Frank Wattendorf

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Frank Wattendorf (1906 – 11 June 1986) was an American physicist specializing in wind tunnels for research in aerodynamics.

Wattendorf is recalled for his report on a wind tunnel that was under construction in Ötztal in Austria during World War II. Wattendorf's report, and one by Theodore von Kármán, spurred on renewed research in aerodynamics.[1]

Wattendorf was born in

Aachen, Germany
which he did, with his mother.

Wattendorf became Kármán's assistant, and they both moved to Caltech in 1926. Wattendorf earned his Ph.D. in California. His thesis, "The effect of curvature on fully developed turbulent flow", was published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society (series A, volume 148, issue #865). The colleagues combined to study the landing of seaplanes in 1929.[2]

In 1937 Wattendorf was at

Tsing Hua University organizing an aeronautical engineering department and building a wind tunnel. He invited Karman for a visit, but Karman decided to visit Russia first, and enter China through Manchuria.[3]
: chapter 24 

Frank Wattendorf was on hand when I finally walked through customs. It was invigorating to see him after the long trip. He told me that he had been living in the beach town of Peitaho near the Manchurian border for a week and that each day he came to meet the train because he wasn’t sure when the Russian railway system would deliver me.[3]: 191 

After the University visit they took a train to Shanghai just as the

Tokyo Imperial University
. Shortly, Wattendorf returned to Japanese-occupied Peking and the precious wind tunnel.

In the wake of the bombings pestilence broke out in China, and Wattendorf came down with a terrible disease which left him paralyzed from the waist down. He was taken to a hospital in
Yale-in-China. Madame Chiang came to Frank’s rescue, after she heard about his illness from his Tsing Hua colleagues who had stayed with him throughout the ordeal. I heard that she was able by Christmas 1937 to get a German barnstorming plane to bring him to Hong Kong, where he could make connection in January for a ship to the States. Frank recovered from the paralysis, but he still walks with a limp.[3]
: 201 

In 1945 Wattendorf proposed the

President Truman in 1952.[4]

He was a member of the

Washington, DC on June 11, 1986.[4]

Awards

Wattendorf was recognized for his work as consultant.[4]

  • 1946: Exceptional Civilian Service, War Department medal
  • 1952: Medal of Freedom, planning Arnold Engineering Development Center
  • 1968: USAF medal for Exceptional Civilian Service, Scientific Advisory Board
  • 1979: Ground Test Facilities Medal, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

References

  1. ^ F.L. Wattendorf (May 1946) "Reports on selected topics of German and Swiss aeronautical developments", in Toward New Horizons, link from Governmentattic
  2. ^ F. L. Wattendorf & T. von Kármán (1929) The impact on seaplane floats during landing, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics Technical Note # 321
  3. ^ a b c d Theodore von Kármán with Lee Edson (1967) The Wind and Beyond, Little, Brown and Company
  4. ^ a b c d Josef Singer (1986). "Frank Wattendorf: In Memoriam" (PDF). International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
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