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Ulrich Steinhilper (14 September 1918 – 20 October 2009) was a
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 ...
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
fighter ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...
who made numerous attempts to escape after he was shot down and captured. As a post-war
IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
typewriter salesman, he was an early proponent of
word processing A word processor (WP) is a device or computer program that provides for input, editing, formatting, and output of text, often with some additional features. Word processor (electronic device), Early word processors were stand-alone devices dedicate ...
, considered by some to have either coined the phrase or even originated the concept.


Early life

Steinhilper was born in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
, Germany, during a
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 ...
air raid. His father was a teacher. In 1936, he was allowed to graduate early from high school after passing the test for Luftwaffe flight training.


World War II


Luftwaffe ace

He earned his ''Pilotenabzeichen'' (Pilot's Badge) and in 1939 was assigned to ''Jagdgeschwader'' (fighter
wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...
) 433, where he was Adolf Galland's adjutant. As the youngest officer, he was also made the ''Staffel'' ''Nachrichtenoffizier'' (communications officer), a job no one else wanted (or even knew much about). Steinhilper learned that he was supposed to provide pilots with ground-to-ground and ground-to-air communications using two 1.5 kilowatt radio stations and two
field telephone Field telephones are telephones used for military communications. They can draw power from their own battery (electricity), battery, from a telephone exchange (via a Common battery, central battery known as CB), or from an external power source. S ...
units. He tried hard to promote the use of radios, but most pilots were against the idea, among them Galland, considering the equipment an unnecessary additional weight and the concept a waste of their time. Steinhilper managed to demonstrate the advantages during a large training exercise commanded by General Hugo Sperrle involving a simulated bombing attack on Stuttgart, only to have the results dismissed by Galland and ignored by the rest. His unit, now redesignated I/ JG 52, was assigned to protect the Ruhr region in the west during the 1939
invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
in the east. Steinhilper saw sporadic combat in the
Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...
, flying a
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 ...
fighter. Beginning in August 1940, he participated in the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...
. In two months, he flew over 150 sorties against England, seven in a single day. He became an ace. He destroyed two or three Spitfires on the ground at RAF Manston on 19 August, but it was not until 19 September that he got his first aerial victory, another Spitfire. According to one source, his other four aerial victims were two Spitfires on 24 September, another on 30 September, and a
Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until the end of the war. ...
on 4 October. He later described a 30 September mission in which his and other fighter ''Gruppen'' were assigned to escort Junkers Ju 88 bombers to London (which they were unable to locate). Many Bf 109 fighters ran out of fuel while returning to base, forcing their pilots to bale out over the
English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
; Steinhilper claimed to have seen a secret memorandum which stated that 19 of these pilots drowned. Steinhilper was shot down on 27 October over
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
by Sergeant Bill Skinner of 74 Squadron, and made a
prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
after parachuting to safety. (The "substantial remains" of Oberleutnant Steinhilper's Bf 109E were recovered in 1980 and are displayed in the Dowding Memorial Hangar of the Kent Battle of Britain Museum.)


Escape attempts

In January 1941, he was sent across the Atlantic Ocean to Canada to be interned in Camp W (later renamed 100) in Neys, Ontario, or Camp 30 in Bowmanville, Ontario. He made his first escape on 23 November, remaining at large for two days before being recaptured at
Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada, adjacent to, and named after, Niagara Falls. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, the city had a population of 94,415. The city is located on the Niagara Peninsula along the western bank of the ...
. He tried again several weeks later, managing to reach
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
's Windsor Station. On his third attempt, on 18 February 1942, he and his friend Albert Waller made it to Watertown, New York, United States, before being caught. He was then transferred to Camp 20 in Gravenhurst, Ontario, where he made two further unsuccessful breakouts. After the end of the war in 1945, he was returned to Germany and released in late 1946.


IBM and later life

Post-war, he worked at several jobs before being hired by IBM Germany. As an IBM
typewriter A typewriter is a Machine, mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of Button (control), keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an i ...
salesman, he coined the word "''Textverarbeitung''" ("word processing") in 1955. A number of sources even credit him with originating the concept. However, Thomas Haig, an assistant professor in the
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a Public university, public Urban university, urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropo ...
's School of Information Studies, wrote in the ''
IEEE Annals of the History of Computing The ''IEEE Annals of the History of Computing'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the IEEE Computer Society. It covers the history of computing, computer science, and computer hardware. It was founded in 1979 by the Ame ...
'' that the English term preceded the German, though he conceded that the latter "was the first to achieve any currency". Steinhilper tried to get IBM Germany interested in the concept, but without much success. In 1971, when the idea finally began to be accepted, IBM gave him an Outstanding Achievement Award and a trip around the world in recognition of "having authored and promoted it." He wrote four autobiographical books. They were published in English. ''A Spitfire on My Tail'', ''Ten Minutes to Buffalo'' and ''Full Circle'' detail his wartime experiences, while ''Don't Talk – Do It!'' covers his post-war life. The first three were also published in German. Ulrich Steinhilper died on 20 October 2009 at the age of 91 in his native Stuttgart.


References


External links


Official website

From the 1985 documentary ''Churchill's Few''
** World War II footage of Steinhilper taking off from his base in Calais and later revisiting where he parachuted after being shot down (1:05–3:45) ** Recovery of the wreckage of his airplane and his visit to the museum where it is housed (11:55–15:20)
Brief comments by Steinhilper about the Battle of Britain
(17:47–18:07) on YouTube
Imperial War Museum entry for 1990 BBC Radio Steinhilper interview

''Sunday Daily Telegraph'' 1990 article "The spoils of war"
including a photograph of Steinhilper during the war
''Liverpool Daily Post'' 1985 article "The fateful Few"
including a photograph of a post-war Steinhilper "with the remains of his Messerschmitt" {{DEFAULTSORT:Steinhilper, Ulrich 1918 births 2009 deaths German autobiographers German World War II flying aces IBM employees Luftwaffe pilots Military personnel from Stuttgart Shot-down aviators German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom People from the Kingdom of Württemberg German male non-fiction writers