Otto ''Hermann'' Bernhard Behrbohm, born 30 October 1907 in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...

Imperial Germany The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

; died 12 October 1977 in Fingelsham, Northbourne,

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, United Kingdom, was a German mathematician active in Sweden and Germany. He was significant in the

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

behind the development of the

aerodynamics Aerodynamics () is the study of the motion of atmosphere of Earth, air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dynamics and its subfield of gas dynamics, and is an ...

of the

delta wing A delta wing is a wing shaped in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta (letter), delta (Δ). Although long studied, the delta wing did not find significant practical applications unti ...

concept and the technology of

supersonic Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound (Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...

flight Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...

Biography

Hermann Behrbohm was significant in the design of

Saab 35 Draken The Saab 35 Draken (; ''The Kite'', ambiguous with ''The Dragon'') is a Swedish interceptor aircraft, fighter-interceptor developed and manufactured by Saab AB, Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (Saab AB, SAAB) between 1955 and 1974. Development of ...

and

Saab 37 Viggen The Saab 37 Viggen (''The Tufted Duck'', ambiguous with ''The Thunderbolt'') is a single-seat, single-engine multirole combat aircraft designed and produced by the Swedish aircraft manufacturer Saab AB, Saab. It was the first Canard (aeronautic ...

. He made the calculations supporting

Alexander Lippisch Alexander Martin Lippisch (2 November 1894 – 11 February 1976) was a German aeronautical engineer, a pioneer of aerodynamics who made important contributions to the understanding of tailless aircraft, delta wings and the ground effect in aircra ...

developing the

Delta wing A delta wing is a wing shaped in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta (letter), delta (Δ). Although long studied, the delta wing did not find significant practical applications unti ...

concept at the end of the war. He received the Swedish Aeronautical Society's Thulin Medal 1968 in silver for having promoted aviation technology with work. He made efforts in aviation technology in several countries during his life, due to the circumstances. Finally, as a

pensioner A pensioner is a person who receives a pension, most commonly because of retirement from the workforce. This is a term typically used in the United Kingdom (along with OAP, initialism of old-age pensioner), Ireland and Australia where someone of p ...

, 1972 he moved to England with his British wife. His children stayed in Sweden. He authored many articles in aerodynamic and mathematical specialist press available on libraries and the Internet.

Education and doctoral dissertation in Germany

He studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Karlsruhe, as well as mathematics and

number theory Number theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and arithmetic functions. Number theorists study prime numbers as well as the properties of mathematical objects constructed from integers (for example ...

at Georg-August-Universität Göttingen. Behrbohm was a research assistant at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen in 1933–1936 and wrote his doctoral dissertation on the

algebra Algebra is a branch of mathematics that deals with abstract systems, known as algebraic structures, and the manipulation of expressions within those systems. It is a generalization of arithmetic that introduces variables and algebraic ope ...

identity of the meromorphisms of an elliptical function body. The thesis was not approved for political reasons when the supervisor was Jewish and

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

took over. In 1944 he was promoted doctor in mathematics and

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

. Behrbohm also had great difficulties in marrying his first wife because of the regulations in Nazi Germany. She had difficulties obtaining biological purity certificates (unknown father) and thus being able to marry him, which was possible only in 1940.

Messerschmitt

He was recruited in 1937 to

Messerschmitt Messerschmitt AG () was a German share-ownership limited, aircraft manufacturing corporation named after its chief designer Willy Messerschmitt from mid-July 1938 onwards, and known primarily for its World War II fighter aircraft, in parti ...

’s

Aerodynamics Aerodynamics () is the study of the motion of atmosphere of Earth, air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dynamics and its subfield of gas dynamics, and is an ...

department in

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

. Herrman Behrbom was asked for as a

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

in the

aerospace industry Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial, and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astr ...

where you need to do your theoretical calculations and then run tests to drive development projects forward.

Augsburg 1937-1944

He participated in work on high-speed trials with

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the ...

with Lukas Schmid. At Messerschmitt in Augsburg, the main project during these years was otherwise the development of the

jet aircraft A jet aircraft (or simply jet) is an aircraft (nearly always a fixed-wing aircraft) propelled by one or more jet engines. Whereas the engines in Propeller (aircraft), propeller-powered aircraft generally achieve their maximum efficiency at much ...

