Elly Beinhorn
Encyclopedia
Elly Beinhorn-Rosemeyer (30 May 1907 – 28 November 2007) was a German
pilot
.
In 1928, she attended a lecture by famed aviator Hermann Köhl
, who had recently completed a historic East-West Atlantic crossing. This lecture is described as the spark that ignited her interest in aviation.
At just 21 years old, with funds from a small inheritance (against the wishes of her parents) she moved to Spandau
in Berlin where she took flying lessons, at Berlin-Staaken
airport, under the tutelage of instructor Otto Thomsen. She soon made her solo flight in a small Klemm KL-20
. With her money running out, it was suggested that she give aerobatic displays on the weekends. She found this financially rewarding, but personally unsatisfying.
Long distance flying was her real passion and in 1931 she seized the opportunity to fly to Portuguese Guinea (now Guinea-Bissau) West Africa
on a scientific expedition. On the return journey, engine failure resulted in a crash-landing in the Sahara
. With the help of nomadic Tuareg tribesmen, Elly joined a camel caravan to Timbuktu
. She subsequently returned to the crash site to recover parts of the plane. Word of her plight reached the French authorities and they sent a military two-seater plane to collect her.
In April 1931, fully recovered, she was able to fly herself back to Berlin to a warm reception from the crowds.
Soon after this, she embarked on another flight, her Klemm monoplane developing mechanical problems near Bushire, Persia. She found Moye Stephens, another pilot, in Bushire, who helped her fix the problem on her Klemm. Stephens and travel-adventure writer Richard Halliburton were flying around the world in a Stearman C-3B
biplane, they called the Flying Carpet. She accompanied them on part of their flight, including the trip to Mount Everest
. She flew on to Bali
- and eventually Australia. In the process, she became only the second woman to fly solo from Europe to Australia, after Amy Johnson
. The foreword of her book, Flying Girl (1935), was written by Richard Halliburton
(whose English publisher, as hers, was Geoffrey Bles); it includes a photo of Moye Stephens repairing her plane. Barbara H. Schultz' Flying Carpets, Flying Wings - The Biography of Moye Stephens (2011) contains Stephens' own account of their meeting which was first introduced in Halliburton's bestselling The Flying Carpet (1932).
Having landed in Darwin
, North Australia
, she headed down to Sydney, arriving in March 1932. Her plane was dismantled and shipped to New Zealand, then Panama where it was reassembled. There Elly resumed her flight, following the western coast of South America
. She was presented with a medal in Peru. An ill-advised trip across the Andes
followed. The plane was dismantled once more in Brazil and shipped to Germany. Elly arrived in Berlin in June 1932.
Now famous but in debt to the tune of 15,000 marks or more, she was pleasantly surprised to be awarded the Hindenburg Cup
, 10,000 marks and several other monetary awards from the German aeronautical industry which enabled her to continue her career. She also continued to write articles and sell photographs of her travels to raise funds.
Free of debt, she took off for Africa using a Heinkel He 71
, flying down the east coast, then back up the west coast.
The following year, Elly shipped the plane to Panama, then flew through Mexico and California before crossing the United States to Washington DC and Miami. Elly and the plane returned to Germany by ship, arriving in January 1935. She was now a true German heroine.
On 29 September 1935 Elly attended the Czechoslovakian Grand Prix
, held in the town of Brno
in Czechoslovakia
, at the invitation of Auto Union
(she happened to be in the country on a lecture tour, by now a regular source of income). She congratulated the winner, Bernd Rosemeyer
, who seemed smitten with her. They danced together that night and were married on 13 July 1936. A true celebrity couple – an adventurous aviatrix and the fearless racing driver – they were the toast of Nazi Germany
. Heinrich Himmler
ordered a reluctant Bernd to become a member of the SS
.
They had a son, Bernd Jr., in November 1937, but just ten weeks after his birth his father was killed while attempting a speed record in his Auto Union
Streamliner. As a national hero he was mourned by much of Germany. Elly received condolences from prominent Nazis, including Adolf Hitler
, but requested a simple, non-political funeral ceremony. These wishes were ignored and several Nazis gave speeches at the graveside. Some accounts suggest that Elly walked off in protest at the Nazis claiming Bernd as their own and taking over what was a personal occasion.
