Dr. Ernst
Heinkel built and flew his first airplane in 1910 while a student at
the Technical Institute of Stuttgart. Within three years he
was chief engineer of Albatros Aviation. Dr. Heinkel also
designed aircraft for Hansa-Brandenburg during World War I.
Dr. Heinkel founded Heinkel-Flugzeugwerke in
1922. Heinkel's most famous aircraft was the He 111 twin-engined
bomber of early World War II fame. Heinkel also built the
first aircraft to fly under jet power, the He 178 of 1939.
With most of his largest factories in the Soviet
zone, Dr. Heinkel started over again after the war making aircraft
components and mopeds. The only remaining Heinkel company I'm
aware of is Heinkel AG that produces industrial centrifuges.
(Thanks to Ray McKinney for Heinkel's post-war
history)
