Paul Jaray
Encyclopedia
Paul Jaray 11 March 1889 Vienna
–22 September 1974 St. Gallen
, was an engineer and a pioneer of automotive streamlining.
-Jewish descent, was born in Vienna. Jaray studied at Maschinenbauschule in Vienna and worked at the Prague Technical University as an assistant to Professor Rudolf Dörfl.
Later he became the chief design engineer for the aircraft building firm Flugzeugbau in Friedrichshafen
designing seaplanes. From 1915 Jaray worked at Luftschiffbau Zeppelin
located in the same town concentrating on streamlining airships. Jaray designed airship LZ-120 Bodensee on which airships such as LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin
, LZ 129 Hindenburg
and LZ-130
were later based.
Further experiments in the LZ’s wind tunnel led to his establishment of streamlining principles for car designs. In 1923 he moved permanently to Switzerland
opening an office in Brunnen
. In 1927, Jaray founded the Stromlinien Karosserie Gesellschaft, which presented numerous designs for streamlined car body work. It issued licences to major vehicle manufacturers including Tatra Works in Kopřivnice
, Czechoslovakia
. Tatra was the only manufacturer that introduced Jaray streamlining principles into their car production. Jaray designed his own cars starting with the 1923 Ley and followed on with designs for Chrysler
, Mercedes-Benz
, Maybach
, Apollo, Dixi, Audi
, Adler
, Jawa
, Ford, Steyer
and others.
His own 1933 car was built on Mercedes-Benz
chassis with the body by Huber and Bruehwiler of Lucerne
. Jaray was also interested in radio and television technology. In 1941 he worked for Farner AG in Grenchen on nosewheel undercarriage design. In 1944 he set up as an independent engineer working on wind-driven power station.
He was an author of a large number of technical patents relating to streamlining, air compressors for railway, and devices for handling gases in silencers. Later he lectured at Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Zurich
.
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
–22 September 1974 St. Gallen
St. Gallen
St. Gallen is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. The town mainly relies on the service sector for its economic...
, was an engineer and a pioneer of automotive streamlining.
Life
Jaray, of HungarianHungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
-Jewish descent, was born in Vienna. Jaray studied at Maschinenbauschule in Vienna and worked at the Prague Technical University as an assistant to Professor Rudolf Dörfl.
Later he became the chief design engineer for the aircraft building firm Flugzeugbau in Friedrichshafen
Friedrichshafen
This article is about a German town. For the Danish town, see Frederikshavn, and for the Finnish town, see Fredrikshamn .Friedrichshafen is a university city on the northern side of Lake Constance in Southern Germany, near the borders with Switzerland and Austria.It is the district capital of the...
designing seaplanes. From 1915 Jaray worked at Luftschiffbau Zeppelin
Luftschiffbau Zeppelin
Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH is a German company which, during the early 20th century, was a leader in the design and manufacture of rigid airships, specifically of the Zeppelin type. The company was founded by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin...
located in the same town concentrating on streamlining airships. Jaray designed airship LZ-120 Bodensee on which airships such as LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin
LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin
LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin was a German built and operated passenger-carrying hydrogen-filled rigid airship which operated commercially from 1928 to 1937. It was named after the German pioneer of airships, Ferdinand von Zeppelin, who was a Graf or Count in the German nobility. During its operating life,...
, LZ 129 Hindenburg
LZ 129 Hindenburg
LZ 129 Hindenburg was a large German commercial passenger-carrying rigid airship, the lead ship of the Hindenburg class, the longest class of flying machine and the largest airship by envelope volume...
and LZ-130
LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin
The Graf Zeppelin II was the last of the great German rigid airships built by the Zeppelin Luftschiffbau during the period between the World Wars, the second and final ship of the Hindenburg class named in honor of Paul von Hindenburg...
were later based.
Further experiments in the LZ’s wind tunnel led to his establishment of streamlining principles for car designs. In 1923 he moved permanently to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
opening an office in Brunnen
Brunnen
Brunnen is a resort on Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, part of the municipality Ingenbohl , at .Brunnen has a cablecar that goes to the Urmiberg, a part of the Rigi offering wonderful views of Lake Lucerne and the Alps....
. In 1927, Jaray founded the Stromlinien Karosserie Gesellschaft, which presented numerous designs for streamlined car body work. It issued licences to major vehicle manufacturers including Tatra Works in Kopřivnice
Koprivnice
Kopřivnice is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has cca 23,500 inhabitants.- History :In 1850, both of the former villages, Drnholec nad Lubinou and Větřkovice, became a part of the political district of Nový Jičín within the judicial district Příbor...
, 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...
. Tatra was the only manufacturer that introduced Jaray streamlining principles into their car production. Jaray designed his own cars starting with the 1923 Ley and followed on with designs for Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
, Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
, Maybach
Maybach
Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH is a German luxury car manufacturer. It was founded in 1909 by Wilhelm Maybach and his son. The company was originally a subsidiary of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH and was itself known as Luftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH until 1912.Today, the ultra-luxury car brand is owned by...
, Apollo, Dixi, Audi
Audi
Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer, from supermini to crossover SUVs in various body styles and price ranges that are marketed under the Audi brand , positioned as the premium brand within the Volkswagen Group....
, Adler
Adler
The term Adler, the German word for the bird of prey "eagle", is both the last name of many people and an emblematic bird featured on many blazons since the feudal age, including the present German Bundeswappen and at times on the flags of Austria and Germany...
, Jawa
Jawa Motors
Jawa is a motorcycle manufacturer in the Czech republic, formerly Czechoslovakia. The name was created after its founder, Frantisek Janecek, bought the motorcycle division of Wanderer in 1929 , by concatenating the first letters of Janeček and Wanderer...
, Ford, Steyer
Steyer
Steyer is surname of: , German actor and musician , German politician, MdL , German politician, MdL , German footballer...
and others.
His own 1933 car was built on Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
chassis with the body by Huber and Bruehwiler of Lucerne
Lucerne
Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
. Jaray was also interested in radio and television technology. In 1941 he worked for Farner AG in Grenchen on nosewheel undercarriage design. In 1944 he set up as an independent engineer working on wind-driven power station.
He was an author of a large number of technical patents relating to streamlining, air compressors for railway, and devices for handling gases in silencers. Later he lectured at Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
.
See also
- List of automobile manufacturers
- Tatra
- Automobile drag coefficientAutomobile drag coefficientThe drag coefficient is a common metric in automotive design pertaining to aerodynamic effects. As aerodynamic drag increases as the square of speed, a low value is preferable to a high one...
External links
- BMW Car Designers Paul Jaray in the overview of the BMW automotive designers.