After World War II she briefly took up gliding due to the ban on powered flight in Germany. But she soon moved to Switzerland to continue flying planes.
In 1979, at the age of 72, she surrendered her pilot's licence.
, Bavaria
, near Munich
. Her son, Dr. Bernd Rosemeyer, lives in the same area and has enjoyed a successful career as an orthopaedist. He is married to Countess Michaela von Castell-Ruedenhausen, and they have two children.
Elly Beinhorn died on 28 November 2007, at the age of 100.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
.
Early life
She was born in Hannover, Germany on 30 May 1907.In 1928, she attended a lecture by famed aviator Hermann Köhl
Hermann Köhl
Hermann Köhl was a German Aviation pioneer and pilot of the first trans-atlantic flight in the East-West direction....
, who had recently completed a historic East-West Atlantic crossing. This lecture is described as the spark that ignited her interest in aviation.
At just 21 years old, with funds from a small inheritance (against the wishes of her parents) she moved to Spandau
Spandau
Spandau is the fifth of the twelve boroughs of Berlin. It is the fourth largest and westernmost borough, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers and along the western bank of the Havel, but the least populated.-Overview:...
in Berlin where she took flying lessons, at Berlin-Staaken
Staaken
Staaken is a locality at the western rim of Berlin within the borough of Spandau. In the west it shares border with the Brandenburg municipalities of Falkensee and Dallgow-Döberitz in the Havelland district. Buildings range from small detached houses in the west to larger 1960s and 1970s housing...
airport, under the tutelage of instructor Otto Thomsen. She soon made her solo flight in a small Klemm KL-20
Klemm
The Klemm Leichtflugzeugbau GmbH was a German aircraft manufacturer noteworthy for sports and touring planes of the 1930s.The company was founded in Böblingen in 1926 by Dr...
. With her money running out, it was suggested that she give aerobatic displays on the weekends. She found this financially rewarding, but personally unsatisfying.
Long-distance flights
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
on a scientific expedition. On the return journey, engine failure resulted in a crash-landing in the Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
. With the help of nomadic Tuareg tribesmen, Elly joined a camel caravan to Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...
. She subsequently returned to the crash site to recover parts of the plane. Word of her plight reached the French authorities and they sent a military two-seater plane to collect her.
In April 1931, fully recovered, she was able to fly herself back to Berlin to a warm reception from the crowds.
Soon after this, she embarked on another flight, her Klemm monoplane developing mechanical problems near Bushire, Persia. She found Moye Stephens, another pilot, in Bushire, who helped her fix the problem on her Klemm. Stephens and travel-adventure writer Richard Halliburton were flying around the world in a Stearman C-3B
Stearman C3
|-References:NotesBibliography* Davies, R.E.G. Airlines of the United States since 1914. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998. ISBN 1-888962-08-9....
biplane, they called the Flying Carpet. She accompanied them on part of their flight, including the trip to Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
. She flew on to Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
- and eventually Australia. In the process, she became only the second woman to fly solo from Europe to Australia, after Amy Johnson
Amy Johnson
Amy Johnson CBE, was a pioneering English aviator. Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, Johnson set numerous long-distance records during the 1930s...
. The foreword of her book, Flying Girl (1935), was written by Richard Halliburton
Richard Halliburton
Richard Halliburton was an American traveler, adventurer, and author. Best known today for having swum the length of the Panama Canal and paying the lowest toll in its history—thirty-six cents—Halliburton was headline news for most of his brief career...
(whose English publisher, as hers, was Geoffrey Bles); it includes a photo of Moye Stephens repairing her plane. Barbara H. Schultz' Flying Carpets, Flying Wings - The Biography of Moye Stephens (2011) contains Stephens' own account of their meeting which was first introduced in Halliburton's bestselling The Flying Carpet (1932).
Having landed in Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
, North Australia
North Australia
North Australia can refer to a former territory, a former colony or a proposed state which would replace the current Northern Territory.-Colony :...
