Reinhold Platz

Reinhold Platz ( born January 16, 1886 in Cottbus, † September 15, 1966 in Ahrensburg ) was a German aircraft designer and senior staff of the Fokker -Werke.

Life

Reinhold Platz attended from 1892 to 1900 the primary school in Cottbus and Berlin. In the oxygen factory in Berlin he learned the locksmith trade. 1905, when Fouché introduced the oxyacetylene in Germany, has been ranked one of the first who learned it. He led before welding in Russia, in Switzerland and in Germany at various companies and so came also with the young aviation industry in touch. In the years 1907 to 1909, he completed his military service in the 1st Guards Regiment for F. Potsdam.

1912 applied for space at the time in Berlin -Johannisthal settled Fokker - Flugzeugwerke, where he introduced the welding of steel pipe hulls of Fokkerflugzeuge.

As a Fokker in 1913 moved to Schwerin, took place there, the locksmith and welding as champion, his main tasks were the training of welders ( and women ) and the development of new weldments. With the senior engineer Martin Kreutzer, he worked in the experimental department.

In June 1916 Kreutzer crashed during a test flight and died a day later. Fokker tested in rapid succession new engineers, was with the results but not satisfied. Since space offered as a chief designer. Initially he worked on strength bills, but was already the end of 1916 his first aircraft type, the VI Like his employer Fokker had no place theoretical knowledge in aircraft. For airplanes that had developed space for Fokker, there were often no design drawings, these were often made ​​by the Review Committee only upon acceptance.

Under the direction of Reinhold Platz arisen to 1920 more than 40 different aircraft types, including the beginning of 1917 by Manfred von Richthofen became known triplane Fokker Dr.I. Other important designs were the Fokker D.VII, the Fokker D.VIII Fokker and the first airliner F.II. 1918 Course Director of the aircraft factory in Schwerin, which was renamed after the war in " Schwerin industry works." There is now built boats, scales and beds.

Following the liquidation of the Schwerin industry works, and he emigrated to Holland in 1921 took place only the management of the Fokkerwerke in Veere. In 1924, he became the technical director of the Fokkerwerke Amsterdam, where he worked until his separation from Fokker in 1931.

After a lengthy recovery stay in Schwerin place in 1934 began to work for the Ministry of Aviation. There he was, until 1939, for Heinkel and Arado, in 1940 responsible for Dornier and from 1941 until the end of the war for Henschel, Arado, Volkswagen and other companies as a leader supervision. In 1938 he was promoted to colonel engineer and was appointed acting commissioner for the production of the V1. After 1945 he developed still various civilian patents.