Flying Man: Hugo Junkers and the Dream of Aviation

by Richard Byers

Overview

Hugo Junkers (1859–1935) was a German engineer and aircraft designer generally credited as the pioneer of all-metal airplanes. His company, Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG, more commonly referred to simply as “Junkers,” became a major German aircraft manufacturer based in Dessau. From humble beginnings producing boilers and radiators, by World War II the company was producing some of the most successful Luftwaffe planes, including the Ju 88, the primary bomber of the German air force.

Hugo Junkers himself, however, was a socialist pacifist who saw aviation as a way to unify the world. Soon after the Nazi party came to power in 1933, Junkers was forced to surrender his patents, found his holdings seized by the state, and was placed under house arrest. He died in 1935, a “tortured genius” exiled from his life’s work but, perhaps fortunately, spared from seeing his inventions destructively unleashed across Europe.

No biography of Junkers has been published to date. Author Richard Byers now fills that void with this compelling narrative of a man and his machines. Flying Man is a contribution not only to the history of aviation but also adds to our understanding of the consolidation of power in Germany’s march toward World War II.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781623494650
Publisher:	Texas A&M University Press
Publication date:	11/17/2016
Series:	Centennial of Flight Series , #20
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	264
File size:	14 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

RICHARD BYERS, a native of Adelaide, Australia, is professor of history at the University of North Georgia.

Table of Contents

Preface

Dessau: The City in Green vii

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 The War Years, 1914-1918 11

Chapter 2 The Russian Affair, 1918-1924 37

Chapter 3 Diverging Paths, 1921-1926 67

Chapter 4 On the Edge, 1927-1932 123

Chapter 5 Twilight and Eclipse, 1932-1935 165

Notes 185

Bibliography 231

Index 235

Interviews

North Georgia

Editorial Reviews

“In addition to making this case, Byers’ work stands as a fine example of approaching aviation history with a broader view. While examining the technical, economic and bureaucratic facets of Junkers’ experience, Byers remains focused on the vision, or ‘dream’, for aviation. This offers more profound insights into the history of aviation, as well as a number of other subfields, and thus stands as a worthy example of scholarship.” —The Journal of Transport History

The Journal of Transport History

"Flying Man: Hugo Junkers and the Dream of Aviation focuses on a pioneer whose name is more often associated with World War II, yet he was very much a pioneer of air transport in the 1920s and early 1930s. By focusing on his contributions to aeronautics, but also by clarifying the challenges Junkers faced, Byers offers a nuanced evaluation of the German engineer. In so doing, he also sheds light on the difficulties aircraft manufacturers and airlines faced in the interwar years as governments came to terms with the airplane, its many potentials, but also its high financial cost. The paradox of banning Germany from building airplanes, even commercial ones, under the terms of the Versailles treaty prompted the search by manufacturers for other outlets. In the case of Junkers, this meant that his aircraft were exported and became famous beyond what one might have expected. The success was far more limited than one would think, however, and Byers does a splendid job of contextualizing the factors that slowed Junkers' success.
 
Junkers’ name was also associated with Dessau, and many have focused on the modernist element of the firm he founded in the same city that saw the birth of the Bauhaus architectural movement. Byers, however, succeeds in maintaining his focus on Junkers’ industrial and technical work. Having delved into numerous archives, some of which were only opened recently, Byers teases out the intricacies of the many governmental operations that affected Junkers’ work. While there exist many works by enthusiasts on the subject of Junkers aircraft, the body of literature on Junkers himself is rather limited, and mostly in German. Byers is to be congratulated on bringing this excellent synthesis to print, as it helps us understand better the peculiarities of European aviation, and German aeronautical production in particular, during the interwar years.” — Guillaume de Syon, Professor of History, Albright College
 

Guillaume de Syon

“A key work for the development of air capability in the early decades of the twentieth century and, more particularly, in the development of the German and Soviet aviation industries.” — Jeremy Black, professor of history, University of Exeter
 

Jeremy Black