, she headed down to Sydney, arriving in March 1932. Her plane was dismantled and shipped to New Zealand, then Panama where it was reassembled. There Elly resumed her flight, following the western coast of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. She was presented with a medal in Peru. An ill-advised trip across the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
followed. The plane was dismantled once more in Brazil and shipped to Germany. Elly arrived in Berlin in June 1932.
Now famous but in debt to the tune of 15,000 marks or more, she was pleasantly surprised to be awarded the Hindenburg Cup
Hindenburg Cup
The Hindenburg Cup was a German aviation prize, founded in 1928 and awarded annually by President and Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg to recognize achievements in powered flight...
, 10,000 marks and several other monetary awards from the German aeronautical industry which enabled her to continue her career. She also continued to write articles and sell photographs of her travels to raise funds.
Free of debt, she took off for Africa using a Heinkel He 71
Heinkel He 71
-Bibliography:...
, flying down the east coast, then back up the west coast.
The following year, Elly shipped the plane to Panama, then flew through Mexico and California before crossing the United States to Washington DC and Miami. Elly and the plane returned to Germany by ship, arriving in January 1935. She was now a true German heroine.
Bernd Rosemeyer
Czechoslovakian Grand Prix
The Czechoslovakian Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor racing event first held on September 28, 1930 at the Masaryk Circuit now referred to as the Brno Circuit. It was held in the town of Brno in Czechoslovakia .From 1934 onwards, the race was dominated by the German Silver Arrows...
, held in the town of Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, at the invitation of Auto Union
Auto Union
Auto Union was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony, during the Great Depression. The company has evolved into present day Audi, as a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group....
(she happened to be in the country on a lecture tour, by now a regular source of income). She congratulated the winner, Bernd Rosemeyer
Bernd Rosemeyer
Bernd Rosemeyer was a German racing driver.- Career :...
, who seemed smitten with her. They danced together that night and were married on 13 July 1936. A true celebrity couple – an adventurous aviatrix and the fearless racing driver – they were the toast of 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...
. Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
ordered a reluctant Bernd to become a member of the SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
.
They had a son, Bernd Jr., in November 1937, but just ten weeks after his birth his father was killed while attempting a speed record in his Auto Union
Auto Union
Auto Union was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony, during the Great Depression. The company has evolved into present day Audi, as a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group....
Streamliner. As a national hero he was mourned by much of Germany. Elly received condolences from prominent Nazis, including Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, but requested a simple, non-political funeral ceremony. These wishes were ignored and several Nazis gave speeches at the graveside. Some accounts suggest that Elly walked off in protest at the Nazis claiming Bernd as their own and taking over what was a personal occasion.
Second marriage & post-war life
In 1941 Elly married Dr. Karl Wittman and they had a daughter, Stephanie.After World War II she briefly took up gliding due to the ban on powered flight in Germany. But she soon moved to Switzerland to continue flying planes.
In 1979, at the age of 72, she surrendered her pilot's licence.
Later years and death
In her later years, Rosemeyer lived in OttobrunnOttobrunn
Ottobrunn is a municipality southeast of Munich, Bavaria, Germany, founded in 1955. Ottobrunn consists of mainly semi-detached and detached houses, and lots of gardens...
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, near Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. Her son, Dr. Bernd Rosemeyer, lives in the same area and has enjoyed a successful career as an orthopaedist. He is married to Countess Michaela von Castell-Ruedenhausen, and they have two children.
Elly Beinhorn died on 28 November 2007, at the age of 100.
Publications
- Chris Nixon & Elly Beinhorn-Rosemeyer: "Rosemeyer!", Transport Bookman Publications 1989, ISBN 0851840469
- Beinhorn, Elly, Flying Girl (Geoffrey Bles, London, 1935).
- Halliburton, Richard, The Flying Carpet (Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis and New York, 1932).
- Max, Gerry, Horizon Chasers - The Adventures of Richard Halliburton and Paul Mooney (McFarland Publishers, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina, 2007).
- Schultz, Barbara H., Flying Carpets, Flying Wings - The Biography of Moye Stephens (PlaneMercantile, 2011).