Messerschmitt Me 262 The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed (German for "Swallow") in fighter versions, or ("Storm Bird") in fighter-bomber versions, is a fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messers ...

. The development of the rocket plane

Messerschmitt Me 163 The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet is a rocket-powered interceptor aircraft primarily designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt. It is the only operational rocket-powered fighter aircraft in history as well as ...

under the direction of

also took place here from 1939.

Oberammergau 1944-1945

After the air raids on Augsburg the 25 February 1944, the development activities were moved into the underground facility of the Oberbayerische Forschungsanstalt in

Oberammergau Oberammergau is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. The small town on the Ammer River is known for its woodcarvers and woodcarvings, for its NATO School, and around the world for its 380-year tradition of ...

. The family remains in Mering close to

. Messerschmitt developed from the end of 1944 under

Willy Messerschmitt Wilhelm Emil "Willy" Messerschmitt (; 26 June 1898 – 15 September 1978) was a German aircraft designer and manufacturer who designed a number of prominent aircraft for the ''Luftwaffe'' and civil aviation. Messerschmitt designed a numb ...

's direction the jetplane Messerschmitt P.1101. It has a lot in common with

Saab 29 Tunnan The Saab 29 ''Tunnan'' (''The Barrel''), colloquially also ''Flygande Tunnan'' (''The Flying Barrel''), is an early jet-powered fighter aircraft designed and produced by the Swedish aircraft manufacturer Saab. It was the second turbojet-powered ...

, which was created before Hermann's time in Saab, as well as for

MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful jet fighters to incorporate s ...

and

F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

Wiener Neustadt 1944-1945

From autumn 1944, he worked half-time for the Aviation Research Institute Vienna (LFW) in

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; Lower_Austria.html" ;"title=".e. Lower Austria">.e. Lower Austria , ) is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administr ...

, where

had opened his own development office. Until then, Lippisch had worked for Messerschmitt with the rocket plane

. He and

disagreed about the design, in which Lippisch did not want the rear wing, drag and worse performance. In Wiener Neustadt, Lippisch worked on the further development of the

(rear wingless) mini - (coal jet)

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

Lippisch P.13a The Lippisch P.12, P.13a and P.13b were related design projects for a ramjet-powered delta wing interceptor aircraft studied in 1944 by German designer Alexander Lippisch. The P.12 and P.13a were unarmed, relying on reinforced wings to ram its ...

, which at the end of the war became part of the Volksjäger program. The Lippisch P.13a

technology is the basis for

in its design, the development of which Hermann later partisipaded in by

Saab Saab or SAAB may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Saab AB, a Swedish aircraft, aerospace and defence company, still known as SAAB, and together with subsidiaries as Saab Group ** Datasaab, a former computer company, started as spin off from Saab ...

. So also for ex

Dassault Mirage Mirage is a name given to several types of jet aircraft designed by the French company Dassault Aviation (formerly Avions Marcel Dassault), some of which were produced in different variants. Most were supersonic fighters with delta wings. The most ...

. One can see

and not the least

as the basis for all

that followed in the 1950s.

Occupation - BEE

After the war ended in 1945, Hermann was an unemployed father of a family with 4 children in Mering near

American zone of occupation The American occupation zone in Germany (German: ), also known as the US-Zone, and the Southwest zone, was one of the four occupation zones established by the Allies of World War II in Germany west of the Oder–Neisse line in July 1945, aroun ...

. They had income from gifts from housed American officers, but he also worked a time in agriculture and forestry with nature payments for family food on the table. In the spring of 1946 he was recruited by BEE (French Aerodynamic Research and Development Institute, today a part of Deutsch-Französisches Forschungsinstitut Saint-Louis) with operations in

Emmendingen Emmendingen (; ) is a town in Baden-Württemberg, capital of the Emmendingen (district), district Emmendingen of Germany. It is located at the Elz (Rhine), Elz River, north of Freiburg im Breisgau. The town contains more than 26,000 residents, ...

and

Weil am Rhein Weil am Rhein (, ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Wiil am Rhii'') is a German town and commune. It is on the east bank of the River Rhine, and extends to the tripoint of Switzerland, France, and Germany. It is the most southwesterly tow ...

French occupation zone in Germany The French occupation zone in Germany (, ) was one of the Allied-occupied areas in Germany after World War II. Background In the aftermath of the Second World War, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin met at the Yalta C ...

