Hermann Behrbohm was significant in the design of
Saab 35 Draken and
Saab 37 Viggen. He made the calculations supporting
Alexander Lippisch developing the
Delta wing concept at the end of the war. He received the Swedish Aeronautical Society's Thulin Medal 1968 in silver for having promoted aviation technology with work. He made efforts in aviation technology in several countries during his life, due to the circumstances. Finally, as a
pensioner, 1972 he moved to England with his British wife. His children stayed in Sweden. He authored many articles in aerodynamic and mathematical specialist press available on libraries and the Internet.
Education and doctoral dissertation in Germany He studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Karlsruhe, as well as mathematics and
number theory at
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen. Behrbohm was a research assistant at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen in 1933–1936 and wrote his doctoral dissertation on the
algebra identity of the meromorphisms of an
elliptical function body. The thesis was not approved for political reasons when the supervisor was Jewish and
Nazi Germany took over. In 1944 he was promoted doctor in mathematics and
physics. Behrbohm also had great difficulties in marrying his first wife because of the regulations in Nazi Germany. She had difficulties obtaining biological purity certificates (unknown father) and thus being able to marry him, which was possible only in 1940.
Messerschmitt He was recruited in 1937 to
Messerschmitt’s
Aerodynamics department in
Augsburg. Herrman Behrbom was asked for as a
mathematician in the
aerospace industry to make theoretical calculations and then run tests to drive development projects forward.
Augsburg 1937-1944 He participated in work on high-speed trials with
Messerschmitt Bf 109 with Lukas Schmid. At Messerschmitt in Augsburg, the main project during these years was otherwise the development of the
jet aircraft Messerschmitt Me 262. The development of the rocket plane
Messerschmitt Me 163 under the direction of
Alexander Lippisch also took place here from 1939.
Oberammergau 1944-1945 After the
air raids on Augsburg the 25 February 1944, the development activities were moved into the underground facility of the Oberbayerische Forschungsanstalt in
Oberammergau. The family remains in
Mering close to
Augsburg. Messerschmitt developed from the end of 1944 under
Willy Messerschmitt's direction the
jetplane Messerschmitt P.1101. It has a lot in common with
Saab 29 Tunnan, which was created before Hermann's time in Saab, as well as for
MiG-15 and
F-86 Sabre.
Wiener Neustadt 1944-1945 From autumn 1944, he worked half-time for the Aviation Research Institute Vienna (LFW) in
Wiener Neustadt, where
Alexander Lippisch had opened his own development office. Until then, Lippisch had worked for Messerschmitt with the rocket plane
Messerschmitt Me 163. He and
Willy Messerschmitt disagreed about the design, in which Lippisch did not want the rear wing,
drag and worse performance. In Wiener Neustadt, Lippisch worked on the further development of the
delta wing (rear wingless) mini - (coal jet)
fighter aircraft Lippisch P.13a, which at the end of the war became part of the
Volksjäger program. The Lippisch P.13a
delta wing technology is the basis for
Saab 35 Draken in its design, the development of which Hermann later participated in by
Saab. So also for ex
Dassault Mirage. One can see
Messerschmitt Me 163 and not the least
Lippisch P.13a as the basis for all
delta wing fighter aircraft that followed in the 1950s.
Occupation - BEE After the war ended in 1945, Hermann was an unemployed father of a family with 4 children in
Mering near
Augsburg American zone of occupation. They had income from gifts from housed American officers, but he also worked a time in agriculture and forestry with nature payments for family food on the table. In the spring of 1946 he was recruited by BEE (French Aerodynamic Research and Development Institute, today a part of Deutsch-Französisches Forschungsinstitut Saint-Louis) with operations in
Emmendingen and
Weil am Rhein in
French occupation zone in Germany. After the formation of the
Federal Republic of Germany 1949 and the end of occupation, the opportunities were greater to find scientifically interesting work abroad and Behrbohm received offers from France and other countries.
Saab Hermann chose 1951 to start working on
Saab moving to
Linköping with his family who became naturalized Swedes. The motives for choosing to work for Saab were the projects
Saab 32 Lansen and
Saab 35 Draken under
Erik Bratt and
Tore Gullstrand. Being a specialist in aerodynamics is a narrow labor market with few employers in the world who have sufficient resources to create good results. Saab where they built up operations and Sweden's ambitions gave Hermann the opportunities. In the shadow of the
Cold War and the
nuclear arms race the client, the
Swedish Air Force's desire in the 1950s to the 1970s (the
Defence Act of 1958) was to be able to swiftly attack strategic
nuclear weapons-
bombers such as
Tupolev Tu-16 before they reached their targets. This with really fast
supersonic-
delta wing-
fighter aircraft such as
Saab 35 Draken, where
speed and
preparedness were the key factors. The
Swedish Air Force's need were also
landing operation-defenses over the surrounding seas with
attack aircraft as well as ultra-fast
reconnaissance aircraft planes such as the
Saab 37 Viggen.
Economy and
materials engineering for
friction heat of the
atmosphere set the limit for
speed. This generated large orders to build a very large
air force and resources for
development. Hermann remained at Saab until his retirement in 1972. During the years 1960–64 he was head of the
Aerodynamics department, also participated in the projects
Saab 37 Viggen and
Saab 105 and published a large number of articles in aerodynamics. He was esteemed and won the Swedish Aeronautical Society's Thulin Medal 1968 in silver. Hermann Behrbohm and
Bertil Dillner made significant efforts in the design of
Saab 37 Viggen, and in particular the design and tests of the
Canard-wing construction. After retirement, he moved with his second wife to her hometown in the south of England and lived there afterwards. == See also ==