Hugo Junkers was an inventor, industrialist, educator and aviator. Born in 1859, Junkers was 56 before he invented the form of plane still being flown today. He was a professor at a technical institute where one of the first wind tunnels was built. He built a “flying wing” that was a single wing that held its engines, fuel, crew and cargo. It was almost 40 years before an American, Jack Northrop, perfected Junkers’ design.
While helping a colleague build an airplane out of corrugated sheet iron, Junkers determined that all future planes would be monoplanes made out of metal. This was quite impressive foresight in 1911, because at that time most planes were biplanes. Some monoplanes were built at that time, but they were not strong. The biplanes were made with a wood frame covered with fabric.
It wasn’t until 1915 that Junkers built the J1, his first all metal monoplane. Because of the supply shortage in Germany during WWI, Junkers built the J1 with iron tubing for the frame and covered it with sheet iron. It flew over 100 miles an hour. This was faster than some planes being used in the war. Because of this success, the German government paired Junkers with Anthony Fokker, a Dutch designer. Since they were working for the government, they were able to get aluminum for their aircraft. Junkers built the J3 and proved that it could hold 42 men. He declared that soon aircraft would be carrying as many people across the Atlantic as were going in ships. By late 1950s he was proven correct.
Junkers’ interest was focused on passenger airliners. He had spent all of his time after WWI working towards that end. However, the Nazis government was only interested in building warplanes. They forced Junkers to work for their needs. He died in 1935 at the age of 76. His contributions to air flight are still important in the industry.
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