Carl Oskar Ursinus (11 March 1877 – 6 July 1952) was a pioneer of Germanaviation and is remembered mainly for his contributions to sailplane designs and the sport of gliding. He has been nicknamed the Rhönvater ("Rhön father") because he founded Germany’s first gliding club at the Wasserkuppe in the Rhön Mountains in 1920.[1]: 58
remembered mainly for his contributions to sailplane designs and the sport of gliding
Ursinus was born in Weißenfels and attended Technical College in Mittweida. After graduation, he worked for Borsig on compressors for locomotives, and spent some time working on mining machinery in Romania for the firm.
In 1908, back in Germany, Ursinus began to publish a magazine titled Flugsport[2] (“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.
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 designing warplanes. The famous series of Gotha bombers used by the German air corps throughout World War I, 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 seaplanes, 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 prohibited Germany from building powered aircraft, and the attention of German aviators therefore turned to gliding. A plateau particularly suited to gliding, 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 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 gliding, and Germany’s association for homebuilt aircraft, the Oskar Ursinus-Vereinigung ("Oskar Ursinus Association") bears his name.
Referencesedit
^Reitsch, H., 1955, The Sky My Kingdom, London: Biddles Limited, Guildford and King's Lynn, ISBN1853672629
^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). "Bibliography by the Naval Marine Archive". Retrieved 27 August 2014.
May 07, 2024
oskar, ursinus, carl, march, 1877, july, 1952, pioneer, german, aviation, remembered, mainly, contributions, sailplane, designs, sport, gliding, been, nicknamed, rhönvater, rhön, father, because, founded, germany, first, gliding, club, wasserkuppe, rhön, mount. Carl Oskar Ursinus 11 March 1877 6 July 1952 was a pioneer of German aviation and is remembered mainly for his contributions to sailplane designs and the sport of gliding He has been nicknamed the Rhonvater Rhon father because he founded Germany s first gliding club at the Wasserkuppe in the Rhon Mountains in 1920 1 58 Oskar UrsinusOskar Ursinus 1938Born 1877 04 11 11 April 1877WeissenfelsDied6 July 1952 1952 07 06 aged 75 Known forremembered mainly for his contributions to sailplane designs and the sport of gliding Ursinus was born in Weissenfels and attended Technical College in Mittweida After graduation he worked for Borsig on compressors for locomotives and spent some time working on mining machinery in Romania for the firm In 1908 back in Germany Ursinus began to publish a magazine titled Flugsport 2 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 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 designing warplanes The famous series of Gotha bombers used by the German air corps throughout World War I 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 seaplanes 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 prohibited Germany from building powered aircraft and the attention of German aviators therefore turned to gliding A plateau particularly suited to gliding 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 Rhon 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 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 gliding and Germany s association for homebuilt aircraft the Oskar Ursinus Vereinigung Oskar Ursinus Association bears his name References edit Reitsch H 1955 The Sky My Kingdom London Biddles Limited Guildford and King s Lynn ISBN 1853672629 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 Bibliography by the Naval Marine Archive Retrieved 27 August 2014 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Oskar Ursinus amp oldid 1213779880, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
