho IV--none of which had any engines. Reimar and Walter joined the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) during the course of the war where Walter flew Messerschmitt Bf-109s for six months and Reimar worked for Operation Sea Lion, whose objective was the invasion of England. Upon the cancellation of this operation the Horten brothers went on to continue their projects, developing many enhanced versions of their original flying-wing. In 1942 Reimar began working on the Ho VII at the Luftwaffe's request, a machine equipped with two pusher-type propellers and a pulse jet engine. However, the Ho VII was not strong enough to fly safely at the greater speeds made possible by the jet, so the brothers began work on the new Ho IX (code named "Go 229"), the first functional jet propelled flying wing. The arrival of the American army in 1945 ended the construction of this type of aircraft. After the war, Reimar moved to Argentina where he continued to develop his unorthodox aircraft designs; Walter stayed in Germany. Walter died in 1988 and Reimar died in 1994.
Provenance:
David Myhra, Gift, 1998
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Topic:
World War, 1939-1945 -- Germany -- Refugees Search this
This collection consists of an five days of interview by Russell Lee with Dr. Karl Nickel, and his wife, Guinilde, who was the sister of Reimar and Walter Horten.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of an interview by Russell Lee with Dr. Karl Nickel, and his wife, Guinilde, who was the sister of Reimar and Walter Horten. The collection consists of five days of interviews [conducted October 4-8, 2005], recorded on eight cassette tapes, as well as Lee's handwritten notes for each tape. The interview discussed the Hortens and their swept-wing aircraft designs, and was used in Lee's 2011 book, Only the Wing: Reimar Horten's Epic Quest to Stabilize and Control the All-wing Aircraft .
Arrangement:
Chronological order.
Biographical / Historical:
Dr. Karl Nickel (1924-2009), best known for his work with interval mathematics computations, began his academic career with work on the solution of aerodynamic problems and boundary layer theory. During the 1940s, Nickel worked for Reimer and Walter Horten, the designers and builders of swept-wing aircraft, as a mathematician. Nickel also sampled the prone layout of the Horten III-f, which he flew in 1944. After World War II, Nickel received his Diploma in Mathematics from Gottingen University in 1948 and his Doctor of Mathematics from the Universities of Tubingen and Stuttgart in 1949. From 1951-1955 Nickel was employed in aircraft design in Argentina. In the mid-1950s, Nickel returned to Germany where he served as a professor of applied mathematics at the University of Karlsruhe and the University of Freiburg.
Provenance:
Russell Lee, Gift, 2018, NASM.2018.0058
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
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