Ernst Heinkel
A daring German engineer whose relentless pursuit of speed produced the world's first jet and rocket planes, leaping aviation into a new era.
1888–1958 (age 70)·Aircraft designer and manufacturer·Birthday: January 24·The Lost Generation
Biography
Ernst Heinkel was driven by a single, powerful obsession: velocity. In the competitive cauldron of interwar and Nazi Germany, his company became a laboratory for radical ideas, pushing piston-engine limits before abandoning them altogether. Heinkel wasn't necessarily the deepest theoretical mind; his genius lay in recognizing revolutionary concepts and gambling his company on them. He provided a platform for brilliant, often rebellious engineers like the young Hans von Ohain. This partnership resulted in the He 178, a small, experimental aircraft that, on August 27, 1939, secretly became the first in the world to fly solely on turbojet power—a full two years before its British counterpart. Just months earlier, his team had also flown the He 176, the first aircraft powered by a liquid-fueled rocket. These weren't practical weapons, but breathtaking proofs of concept that changed everything. While his later wartime designs were often overshadowed by rivals like Messerschmitt, Heinkel's legacy is that of the pioneer who made the foundational leap, tearing up the blueprint of propeller-driven flight and forcing the world to imagine a faster, higher, and more terrifying future.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Ernst was born in 1888, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Ernst Was Born
The biggest hits of 1888
Ernst's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1888Born
President: Grover Cleveland
1893Started school
World's Columbian Exposition dazzles Chicago
President: Grover Cleveland
1901Became a teenager
Queen Victoria dies, ending the Victorian era
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1904Could drive
New York City opens its first subway line
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1906Could vote
San Francisco earthquake devastates the city
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1909Turned 21
Robert Peary claims to reach the North Pole
President: William Howard Taft
1918Turned 30
World War I ends; Spanish flu pandemic kills millions
President: Woodrow Wilson
1928Turned 40
Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin; Mickey Mouse debuts
President: Calvin Coolidge"Ol' Man River" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: Wings
1938Turned 50
Kristallnacht and the escalation toward WWII
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $2,850Min wage: $0.25/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Begin the Beguine" — Artie ShawBest Picture: You Can't Take It with You
1948Turned 60
Israel declares independence; Berlin Blockade begins
Gas: $0.26/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Twelfth Street Rag" — Pee Wee HuntBest Picture: Hamlet
1958Turned 70
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
Key Achievements
- His company built and flew the Heinkel He 178, the world's first aircraft to fly under turbojet power, in August 1939.
- Produced the Heinkel He 176, the first aircraft to be powered solely by a liquid-fueled rocket engine, flown in 1939.
- Designed the He 111, one of the Luftwaffe's primary medium bombers during World War II.
- Pioneered the use of ejection seats in operational aircraft, with the He 219 night fighter being the first to carry them.
Did You Know?
He was an early and enthusiastic supporter of rocket technology, working closely with a young Wernher von Braun's team.
Despite his technological breakthroughs, he had a fraught relationship with the Nazi regime and was briefly arrested by the Gestapo in 1942.
After the war, he started a new company producing bicycles, motor scooters, and eventually the Heinkel 'Kabine' microcar.
The historic first jet flight of the He 178 was witnessed only by a small group of company employees and officials, with no high-ranking Nazi leaders present.
“I have never been interested in building aircraft for their own sake, but only in building faster aircraft.”
