Materials related to the life and career of Bernhard Hohmann, a German aircraft engineer, test pilot, and space program director who emigrated to the United States after World War II and worked in the aviation and aerospace industry. Materials date from his time in Germany encompassing 1933 to 1946, through his work with the United States space program from 1956 to 1970.

Bernhard Hohmann was born in Germany in 1916. He was a glider pilot and engineer, and joined the Luftwaffe as a test pilot during World War II. Hohmann was stationed at the Peenemünde Army Research Center where he made test flights of the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, a rocket powered fighter aircraft. After the war, Hohmann surrendered to Allied forces and by 1947 was working at Wright Field, now Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton, Ohio. Hohmann became Chief of the Flight Development section before leaving in 1957 to take a job with the Aerospace Corporation, in El Segundo, California. Hohmann worked extensively with the Mercury and Gemini space programs, particularly on astronaut flight safety. Hohmann was married to Irmgard Kaufmann Hohmann, who joined him in the United States while he was at Wright Field. The Hohmanns lived in Pacific Palisades, California, and had no children. Bernhard Hohmann died in 1984.

13.3 Linear Feet (7 boxes and 2 tubes)

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