Otto C. Winzen (1917–1979) was a German-American aeronautics engineer who made significant advances in the materials and construction of high-altitude balloons after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Winzen emigrated to the United States in 1937 and spent time during the war in

internment camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

. He studied aeronautical engineering at the

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Roman Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catholic univers ...

. After World War II, Winzen became involved in high-altitude balloon research, working with

Jean Piccard Jean Felix Piccard (January 28, 1884 in Basel, Switzerland – January 28, 1963 in Minneapolis, Minnesota), also known as Jean Piccard, was a Swiss-born American chemist, engineer, professor and high-altitude balloonist. He invented cluster ...

. In 1949 he started his own company with his wife Vera Simons, called Winzen Research, Inc.} He created a number of plastic balloons, in particular of

polyethylene Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging ( plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including b ...

, which he sold to the United States Army and Navy including the

Skyhook balloon Skyhook balloons were high-altitude balloons developed by Otto C. Winzen and General Mills, Inc. They were used by the United States Navy Office of Naval Research (ONR) in the late 1940s and 1950s for atmospheric research, especially for const ...

, and the Air Force's

Project Manhigh Project Manhigh was a pre-Space Age military project that took men in balloons to the middle layers of the stratosphere, funded as an aero-medical research program, though seen by its designers as a stepping stone to space. It was conducted by ...

. In 1972 he developed the Winzen Research Balloon, which achieved the record for the highest unmanned balloon flight, setting a record altitude of 51,816 m over

Chico, California Chico ( ; Spanish for "little") is the most populous city in Butte County, California. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 101,475 in the 2020 census, reflecting an increase from 86,18 ...

Otto C. Winzen Lifetime Achievement Award

The Otto C. Winzen Lifetime Achievement Award is given out biannually by the American Institution of Aeronautics and Astronautics(AIAA) in memory of Winzen's influence on modern ballooning.

Sources

* * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winzen, Otto C. 1979 deaths American aerospace engineers German emigrants to the United States University of Detroit Mercy alumni Year of birth uncertain