. After the formation of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen constituent states have a total population of over 84 ...

1949 and the end of occupation, the opportunities were greater to find scientifically interesting work abroad and Behrbohm received offers from France and other countries.

Saab

Hermann chose 1951 to start working on

moving to

Linköping Linköping ( , ) is a city in southern Sweden, with around 167,000 inhabitants as of 2024. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Chu ...

with his family who became naturalized Swedes. The motives for choosing to work for Saab were the projects

Saab 32 Lansen The Saab 32 Lansen (English: Lance) is a two-seat, transonic military aircraft designed and manufactured by the Swedish aircraft manufacturer Saab AB. In late Autumn 1946, development of the Lansen began as a successor to the Saab 18, Saab B 18 ...

and

under Erik Bratt and Tore Gullstrand. Being a specialist in aerodynamics is a narrow labor market with few employers in the world who have sufficient resources to create good results. Saab where they built up operations and Sweden's ambitions gave Hermann the opportunities. In the shadow of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

and the

nuclear arms race The nuclear arms race was an arms race competition for supremacy in nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies during the Cold War. During this same period, in addition to the American and Soviet nuc ...

the client, the

Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( or just ) is the air force Military branch, branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the escalatin ...

's desire in the 1950s to the 1970s (the Defence Act of 1958) was to be able to swiftly attack strategic

nuclear weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission, fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion, fusion reactions (thermonuclear weap ...

bombers A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strategic bombing is ...

such as

Tupolev Tu-16 The Tupolev Tu-16 (USAF/DOD reporting name Type 39; NATO reporting name: Badger) is a twin-engined jet strategic heavy bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has been flown for almost 70 years. While many aircraft in Soviet service were retired af ...

before they reached their targets. This with really fast

such as

, where

speed In kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a non-negative scalar quantity. Intro ...

and

preparedness Preparedness is a set of actions that are taken as precautionary measures in the face of potential disasters. Being prepared helps in achieving goals and in avoiding and mitigating negative outcomes. There are different types of preparedness, su ...

were the key factors. The

's need were also

landing operation A landing operation is a military operation during which a landing force, usually utilizing landing craft, is transferred to land with the purpose of power projection ashore. With the proliferation of aircraft, a landing may refer to amphibiou ...

-defenses over the surrounding seas with

attack aircraft An attack aircraft, strike aircraft, or attack bomber is a tactical military aircraft that has a primary role of carrying out airstrikes with greater precision than bombers, and is prepared to encounter strong low-level air defenses while pr ...

as well as ultra-fast

reconnaissance aircraft A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using Aerial photography, photography), signals ...

planes such as the

Economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

and

materials engineering Materials science is an Interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of researching and discovering materials. Materials engineering is an engineering field of finding uses for materials in other fields and industries. The intellectual origi ...

for

friction Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. Types of friction include dry, fluid, lubricated, skin, and internal -- an incomplete list. The study of t ...

heat In thermodynamics, heat is energy in transfer between a thermodynamic system and its surroundings by such mechanisms as thermal conduction, electromagnetic radiation, and friction, which are microscopic in nature, involving sub-atomic, ato ...

of the

atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

set the limit for

. This generated large orders to build a very large

air force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

and resources for

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting * Development hell, when a proje ...

. Hermann remained at Saab until his retirement in 1972. During the years 1960–64 he was head of the

department, also participated in the projects

and

Saab 105 The Saab 105 is a Swedish high-wing, twinjet trainer aircraft developed in the early 1960s as a private venture by Saab AB. The Swedish Air Force, which had opted to procure the type for various roles, designated the aircraft SK 60. The SK 60 ...

and published a large number of articles in aerodynamics. He was esteemed and won the Swedish Aeronautical Society's Thulin Medal 1968 in silver. Hermann Behrbohm and Bertil Dillner made significant efforts in the design of

, and in particular the design and tests of the Canard-wing construction.Flyghistorisk revy, 0345-3413, System 37 Viggen, Artikel av Erik Bratt
After retirement, he moved with his second wife to her hometown in the south of England and lived there afterwards.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Behrbohm, Hermann Engineers from Karlsruhe 1907 births 1977 deaths Aircraft designers Aerodynamicists German aerospace engineers German people of World War II Messerschmitt people Saab aircraft People from Northbourne, Kent