Friedrich Harth

Lore & Background

Friedrich Harth was the son of a head forester and attended elementary school in Bamberg, high school in Landshut, and graduated from high school in Munich. After studying architecture, he became interested in the work of Otto Lilienthal and began building gliders. In 1909, while working as a government builder, he started constructing gliders. His first flight attempt in 1910 on the Ludwiger Kulm (also known as Ludwigskulm) near Bamberg ended in a crash on frozen ground, but he continued improving his designs, retaining rotary wing control as an essential feature.

During the First World War, Harth was drafted, interrupting his flight attempts. While he was away, his helper Willy Messerschmitt built the S5 glider according to Harth's plans. On home leave, Harth flew the S5 to an altitude of 20 meters and traveled 300 meters from the Heidelstein starting point. In 1916, he was transferred to Schleißheim, where he taught aircraft construction. After the war, he built the S7 glider while working at the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke.

On September 13, 1921, Harth set a record glider flight of 21 minutes and 27 seconds from the Heidelstein in the Rhön Mountains with the Harth-Messerschmitt S8 monoplane. The exact details of the flight's ending are disputed; some accounts mention a crash that left him severely injured, but the circumstances are not universally accepted. By 1924, impoverished after losing his job, he lived on welfare.

Reader's Guide

Friedrich Harth's significance lies in his systematic development of gliders during the early years of aviation, bridging the work of Otto Lilienthal and the later achievements of his student Willy Messerschmitt. His twelve glider types, built between 1908 and 1923, incorporated innovations such as variable-angle wings that could serve as elevators or ailerons. His record 21-minute flight in 1921 demonstrated the potential of gliding as a serious aviation discipline, despite ending in a severe crash. Harth's collaboration with Messerschmitt, who began as a 15-year-old helper, helped shape one of Germany's most famous aircraft designers. However, his legacy is complicated by his membership in the Nazi Party and his support for National Socialism. Harth's work laid practical foundations for gliding, but his later impoverishment and political affiliations temper his historical standing.

Did You Know?

• His record glider flight on September 13, 1921 lasted 21 minutes and 27 seconds.
• Willy Messerschmitt was Harth's helper and later his student, starting at age 15.