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Alexander Lippisch (1894-1976) began his career in Aeronautics in February, 1918 when he joined the aircraft manufacturing plant of Zeppelin-Dornier in Lindau, Germany as an aerodynamicist. In 1921 Lippisch began his work on the development of sailplanes and gliders. At the same time he worked on the development of the tailless and the Delta-wing aircraft. In 1939 Lippisch joined the Messerschmitt A.G. Augsburg for the development of the ME 163 A and B. In 1943, Lippisch took over the Aeronautical Research Institute (LFW) were he developed the shape of the supersonic Delta wing. After the war, he was in custody of the Air Technical Intelligence of the U.S. Army. Lippisch was transferred to the United States where he worked at Wright Field, for the Navy, and later with Collins Radio Company. At Collins he developed a wing-less aircraft, the Aerodyne. He also started the development of another type of aircraft - the ram-wing or Aerofoil Boat.

 Identifier

NASM.1993.0031

Creator

Lippisch, Alexander, 1894-1976

Date

[ca. 1920s-1950s]

Provenance

Gertrude Lippisch, gift, 1988, 1993-0031, unknown

Extent

0.9 Cubic feet ((2 legal document boxes))

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection contains photographs and drawings of the tailless and all-wing aircraft with which Lippisch was involved. Many of the photographs appear in Lippisch's book 'The Delta Wing: A History and Development.'

Rights

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests

Restrictions

No restrictions on access

Topics

Aeronautics

Aeronautics, Military

Gliding and soaring

Airplanes -- Wings, Triangular

Airplanes, Tailless

Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Drawings