The Messerschmitt AG in Oberammergau (English)

8/13/2019 The Messerschmitt AG in Oberammergau (English)

1/7

The Messerschmitt AG in Oberammergau (1943-1945)1

A. Introduction

With the liberation of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen administrative district by American troops on 28 April 1945 also a piece ofindstrial history came to an end! a history "hich! altho#h it lasted merely t"o years! had #iven rise to may speclations andrmors$ %his refers to the comprehensive relocations to &berammer#a made by the 'esserschmitt AG aircraft constrctorand defense contractor$ (o fndamental reappraisal of this sb)ect has been made so far! a fact! "hich can also be attribted

to the scanty sorce material$ As a reslt! the follo"in# remarks can only be of a preliminary natre$ A paper on this sb)ect canonly be meant to collect fra#ments and be aimed at a sort of secrin# of evidence$ *nfortnately! a coherent reconstrction isnot +yet, possible$

%herefore! this paper shold be re#arded as a contribtion to that chapter of re#ional "ar history "hich is meant to precede aftre accont #iven as ob)ectively as possible$

Apart from the facilities relocated to &berammer#a! a road tnnel near .schenlohe hosed a prodction plant of the'esserschmitt AG! abot "hose e/istence hardly any docments have been fond so far$ *nfortnately! this article cannot #ointo frther details on this matter$

. The Messerschmitt AG unti! 1943

0n 192 the en#ineer Willy 'esserschmitt fonded the 'esserschmitt aircraft constrctin# company "hich in 198 became the'esserschmitt AG$ %"enty years after its fondation the company "as the leadin# German aircraft constrctor$ %he ick riseof the company can be clearly seen from the nmber of its employees +cf$ %able 0$ Whereas in the early phases of the %hird3eich the 'esserschmitt AG had 524 employees! this nmber had risen to 8!9 employees by 199 and "as tripled a#ain bythe end of the "ar$

M"##"$#%&MITT AG.mployees +selection

1919919421941944

5248!9

11!5451!29821!11

Tab!e I

%he 'esserschmitt company clearly #ained a #reat deal from the preparations for a "ar of a##ression$ %he 6f 179 +later onrenamed 'e 179! developed in 195! in the follo"in# t"o decades became the most-bilt fi#hter aircraft in the history ofaviation$ Accordin# to '66! of the 'e 179 type alone some 5!777 aircraft "ere prodced in more than 177 versions$ 0t saysmch for the ality of this company that this type became the standard fi#hter aircraft of the German ft"affe$2

.arly on 'esserschmitt trned to the development of the )et proplsion en#ine$ %he first e/perimental fli#ht of the 'e 22! thefirst mass-prodced )et fi#hter! took place on 18 April 1942$ apable of flyin# at a speed of 87 kilometers per hor it srpassedall fi#hter aircraft of that time by "ell over 277 km:h$ %he 'esserschmitt AG flly satisfied nearly all the "ishes of the ft"affe$%he company decided many important invitations for tenders in their favor! and the prodct spectrm ran#ed from fi#hteraircraft to bombers! #liders and lon#-distance reconnaissance aircraft to lar#e-capacity transport aircraft$

%he increasin# nmber of bombardments by the allied air forces forced the 'esserschmitt AG to relocate important prodctionfacilities to ;air-raid protected< re#ions$

%he first air raid on the 3e#ensbr#:Pr=fenin# plant on 1 A#st 194 "as a decisive incident for the 'esserschmitt "orks$Abot 7 per cent of the facilities in 3e#ensbr# "ere destroyed and 477 people killed$ %he raid on the company>s heart! itshead office in A#sbr#! "as only a matter of time$ %herefore! the prodction and assembly plants "ere erected in denseforests$ 0n the Gatin# ?orest alone the 'esserschmitt AG finally employed 1!277 skilled and temporary "orkers entrsted "iththe constrction of the 'e 22$ (earby hi#h"ays "ere closed in sections to se the strai#ht stretches as rn"ays$ %hese forestfactories "ere "ell concealed and never discovered by allied air reconnaissance assets$ Another important plant "as located in

a tnnel in @ematen:%yrol$ &f corse the prodction centers prposely set p at the 'athasen and ?lossenb=r#concentration camps "ere sed as "ell$

0n &ctober 1944 the company had already shifted 57 plants to relocation sites in othern Germany! "ith &berammer#a+2!277 employees! eipheim +1!257 employees and @ottern +2!777 employees contin# amon# the lar#est$4

%. $e!ocation to Oberammergau

0n &ctober 194 the pro)ect and desi#n offices and the statics and e/perimental sections "ere relocated from A#sbr# to&berammer#a$ ?or camofla#e reasons this en#ineerin# department "as called ;Upper Bavarian Research Institute


