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I entschuldige mich, für die fehlende übersetzung, i hab aber im Moment wenig zeit, d i noch an einer Endarbeit für die Schule am schreiben bin.
Elly Beinhorn, former german pilote and widow of Bernd Rosemeyer, turns 100. I thought several times about posting this here in the Racing History forum, but I think she deserves it as she is a part of the Golden Era of motor-racing between 1934 and 1939. Further, she was a great pioneer of flying and set a lot of marks and records in a time when flying was true adventure...
A brief touch-down brings fame
She slipped quietly out of the sky over Masterton. The wheels of her little Moth biplane, ZK-ABE, touched the grass of Hood Aerodrome gently. A slightly self-conscious little group of flying fans waited to whisk her to a civic reception in the Midland Hotel and in a few hours she was gone, perhaps the most famous woman in her time ? royalty apart ? to visit Masterton. That was 1932. Today the name of Elly Beinhorn brings a blank response. ? SCOTT THOMSON shares the story of this amazing woman.
ELLY BEINHORN?s dream was to travel the world. Alone. Her mother wept and her father talked of a psychologist, but an aunt had died and left Elly a little money. But for some friends, she might have remained unknown. They took her along to a lecture by a German pilot who had just flown the Atlantic.
Elly, at 21, thought he wasn?t much of a hero, just ordinary, and if he could do that so could she! Elly took a small Berlin flat and got to fly solo just before the money ran out. Her instructor suggested she get an aerobatic licence and give displays. Soon she was making good money at airshows all over Germany each weekend. It was 1929.
As Germany?s underpowered economy stalled and spun into depression with unknown political consequences, Elly took another step. Armed with photo/journalism contracts from several publications, she flew in on a scientific expedition to West Africa. All went well until flying solo over the Sahara she suffered engine failure.
Getting down uninjured, Elly sighted several searching planes but they failed to locate her. A small group of Taureg proved curious about this strange woman who had literally fallen from the sky and was friendly. They had been evicted from their main tribe as some were suffering from leprosy. With their help Elly hitched to Timbuktu on a camel caravan. She struggled back to the crash site in an attempt to rescue some parts of her plane. By now exposure, fever and worry had reduced her vitality. Somehow she got word to the French authorities who sent out a military two-seater. Elly made it to hospital squeezed with the mechanic in the back cockpit of the open machine.
When Elly recovered from this ordeal, the Klemm Aircraft Company sent another aircraft and she was able to fly herself into Berlin in April 1931 to a rave reception. Within months she was off again heading for Bali ? and eventually Masterton.
In her book, written in 1939, she states the flight went so well she decided to go on to Australia, being the second woman to make the solo trip after Amy Johnson. But the files of the Wairarapa Age and Times (then separate papers) throw interesting light on this. Elly told reporters she had chosen Australia after unrest in China and Japan (after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria had made it unwise to fly in that direction). Soviet authorities had also refused her permission to cross their airspace.
Elly Beinhorn?s book tells how she decided to ship the Klemm (not KLM as in the press file) to Panama on the SS Ionic, which she did, subsequently flying round South America and on to the United States from where the little biplane with limited range was shipped back to Germany. Reading between the lines it is suspected she may have hoped to fly the northern Pacific via Alaska.
What is not stated in the book is that the Ionic apparently touched down at Wellington. From there J.H. Buckeridge, instructor with the Wairarapa Aero Club, shuttled her to Masterton in the club Moth. I suspect the Shell oil company may have been a sponsor, at least of the Masterton trip. Further long distance flights and many articles made Elly an icon for young Germans, a woman of the 20th century. Very large crowds of fans ensured halls all over Germany were crowded for her slide shows and so was her diary.
As a normal young person she enjoyed watching various sports, but it was as a celebrity she was invited to congratulate a slightly younger man on winning his first car race. Bernd Rosemeyer was sensational and so was his car.
