Alexander Martin Lippisch received his engineering doctorate from Heidelberg University in physical sciences. With his aviation career plans interrupted by service in the German Army in World War I, he was finally assigned to work with the Zeppelin Company in 1918. The early post war years were devoted to the theoretical studies and experiments with advanced and unique approaches to high speed aircraft performance. These experiments contributed to the design of his first successful tailless aircraft, a glider, in 1921. Because the designs he proposed were considered radical departures from the norms of aero design of that period, financial support for his work was difficult to acquire, but his great faith and determination finally won out. Lippisch flew a rocket-powered glider in 1928, the first rocket powered flight in history. During this time he had developed all the elements of aerodynamic theory to confirm that tailless flying wing high speed flight was possible. By 1934, he proposed such an aircraft design. With his employment by the Messerschmitt Company in 1939, and with the priorities of World War II, Lippisch designed the rocket powered ME-163 in 1940. This interceptor aircraft successfully flew at speeds in excess of 600 miles per hour, a world record. By 1941, the aircraft flew at 1,154 miles per hour and climbed to 30,000 feet in 2.5 minutes. Manned rocket-powered flight was now a part of aero history. As director of the Aeronautical Research Institute of Vienna, Lippisch confirmed that supersonic designs where the flying wing excelled were possible. With his immigration to the United States in 1946, he continued work on these theories for the U.S. Air Force. His subsequent endeavors with the aero industries were devoted to ground effects experiments, sadly brought to an end by his death in 1976.
Inducted in 1985.
Portrait Location: Not Currently on Floor