Anselm Franz
Encyclopedia
Dr. Anselm Franz was a pioneering Austrian jet engine
engineer
known for the development of the Jumo 004
, the world's first mass-produced turbojet engine by Nazi Germany
during World War II
, and his work on turboshaft
designs in the U.S.
after the war as part of Operation Paperclip
, including the T53
, the world's first helicopter turboshaft engine, the T55, the AGT-1500
, and the PLFIA-2, the world's first high-bypass turbofan engine.
, in 1900, Franz studied mechanical engineering at the Graz University of Technology
and earned a doctoral degree from the University of Berlin. Franz worked as a design engineer at a company in Berlin, where he developed hydraulic torque converter
s.
and turbocharger
development.
Meanwhile Hans von Ohain
's first engines were being run at Heinkel
, although there was little official interest. Helmut Schelp
and Hans Mauch, at the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM), tried to keep development moving through the "back door", attempting to interest existing engine companies in jet development. On one such visit in early 1939 Otto Mader at Junkers said that even if the idea was worth looking at, he had no one to run such an effort. Schelp suggested that Franz would be perfect for the job, given his experience in turbocompressor work.
The program was set up later in 1939, initially consisting of a very small team drawn from the supercharger division. Unlike the Heinkel designs, the Jumo would use an axial compressor
, as opposed to the centrifugal compressor
, in order to have a smaller frontal area. With that exception the design was otherwise very conservative, a series of six flame cans were used for combustion instead of a single annular burner, and the compression ratio
was kept low at 3.14:1. Franz decided to focus on development time-to-market instead of performance in order to avoid having the program killed off if it didn't produce a working engine quickly.
The first testbed run of the experimental 004A took place in the spring of 1940, and had full speed runs in January 1941. The engine flew on an Messerschmitt Bf 110
on March 15, 1942, and after a number of these A models were delivered, the Messerschmitt Me 262
first took to the air with the 004A on July 18. The RLM was finally interested in the design, and ordered 80 production quality versions. The new 004B version included a number of changes, but ran into difficulty with vibration and fatigue problems that greatly delayed its service entry. It was not until the spring of 1944 that the engine was routinely lasting 50 hours and could enter full production. It nevertheless went on to power the majority of the Luftwaffe
's jet designs.
, and worked for a time with the USAF
on engine-related issues at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
. He was known to still wear his long leather, military coat from Nazi Germany in the United States, with the Nazi insignia removed.
In 1951 he was hired to set up a new turbine division at Lycoming
's otherwise unused plant in Stratford, Connecticut
. Here he decided to focus on engine areas not currently served by the larger companies (General Electric
and Pratt & Whitney
), eventually settling on helicopter
engines. His first design, the T53
, would go on to be one of the most popular turboshaft
engines in history, powering the Bell Aircraft
UH-1 Huey and AH-1 Cobra
helicopters, and the OV-1 Mohawk
ground attack aircraft
. He followed this success with the larger T55, later converting it into a small turbofan
engine as well. In the 1960s he led development of a new design for tank
use, which developed into the AGT-1500
, used on the M1 Abrams
.
, and the Austrian Decoration of Honour for Science and Art.
Jet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
known for the development of the Jumo 004
Junkers Jumo 004
The Jumo 004 was the world's first turbojet engine in production and operational use, and the first successful axial compressor jet engine ever built. Some 8,000 units were manufactured by Junkers in Germany during late World War II and powered the operational Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter,...
, the world's first mass-produced turbojet engine by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and his work on turboshaft
Turboshaft
A turboshaft engine is a form of gas turbine which is optimized to produce free turbine shaft power, rather than jet thrust...
designs in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
after the war as part of Operation Paperclip
Operation Paperclip
Operation Paperclip was the Office of Strategic Services program used to recruit the scientists of Nazi Germany for employment by the United States in the aftermath of World War II...
, including the T53
Lycoming T53
-External links:* *...
, the world's first helicopter turboshaft engine, the T55, the AGT-1500
AGT-1500
The Honeywell AGT1500 gas turbine engine is the main powerplant of the M1 Abrams series of tanks. The engine was originally designed and produced by the Lycoming Turbine Engine Division in the Stratford Army Engine Plant...