After years of stagnation, unlimited budgets in Hitler?s Germany had overwhelmed the small Italian and French race car makers and in a mere three years road speeds went up from maybe 230kmh to well over 300kmh. As expected, the respected Mercedes company produced and advanced state-of-the-art racer but the rival German product from a consortium (Audi, DKW, Horche and Wanderer) called Auto-Union was revolutionary.
The Auto-Union, designed by Dr Porsche, used a rear engine, enabling the whole car to be lower, lighter and therefore the engine still larger, but characteristics were so different that hardly anyone could drive one to its limit. The importance of being German in 1935 was overwhelming, but only Mercedes ace, Rudi Caracciola had Grand Prix experience in depth. The quest for new German drivers was on.
Plenty of young men on motorcycles get into trouble round town, but Rosemeyer was exceptional. He had travelled down the main street at some 70kmh standing on the seat of the bike with one hand in his pocket and the other giving a salute ? and not the Hitler one! That was a gift of exceptional balance that would one day tame the Auto-Union as nobody else.
Settling down, young Bernd had two good seasons of motorcycle racing and through DKW got an Auto-Union trial. In only his second car race he lost to Caracciola by only two seconds, largely due to a slight engine problem and the older man?s superior track craft. And this was on the supreme driver circuit the Nurburgring.
Early in a whirlwind courtship of Elly Beinhorn, Rosemeyer displayed another startling quality. Though not the timid clinging type, Elly was terrified of Bernd?s driving speed in fog. In a quiet manner very different from his usual extrovert style he pointed out a cyclist as the only other road user, seconds before she could see him, as well as other objects beyond even the flyer?s keen eyesight.
The great year for Elly and Bernd was 1936. Italy still had one man who could dare all and sometimes win. His name was Tazio Nuvolari and on the Nuburgring Nuvolari was about to do it again until the fog came down. Cutting 45 seconds a lap from the Italian?s Alfa Romeo, Bernd somehow came through to win. Ever after the Germans called him ?nebelmeister? ? master of the mist. From that race he went on to win the European championship, the equivalent of the present world title.
As with the present German champion, Michael Schumacher, Bernd was married at a private function, for much the same reasons. But it should also be kept in mind the bride was perhaps even more famous!
The other new force in Elly?s life was the Messerschmidt 108 cabin monoplane. Twice as fast and more than the Klemm she named it Taifun ? a title that became the type?s official designation. Self assured and confident, Elly?s biggest problem was keeping her Taifun away from Bernd, even though he soon acquired his licence and a fine aerobatic plane of his own.
Fame did not alter Bernd?s essentially fun approach to life. He insisted Elly have a chance to do a couple of laps at Monza, making her almost certainly the only woman to drive one of these monsters. Later during a publicity filming session, Bernd cut away from camera and telling Elly to wedge herself on the edge of the basically single seat cockpit proceeded to demonstrate a race lap of Nurburgring.
Serious pole position laps by Rosemeyer included a quick stop to fry up a breakfast egg on a back tyre. In Italian heat he did the job wearing just helmet, swimshorts and shoes!
Hopes of another championship title faded as Mercedes got back on course during 1937. There were other worries. All German drivers who wanted a competition licence were required to belong to the Storm Troopers, the SA. But the sinister Heinrich Himmler commanded Bernd to become an officer in the SS, an offer not to be refused, although he never wore the uniform.
There were still exciting flights to distant places and races in the Taifun, but Bernd could count on little in the way of team support. One driver was killed. Another wrecked his career through drugs. Hans Von Stuck, Auto-Union mainstay for years had a Jewish wife and wanted out. Wins in South Africa, the United States and Britain now had a strongly political significance.
In April, German aircraft had bombed the Spanish town of Guernica on market day, an experiment which left 1600 dead. British officials were friendly and British spectators highly impressed with their first sight of modern Grand Prix cars but the Royal Air Force display concluded with simulated dive bombing of the pit area.