2/7

;Between 11 and 13 September 1943 the local barracks were completely evacuated !he soldiers were accommodated in"ittewald and #$ssen %nd parts o& the "esserschmitt %' %u(sbur( with a work&orce o& )*3++ to )*,++ personnel weretrans&erred to these barracks !he work&orce members are housed in berammer(au* Unterammer(au* %ltenau* Saul(rub*.ohl(rub and /ttal0,

0t had! ho"ever! not been clear ri#ht from the be#innin#! that the montain infantry barracks "old be sed by the ; UpperBavarian Research Institute< As &tto G=nBler and Alfred D"ink noted in their book ; berammer(au Ber$hmtes 2or&*Ber$hmte 'ste*0the ori#inal intention had been +alle#edly on Eitler>s personal order that the 'esserschmitt company se the

Passion theater$ ince! ho"ever! the theater hall proved to be completely nsited for sch a prpose their interest had beendirected to the barracks and the latter been confiscated$

?rom that time on there "as a steady increase in the nmber of the ;work&orce< +cf$ %able 00$ %o"ard the end of the "ar+?ebrary 1945 it nmbered 2!477 personnel! 77 of them so-called ;&starbeiterF +"orkers from .astern contries and 577people from other contries

'

5''

1'''

15''

('''

(5''

3'''

O)t-43 *e+-43 ,eb-44 Ar-44 Aug-44 #e-44 ,eb-45

*eutsche .Aus!/nder. .Ostarbeiter.

Tab!e II

*. 0roects

0t is impossible to describe the history of a defense contractor "ithot #ivin# at least a ro#h otline of its most importanten#ineerin# pro)ects$

At &berammer#a the 'esserschmitt AG contined those tasks "hich cold no lon#er be performed in A#sbr#$ %hat is tosay that individal aircraft like the 'e 179 had! either to be continosly p#raded or to be modified for special tacticalmissions$ Eo"ever! the main emphasis "as placed on the desi#n of )et or rocket-propelled aircraft$ 0n this conte/t! theaforementioned 'e 22 trned ot to be the most important and most promisin# pro)ect$ 'any hi#h-rankin# officers and fi#hterpilots considered this aircraft an asset to re#ain air spremacy$ 0t "as all the more depressin# for many of them that Eitlerintended to have this aircraft! "hich had been desi#ned as a )et fi#hter! converted into a ;blit bombers+e$#$ 6ell H-5$


3/7

,igure 12 0rotote o the M" 11'1 M6 Archi7es

Previosly lar#ely nkno"n "as a missile development pro)ect at inderhof astle$

0n Ine 194 the 'esserschmitt AG "as tasked to develop a srface-to-air missile for se as antiaircraft "eapon$ %heantiaircraft missile +?3 1- "as #iven the code name 6/nian0$ .n#ineer Jr$ Eermann Wrster "as desi#nated the mana#er ofthis pro)ect$ ?or this prpose! he and his immediate staff moved into office rooms at inderhof astle$ 6t there the initialprototypes "ere only desi#ned$ Part of the actal prodction "ork "as done by the EolBba-@issin#en company in onthofen$ince it became increasin#ly difficlt to #et the ra" material reired! this missile "as to have a "ooden strctre$ %he desi#nprovided for a tailless missile "ith backs"ept "in# "hich! #ided from the #rond! "as to carry 577 k# of e/plosives into thefi#hter bomber "in#s of the allied po"ers and to detonate them there$ %he missile had a flyin# ran#e of 27 km$ 11An impressionof its dimensions can be #ained by rememberin# its len#th of 4!7 m and "in# span of 2!45 m$

0nitial test fli#hts at Peenem=nde started as early as in 'arch 1944$ *ntil the end of the "ar 7 ; /nian< missiles had beenbilt! bt they "ere never to be sed a#ainst allied bombers$12


4/7

". 8aout 0!an o the :er a7arian $esearch Institute;

Accordin# to a 194 report of the investi#atin# Air %echnical 0ntelli#ence! the "hole comple/ "as divided into t"o parts! i$e$ inthe former premises of the montain infantry barracks and an nder#rond tnnel system at a distance of appro/imately 177 m$

,igure

%he individal areas of "ork on the barracks premises "ere also physically separated +cf$ ?i#re 2$ 0n the bildin#s to thenorth the administration and the varios desi#n offices "ere accommodated$ %he bildin#s to the soth "ere sed as stora#erooms and "orkshops$ %he bildin# ri#ht at the main entrance hosed the "orks secrity section! the air-raid protection serviceand dispensary! incldin# the practice of Jr$ ilberna#el! the company doctor +6ld# (o$ 71$ %he pper floor accommodated

the office rooms of the personnel administration headed by a certain 'r$ von PlottnitB$