, and the PLFIA-2, the world's first high-bypass turbofan engine.
Early life
Born in Schladming, AustriaAustria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, in 1900, Franz studied mechanical engineering at the Graz University of Technology
Graz University of Technology
The Graz University of Technology is the second largest university in Styria, Austria, after the University of Graz. Austria has three universities of technology – in Graz, in Leoben, and in Vienna. The Graz University of Technology was founded in 1811 by Archduke John of Austria. TUG, as the...
and earned a doctoral degree from the University of Berlin. Franz worked as a design engineer at a company in Berlin, where he developed hydraulic torque converter
Torque converter
In modern usage, a torque converter is generally a type of hydrodynamic fluid coupling that is used to transfer rotating power from a prime mover, such as an internal combustion engine or electric motor, to a rotating driven load...
s.
Junkers Aircraft
In 1936, he joined Junkers, and during much of the 1930s he was in charge of superchargerSupercharger
A supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,...
and turbocharger
Turbocharger
A turbocharger, or turbo , from the Greek "τύρβη" is a centrifugal compressor powered by a turbine that is driven by an engine's exhaust gases. Its benefit lies with the compressor increasing the mass of air entering the engine , thereby resulting in greater performance...
development.
Meanwhile Hans von Ohain
Hans von Ohain
Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain was a German engineer, one of the inventors of jet propulsion.Frank Whittle, who patented in 1930 in the United Kingdom, and Hans von Ohain, who patented in 1936 in Germany, developed the concept independently during the late 1930s...
's first engines were being run at Heinkel
Heinkel
Heinkel Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight.-History:...
, although there was little official interest. Helmut Schelp
Helmut Schelp
Helmut Schelp was the director of "advanced" engine development at the RLM's T-Amt technical division leading up to and during World War II. He used his office to fund a widespread program in jet engine development, which led to many of the engine concepts still used today...
and Hans Mauch, at the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM), tried to keep development moving through the "back door", attempting to interest existing engine companies in jet development. On one such visit in early 1939 Otto Mader at Junkers said that even if the idea was worth looking at, he had no one to run such an effort. Schelp suggested that Franz would be perfect for the job, given his experience in turbocompressor work.
The program was set up later in 1939, initially consisting of a very small team drawn from the supercharger division. Unlike the Heinkel designs, the Jumo would use an axial compressor
Axial compressor
Axial compressors are rotating, airfoil-based compressors in which the working fluid principally flows parallel to the axis of rotation. This is in contrast with other rotating compressors such as centrifugal, axi-centrifugal and mixed-flow compressors where the air may enter axially but will have...
, as opposed to the centrifugal compressor
Centrifugal compressor
Centrifugal compressors, sometimes termed radial compressors, are a sub-class of dynamic axisymmetric work-absorbing turbomachinery.The idealized compressive dynamic turbo-machine achieves a pressure rise by adding kinetic energy/velocity to a continuous flow of fluid through the rotor or impeller...
, in order to have a smaller frontal area. With that exception the design was otherwise very conservative, a series of six flame cans were used for combustion instead of a single annular burner, and the compression ratio
Compression ratio
The 'compression ratio' of an internal-combustion engine or external combustion engine is a value that represents the ratio of the volume of its combustion chamber from its largest capacity to its smallest capacity...
was kept low at 3.14:1. Franz decided to focus on development time-to-market instead of performance in order to avoid having the program killed off if it didn't produce a working engine quickly.
The first testbed run of the experimental 004A took place in the spring of 1940, and had full speed runs in January 1941. The engine flew on an Messerschmitt Bf 110
Messerschmitt Bf 110
The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often called Me 110, was a twin-engine heavy fighter in the service of the Luftwaffe during World War II. Hermann Göring was a proponent of the Bf 110, and nicknamed it his Eisenseiten...
on March 15, 1942, and after a number of these A models were delivered, the Messerschmitt Me 262
Messerschmitt Me 262
The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft. Design work started before World War II began, but engine problems prevented the aircraft from attaining operational status with the Luftwaffe until mid-1944...
first took to the air with the 004A on July 18. The RLM was finally interested in the design, and ordered 80 production quality versions. The new 004B version included a number of changes, but ran into difficulty with vibration and fatigue problems that greatly delayed its service entry. It was not until the spring of 1944 that the engine was routinely lasting 50 hours and could enter full production. It nevertheless went on to power the majority of the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
's jet designs.