As well as racing, German sports officials were keen to match streamlined versions of the Mercedes and Auto-Unions against each other. It kept German achievement before the people and stimulated propaganda to prepare people for the heroic struggle. Speeds had become terrifying on what were simply closed two lane motorways. Caracciola had already exceeded 430kmh on a grey winter morning when Bernd went out in the latest Auto-Union. At maximum speed a wind gust took the car out of even his control and into the forest ?
Elly insisted Bernd be buried by a priest, that there be no political speech, no attempt to justify these record attempts. When the words began, she walked away from the funeral. Elly nursed her tiny son Bernd and put the pain on paper. In the spring she climbed into the Taifun, leaving her son with friends, and flew east once more. At Bangkok it became apparent that war could not be long delayed and she turned back to Germany.
Auto-Union?s racing team were almost destroyed by Bernd?s death but eventually they signed Tazio Nuvolari. As the German troops marched into Poland the little Italian won a last race round the streets of Belgrade.
Many of the 30s flyers and drivers who seemed so glamorous to ordinary people shared the suffering which was about to become worldwide. Elly?s American friend Amelia Earhart disappeared with a companion over the Pacific in 1937, possibly shot by the Japanese as a suspect spy. Amy Johnson lost her life ferrying an RAF aircraft in circumstances never quite explained. Caracciola took Swiss citizenship but initial attempts to race post war were blocked by the Allies, as were Elly?s attempts to return to flying. Nuvolari died in the 50s as did Caracciola. Von Stuck?s assets were all in eastern Europe but he raced for starting money well into his 60s also doing publicity for BMW.
Most of the more than 20 racing Auto-Unions built were either lost in the war or being in the eastern zone of Germany were taken for examination and display by the Russians. One reasonably original Rosemeyer era car is now a runner and a few more in various states have turned up. VW-Audi have also commissioned six new replicas.
The Masterton airshow next week will include a Me 108 Taifun, it is understood to be a licence-built example, but visually similar to Elly?s except in colour.
Elly eventually regained her licence, first with gliders and then a Piper Cub and was a flying writer until after 51 years she decided: ?I?ve had a wonderful time ? that?s it.?
She slipped quietly out of the sky over Masterton. The wheels of her little Moth biplane, ZK-ABE, touched the grass of Hood Aerodrome gently. A slightly self-conscious little group of flying fans waited to whisk her to a civic reception in the Midland Hotel and in a few hours she was gone, perhaps the most famous woman in her time ? royalty apart ? to visit Masterton. That was 1932. Today the name of Elly Beinhorn brings a blank response. ? SCOTT THOMSON shares the story of this amazing woman.
ELLY BEINHORN?s dream was to travel the world. Alone. Her mother wept and her father talked of a psychologist, but an aunt had died and left Elly a little money. But for some friends, she might have remained unknown. They took her along to a lecture by a German pilot who had just flown the Atlantic.
Elly, at 21, thought he wasn?t much of a hero, just ordinary, and if he could do that so could she! Elly took a small Berlin flat and got to fly solo just before the money ran out. Her instructor suggested she get an aerobatic licence and give displays. Soon she was making good money at airshows all over Germany each weekend. It was 1929.
As Germany?s underpowered economy stalled and spun into depression with unknown political consequences, Elly took another step. Armed with photo/journalism contracts from several publications, she flew in on a scientific expedition to West Africa. All went well until flying solo over the Sahara she suffered engine failure.
Getting down uninjured, Elly sighted several searching planes but they failed to locate her. A small group of Taureg proved curious about this strange woman who had literally fallen from the sky and was friendly. They had been evicted from their main tribe as some were suffering from leprosy. With their help Elly hitched to Timbuktu on a camel caravan. She struggled back to the crash site in an attempt to rescue some parts of her plane. By now exposure, fever and worry had reduced her vitality. Somehow she got word to the French authorities who sent out a military two-seater. Elly made it to hospital squeezed with the mechanic in the back cockpit of the open machine.
When Elly recovered from this ordeal, the Klemm Aircraft Company sent another aircraft and she was able to fly herself into Berlin in April 1931 to a rave reception. Within months she was off again heading for Bali ? and eventually Masterton.