%he ne/t bildin# +(o$ 72 hosed the "orks canteen$ %he %echnical Jirector! 'r$ 'esserschmitt! had his office in 6ildin#74 %he bildin#s to the soth accommodated a "ide ran#e of "orkshops and stora#e roomsC vehicle "orkshop +(o 17


5/7

"eldin# and metal"orkin# shop +(o$ 14$ Almost any technical problem cold be solved on the spot$ Amon# the stora#ebildin#s! (o$ 15 deserves particlar mention! since here the prototypes of a 'e 22 and the P 1171 "ere discovered$

ome 177m a"ay from the barracks area forei#n "orkers d# an nder#rond tnnel system into the hills$ At the end of the"ar this system "as abot 157m "ide and p to 97m deep$ As can be seen from the layot plan! this system "as divided intot"o parts as "ell$ %he smaller part to the east mainly served the stora#e of important docments$ ?or that prpose a ht hadbeen erected in front of the entry "here obviosly also copies of individal docments "ere made$ 0n addition to a re#istry forori#inal plans this section also hosed a small first-aid station and a heatin# plant$ Eo"ever! becase of its moistness! thetnnel system "as a rather npleasant place to "ork$

%he lar#er part to the "est "as nder constrction and sed at times as eipment store bt also as air-raid shelter for the"orkforce$

%his section "as intended to accommodate the "orkshops and parts of the e/perimental department$ ontrary to "idespreadrmors! the nder#rond tnnels "ere never sed for the prodction of either individal aircraft parts or even entire aircraft$%he narro" e/its alone +ma/$ 4!7m "ide did not permit sch a se$ 1

%he eipment in the tnnel system "as removed after the "ar$ 0n the meantime! the entries have been blocked p bye/plosions$

,. Im!ications or Oberammergau

%he arrival of the ;"esserschmitt people

Allied po"ers did not have any kno"led#e abot their location$15

%he sdden shorta#e of hosin# proved to be the first tan#ible side effect$ Jespite their first orientation to"ards torism! thepensions and hotels in &berammer#a "ere far from bein# capable of providin# arters for all employees$ %his reslted in adifficlt sitation on the hosin# market$ %he evacated children and the fe" remainin# #ests +&berammer#a! (ovember194C 277 cold no lon#er be accommodated$ Altho#h it had contined to brin# money into the re#ion thro#hot the initialyears of the "ar! torism no" came to a complete standstill$

&n the other hand the 'esserschmitt "orks meant )obs and trainin# vacancies for the poplation of &berammer#a$1

Accordin# to a report of the &berammer#a police station! in April 1944 even the ; vast ma7ority o& the population had &ound7obs there


6/7

ib!iograh

1$ 'ohr! K"e! 3ate L 6eitrM#e Br Geschichte des andkreises Garmisch-Partenkirchen! edited by Nerein f=r Geschichte!@nst- nd @ltr#eschichte im andkreis Gramisch-PartenkirchenC 3ichard Eei#l! Jie 'esserschmitt AG in&berammer#a$

2$ 6enecke! %heodor +ed$! Jie Jetsche ftfahrt! Nol$ 1C Willy 'esserschmitt L Pionier der ftfahrt nd des eichtbaes!6onn 1992$

$eerences

tA' 3A 119 L 127 +3eports of rral police stations

Jetsches 'sem! Archives! 3 729783eport of *%A?-Air %echnical 0ntelli#ence+3eport (o$ ?-03--3.! dated 1 A#st 194

0ntervie"C 3ichard Eei#l "ith Alfons pMth! 'arch 1995$


7/7

1Excerpts from: Mohr, Lwe, Raute Beitrge zur Geschichte des Landreises Garmisch!"artenirchen, edited #$ %erein

f&r Geschichte, 'unst! und 'u(turgeschichte im Landreis Garmisch!"artenirchen: Richard )eig(, *ie Messerschmitt +G

in #erammergau2MBB, -$pen#(tter, n.p., n.d.*ie *eutsche Luftfahrt, edited #$ *r. -heodor Benece, %o(. /0: 1i(($ Messerschmitt "ionier der Luftfahrt und des

Leicht#aues, Bonn /223, p. /24f. 5hereinafter: *ie *eutsche Luftfahrt64*ie *eutsche Luftfahrt 5see 7ote 36, p. /28.59t+M: LR+ //2.tto G&nz(er ; +(fred

The Messerschmitt AG in Oberammergau (English)

Documents

Transcript of The Messerschmitt AG in Oberammergau (English)