Operation Paperclip
After the war Franz moved to the United States as part of Operation PaperclipOperation Paperclip
Operation Paperclip was the Office of Strategic Services program used to recruit the scientists of Nazi Germany for employment by the United States in the aftermath of World War II...
, and worked for a time with the USAF
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
on engine-related issues at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Greene and Montgomery counties in the state of Ohio. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wright Field and Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot. Patterson Field is located approximately...
. He was known to still wear his long leather, military coat from Nazi Germany in the United States, with the Nazi insignia removed.
In 1951 he was hired to set up a new turbine division at Lycoming
Lycoming Engines
Lycoming Engines is a U.S. aircraft engine company, known primarily for its general aviation engines. For most of its history Lycoming has been part of the AVCO group as AVCO Lycoming. In 1987 AVCO was purchased by Textron to become Textron Lycoming...
's otherwise unused plant in Stratford, Connecticut
Stratford, Connecticut
Stratford is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Housatonic River. It was founded by Puritans in 1639....
. Here he decided to focus on engine areas not currently served by the larger companies (General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
and Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is a U.S.-based aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation . Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation and military aviation. Its headquarters are in East Hartford, Connecticut, USA...
), eventually settling on helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
engines. His first design, the T53
Lycoming T53
-External links:* *...
, would go on to be one of the most popular turboshaft
Turboshaft
A turboshaft engine is a form of gas turbine which is optimized to produce free turbine shaft power, rather than jet thrust...
engines in history, powering the Bell Aircraft
Bell Aircraft
The Bell Aircraft Corporation was an aircraft manufacturer of the United States, a builder of several types of fighter aircraft for World War II but most famous for the Bell X-1, the first supersonic aircraft, and for the development and production of many important civilian and military helicopters...
UH-1 Huey and AH-1 Cobra
AH-1 Cobra
The Bell AH-1 Cobra is a two-bladed, single engine attack helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It shares a common engine, transmission and rotor system with the older UH-1 Iroquois...
helicopters, and the OV-1 Mohawk
OV-1 Mohawk
The Grumman OV-1 Mohawk is an armed military observation and attack aircraft, designed for battlefield surveillance and light strike capabilities. It is of twin turboprop configuration, and carried two crewmembers with side by side seating...
ground attack aircraft
Ground attack aircraft
Ground-attack aircraft are military aircraft with primary role of attacking targets on the ground with greater precision than bombers and prepared to face stronger low-level air defense...
. He followed this success with the larger T55, later converting it into a small turbofan
Turbofan
The turbofan is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used for aircraft propulsion. A turbofan combines two types of engines, the turbo portion which is a conventional gas turbine engine, and the fan, a propeller-like ducted fan...
engine as well. In the 1960s he led development of a new design for tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
use, which developed into the AGT-1500
AGT-1500
The Honeywell AGT1500 gas turbine engine is the main powerplant of the M1 Abrams series of tanks. The engine was originally designed and produced by the Lycoming Turbine Engine Division in the Stratford Army Engine Plant...
, used on the M1 Abrams
M1 Abrams
The M1 Abrams is a third-generation main battle tank produced in the United States. It is named after General Creighton Abrams, former Army Chief of Staff and Commander of US military forces in Vietnam from 1968 to 1972. The M1 is a well armed, heavily armored, and highly mobile tank designed for...
.
Retirement
Franz retired from Lycoming in 1968, having risen to Vice President. He died in 1994, holder of the U.S. Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, the R. Tom Sawyer Award from the American Society of Mechanical EngineersAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers is a professional body, specifically an engineering society, focused on mechanical engineering....
, and the Austrian Decoration of Honour for Science and Art.