In her book, written in 1939, she states the flight went so well she decided to go on to Australia, being the second woman to make the solo trip after Amy Johnson. But the files of the Wairarapa Age and Times (then separate papers) throw interesting light on this. Elly told reporters she had chosen Australia after unrest in China and Japan (after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria had made it unwise to fly in that direction). Soviet authorities had also refused her permission to cross their airspace.
Elly Beinhorn?s book tells how she decided to ship the Klemm (not KLM as in the press file) to Panama on the SS Ionic, which she did, subsequently flying round South America and on to the United States from where the little biplane with limited range was shipped back to Germany. Reading between the lines it is suspected she may have hoped to fly the northern Pacific via Alaska.
What is not stated in the book is that the Ionic apparently touched down at Wellington. From there J.H. Buckeridge, instructor with the Wairarapa Aero Club, shuttled her to Masterton in the club Moth. I suspect the Shell oil company may have been a sponsor, at least of the Masterton trip. Further long distance flights and many articles made Elly an icon for young Germans, a woman of the 20th century. Very large crowds of fans ensured halls all over Germany were crowded for her slide shows and so was her diary.
As a normal young person she enjoyed watching various sports, but it was as a celebrity she was invited to congratulate a slightly younger man on winning his first car race. Bernd Rosemeyer was sensational and so was his car.
After years of stagnation, unlimited budgets in Hitler?s Germany had overwhelmed the small Italian and French race car makers and in a mere three years road speeds went up from maybe 230kmh to well over 300kmh. As expected, the respected Mercedes company produced and advanced state-of-the-art racer but the rival German product from a consortium (Audi, DKW, Horche and Wanderer) called Auto-Union was revolutionary.
The Auto-Union, designed by Dr Porsche, used a rear engine, enabling the whole car to be lower, lighter and therefore the engine still larger, but characteristics were so different that hardly anyone could drive one to its limit. The importance of being German in 1935 was overwhelming, but only Mercedes ace, Rudi Caracciola had Grand Prix experience in depth. The quest for new German drivers was on.
Plenty of young men on motorcycles get into trouble round town, but Rosemeyer was exceptional. He had travelled down the main street at some 70kmh standing on the seat of the bike with one hand in his pocket and the other giving a salute ? and not the Hitler one! That was a gift of exceptional balance that would one day tame the Auto-Union as nobody else.
Settling down, young Bernd had two good seasons of motorcycle racing and through DKW got an Auto-Union trial. In only his second car race he lost to Caracciola by only two seconds, largely due to a slight engine problem and the older man?s superior track craft. And this was on the supreme driver circuit the Nurburgring.
Early in a whirlwind courtship of Elly Beinhorn, Rosemeyer displayed another startling quality. Though not the timid clinging type, Elly was terrified of Bernd?s driving speed in fog. In a quiet manner very different from his usual extrovert style he pointed out a cyclist as the only other road user, seconds before she could see him, as well as other objects beyond even the flyer?s keen eyesight.
The great year for Elly and Bernd was 1936. Italy still had one man who could dare all and sometimes win. His name was Tazio Nuvolari and on the Nuburgring Nuvolari was about to do it again until the fog came down. Cutting 45 seconds a lap from the Italian?s Alfa Romeo, Bernd somehow came through to win. Ever after the Germans called him ?nebelmeister? ? master of the mist. From that race he went on to win the European championship, the equivalent of the present world title.
As with the present German champion, Michael Schumacher, Bernd was married at a private function, for much the same reasons. But it should also be kept in mind the bride was perhaps even more famous!
The other new force in Elly?s life was the Messerschmidt 108 cabin monoplane. Twice as fast and more than the Klemm she named it Taifun ? a title that became the type?s official designation. Self assured and confident, Elly?s biggest problem was keeping her Taifun away from Bernd, even though he soon acquired his licence and a fine aerobatic plane of his own.
