Carl Oskar Ursinus (11 March 1877 – 6 July 1952) was a pioneer of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

and is remembered mainly for his contributions to

sailplane A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the leisure activity and sport of gliding (also called soaring). This unpowered aircraft can use naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to gain altitude. Sailplan ...

designs and the sport of

gliding Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sports, air sport in which pilots fly glider aircraft, unpowered aircraft known as Glider (sailplane), gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmospher ...

. He has been

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

d the ''Rhönvater'' ("Rhön father") because he founded Germany’s first gliding club at the

Wasserkuppe The Wasserkuppe (;) is the highest mountain in the Rhön Mountains, Rhön range and the tallest elevation in the Germany, German state of Hesse, standing at above sea level. It forms a prominent plateau within the Fulda district and is known as ...

in the

Rhön Mountains The Rhön Mountains () are a group of low mountains (or ''Mittelgebirge'') in central Germany, located around the border area where the states of Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia come together. These mountains, which are at the extreme southeast end o ...

in 1920.Reitsch, H., 1955, The Sky My Kingdom, London: Biddles Limited, Guildford and King's Lynn, Ursinus was born in

Weißenfels Weißenfels (; often written in English as Weissenfels) is the largest town of the Burgenlandkreis district, in southern Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, approximately south of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle. His ...

and attended Technical College in Mittweida. After graduation, he worked for

Borsig Borsig is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * (1867–1897), German entrepreneur * August Borsig (1804–1854), German businessman * Conrad von Borsig (1873–1945), German mechanical engineer * Ernst Borsig (1869–1933) ...

on compressors for

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

s, and spent some time working on mining machinery in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

for the firm. In 1908, back in Germany, Ursinus began to publish a magazine titled ''Flugsport'' ''Flugsport : Illustrierte technische Zeitschrift und Anzeiger'', which was published bi-weekly from December 1908, then monthly from 1940 up to v. 36, no. 9 (September 1944). (“Sports Flying”), since he had become fascinated by the new technology of flight. The magazine helped establish a network among Germany’s aviation enthusiasts, and led to the organisation of Germany’s first international

airshow An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without which they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air ...

. He was conscripted into the German Army in 1914 and requested a position in aircraft design. The request was approved and he was posted to

Gothaer Waggonfabrik ''Gothaer Waggonfabrik'' (''Gotha'', GWF) was a German manufacturer of rolling stock established in the late nineteenth century at Gotha. During the two world wars, the company expanded into aircraft building. World War I In World War I, Go ...

designing warplanes. The famous series of Gotha

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

s used by the German air corps throughout

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, were all based on an Ursinus design of 1915 that was refined and manufactured as the Gotha G.I. Ursinus' real passion, however, was for

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...

s, and in 1916 he designed a seaplane fighter with retractable floats that was unfortunately destroyed before testing was complete. Following the war, the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

prohibited Germany from building powered aircraft, and the attention of German aviators therefore turned to

. A plateau particularly suited to

, the Wasserkuppe, became a focal point for this activity, and in 1920, Ursinus organized a competition there. Twenty-four people attended the meeting between 15 July and 15 September 1920, including Wolf Hirth and other gliding pioneers. (see also Rhön-Rossitten Gesellschaft.) Over the next decade, this grew in importance to become an international event. Ursinus also constructed the first clubhouse on the Wasserkuppe in 1924. He was pursuing experiments in human-powered flight when the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

intervened. Following the war, powered flying was once again forbidden in Germany, but Ursinus lived just long enough to see this prohibition lifted. Today, he is regarded in Germany as the father of

, and Germany’s association for

homebuilt aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

, the '' Oskar Ursinus-Vereinigung'' ("Oskar Ursinus Association") bears his name.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ursinus, Oskar 1877 births 1952 deaths People from Weißenfels People from the Province of Saxony Engineers from the Kingdom of Prussia Aircraft designers German aerospace engineers German Army personnel of World War I Gliding in Germany