Willy Messerschmitt

Wilhelm Emil Messerschmitt (June 26, 1898 – September 15, 1978) (known as "Willi" or "Willy") was a German aircraft designer and manufacturer. He was born in Frankfurt am Main, the son of a wine merchant. His stepfather was the American artist and Munich Academy Professor Carl von Marr.

Beginning of his career

During 1923 Harth and Messerschmitt had a falling out and went their separate ways, with Messerschmitt founding his own aircraft company at Augsburg. At first, Messerschmitt built sailplanes, but within two years had progressed via motor gliders to small powered aircraft - sports and touring types. These culminated in the Messerschmitt M 17 and Messerschmitt M 18 designs, which Messerschmitt sold to BFW in 1927, when the Bavarian state government encouraged a merger between the two companies. These were followed by the Messerschmitt M 20 light transport in 1928, which proved a disaster for BFW and Messerschmitt himself. Two Lufthansa M 20s were involved in serious crashes very soon after purchase, and this led the airline to cancel their order for the type. This caused a serious cash-flow problem for the company and led to its bankruptcy in 1931. The M 20 crashes also created a powerful enemy for Messerschmitt in the person of Erhard Milch, the head of Lufthansa who had lost a close friend in one of the crashes.

Related Topics:
1923 - Augsburg - Motor glider - Messerschmitt M 17 - Messerschmitt M 18 - 1927 - Bavaria - Messerschmitt M 20 - 1928 - Lufthansa - 1931 - Erhard Milch

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