Fame did not alter Bernd?s essentially fun approach to life. He insisted Elly have a chance to do a couple of laps at Monza, making her almost certainly the only woman to drive one of these monsters. Later during a publicity filming session, Bernd cut away from camera and telling Elly to wedge herself on the edge of the basically single seat cockpit proceeded to demonstrate a race lap of Nurburgring.
Serious pole position laps by Rosemeyer included a quick stop to fry up a breakfast egg on a back tyre. In Italian heat he did the job wearing just helmet, swimshorts and shoes!
Hopes of another championship title faded as Mercedes got back on course during 1937. There were other worries. All German drivers who wanted a competition licence were required to belong to the Storm Troopers, the SA. But the sinister Heinrich Himmler commanded Bernd to become an officer in the SS, an offer not to be refused, although he never wore the uniform.
There were still exciting flights to distant places and races in the Taifun, but Bernd could count on little in the way of team support. One driver was killed. Another wrecked his career through drugs. Hans Von Stuck, Auto-Union mainstay for years had a Jewish wife and wanted out. Wins in South Africa, the United States and Britain now had a strongly political significance.
In April, German aircraft had bombed the Spanish town of Guernica on market day, an experiment which left 1600 dead. British officials were friendly and British spectators highly impressed with their first sight of modern Grand Prix cars but the Royal Air Force display concluded with simulated dive bombing of the pit area.
As well as racing, German sports officials were keen to match streamlined versions of the Mercedes and Auto-Unions against each other. It kept German achievement before the people and stimulated propaganda to prepare people for the heroic struggle. Speeds had become terrifying on what were simply closed two lane motorways. Caracciola had already exceeded 430kmh on a grey winter morning when Bernd went out in the latest Auto-Union. At maximum speed a wind gust took the car out of even his control and into the forest ?
Elly insisted Bernd be buried by a priest, that there be no political speech, no attempt to justify these record attempts. When the words began, she walked away from the funeral. Elly nursed her tiny son Bernd and put the pain on paper. In the spring she climbed into the Taifun, leaving her son with friends, and flew east once more. At Bangkok it became apparent that war could not be long delayed and she turned back to Germany.
Auto-Union?s racing team were almost destroyed by Bernd?s death but eventually they signed Tazio Nuvolari. As the German troops marched into Poland the little Italian won a last race round the streets of Belgrade.
Many of the 30s flyers and drivers who seemed so glamorous to ordinary people shared the suffering which was about to become worldwide. Elly?s American friend Amelia Earhart disappeared with a companion over the Pacific in 1937, possibly shot by the Japanese as a suspect spy. Amy Johnson lost her life ferrying an RAF aircraft in circumstances never quite explained. Caracciola took Swiss citizenship but initial attempts to race post war were blocked by the Allies, as were Elly?s attempts to return to flying. Nuvolari died in the 50s as did Caracciola. Von Stuck?s assets were all in eastern Europe but he raced for starting money well into his 60s also doing publicity for BMW.
Most of the more than 20 racing Auto-Unions built were either lost in the war or being in the eastern zone of Germany were taken for examination and display by the Russians. One reasonably original Rosemeyer era car is now a runner and a few more in various states have turned up. VW-Audi have also commissioned six new replicas.
The Masterton airshow next week will include a Me 108 Taifun, it is understood to be a licence-built example, but visually similar to Elly?s except in colour.
Elly eventually regained her licence, first with gliders and then a Piper Cub and was a flying writer until after 51 years she decided: ?I?ve had a wonderful time ? that?s it.?
Today she lives in an old-peoples-home near Munich. She's often visited by her son Bernd Rosemeyer jr. and her grandchildren (there's also a 3rd Bernd Rosemeyer). She's in an wheel-chair and is not able to give interviews anymore. But she smokes her cigarette everyday and and stayes informed about all current news.
A unique Elly Beinhorn Rosemeyer Interview by Aldo Zana: http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/elly.htm
mein 1234. Beitrag (schöne Zahl)
