Hans Amtmann

Hans Henry Amtmann
Born	(1906-10-15) 15 October 1906 Sande, near Bergedorf, Hamburg, Germany
Died	20 February 2007(2007-02-20) (aged 100)
Occupation	Aircraft engineer
Years active	1930s–1984
Known for	Head of New Projects at Blohm & Voss; Operation Paperclip recruit; aircraft design contributions including prone pilot bed and pilot helmet shield

Hans Henry Amtmann (October 15, 1906 – February 20, 2007) was a German aircraft engineer renowned for his contributions at Blohm & Voss. There, he served as Head of New Projects under Chief Designer Richard Vogt during the period of World War II. Following the conflict, Amtmann relocated to the United States through Operation Paperclip, where he engaged in various technical assignments.

Early life

Born in Sande, near Bergedorf on the outskirts of Hamburg in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, in October 1906, Hans Amtmann was the younger of two brothers. He began his education at the Hansa School at age nine, where he also learned to play the violin. Later, he pursued naval architecture studies at the State Technical College in Hamburg, supplementing his final semester with a course focused on aeronautics.

Career as a German aircraft engineer

Amtmann’s initial professional experience was brief in naval architecture, lasting only a month before he transitioned to an aircraft design role at Junkers in Dessau. His work included development on the wings of all-metal transport aircraft such as the G 38 and Ju 52, alongside involvement in projects related to in-flight refueling, rocket-assisted takeoff, and early-stage design efforts. During this time, he connected with Hermann Pohlmann, who would later become his superior and was notable for designing the famous dive-bomber Ju 87 Stuka.

In 1933, Amtmann joined Heinkel at their Warnemünde facility on the Baltic Sea coast, where he contributed to the fuselage design of the He 70 transport before returning to new project development.

Seeking to return to Hamburg, Amtmann secured a position as an aircraft designer at the newly formed Hamburger Flugzeugbau, working under the guidance of Chief Designer Richard Vogt. Starting early in 1934 as one of Vogt’s initial hires, he quickly advanced to Head of Preliminary Design. He remained with the company throughout its transition into a subsidiary of Blohm & Voss shipbuilders until its closure at the conclusion of World War II in 1945. Due to Vogt’s extensive workload, Amtmann’s former colleague Pohlmann later joined Blohm & Voss as Deputy Chief Designer and became Amtmann’s immediate superior.

Hans married Margret on October 10, 1934; they had known each other since his naval architecture days. The couple raised four children: three sons and one daughter. In recognition of his exceptional contributions to aircraft design, Amtmann received the War Merit Cross in 1941.

Amtmann was appointed project engineer for the proposed Blohm & Voss BV 237 dive-bomber attack aircraft—an initiative personally endorsed by Hitler—but interference from others delayed production until after the war ended. Additionally, he led the design efforts for the P 200 transatlantic passenger flying boat intended for Deutsche Luft Hansa post-war construction. His work on the prototype interceptor glider BV 40, which featured a prone pilot position, provided valuable experience that influenced his subsequent career. After Blohm & Voss ceased operations at war’s end, a core design group remained active in rented museum spaces; however, funding shortages forced Amtmann to accept a teaching position.

American "paperclip"

In October 1946, Amtmann left his academic position after being recruited through the American Operation Paperclip program to contribute his expertise in the United States. While Vogt was also enlisted, Pohlmann remained in Germany and later played a role in reviving Hamburger Flugzeugbau. Amtmann was assigned to Wright Field, where he continued developing a prone pilot bed under the supervision of H. T. E. "Ed" Hertzberg at the biomedical research facility.

Amtmann created a patented control mechanism for the pilot, and this prone bed underwent test flights aboard a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber and subsequently a Lockheed F-80E Shooting Star jet fighter. During this period, he also designed a protective helmet shield for pilots during emergency ejections, which gained widespread adoption. Additionally, he innovated a flying fuel tank system featuring fuel tank gliders mounted on wing tips in a parasite configuration. Coincidentally, his former superior Richard Vogt, also stationed at Wright Field, independently conceived the same idea and secured the patent before Amtmann.

Early in 1948, Amtmann’s family was permitted to join him from Germany; however, he did not obtain legal immigrant status until 1 January 1949. Because immigration paperwork had to be completed at a border crossing, groups of "Operation Paperclip" recruits were escorted by military personnel across the Canadian border at Niagara Falls. They then crossed back into the US via the Rainbow Bridge, where they formally signed their immigration documents. Amtmann completed his US citizenship paperwork in March of that year. A few months later, he accompanied the remainder of his family through the same process; they received their immigration papers in 1950.

Amtmann departed from US Government service in 1951 to join Consolidated Vultee in San Diego, California, resuming work in preliminary design. He contributed to the development of the Atlas ICBM system. After the aerospace and missile divisions split into what became Convair, he worked on the P6Y flying boat project for the US Navy; however, the Navy eventually canceled their requirement. Amtmann also participated in designing Convair's supersonic delta-wing jets and proposed his own concept for a four-engine seaplane larger than the Convair F2Y Sea Dart.

Following redundancy in 1961, Amtmann joined General Atomic where he engaged with the Orion spacecraft propulsion initiative, which aimed to utilize controlled nuclear explosions for thrust. He further contributed to developing atomic-powered gas turbines during this time.

In 1980, Amtmann transitioned to a smaller firm focused on nuclear fusion power until its closure in 1984.

Retirement and death

After the nuclear fusion enterprise ceased operations, Amtmann stepped back from his professional career in 1984. While residing in California, he became a member of a small orchestra, where he resumed playing the violin. He documented his life experiences in a memoir titled The Vanishing Paperclips: America's Aerospace Secret – a Personal Account, which was released in 1988. Amtmann also featured in the 1995 television documentary film The Last Days of World War II.

Hans Amtmann passed away at the age of 100 on 20 February 2007.

Bibliography

• Hans Amtmann; The Vanishing Paperclips, Monogram, 1988.
• Hans Amtmann; "Blohm und Voss Remembered", Aeroplane Monthly, February 1998 pp. 22–27 (Part 1) and March 1998 pp. 12–15 (Part 2).