Alexander Lippisch Alexander Martin Lippisch ( November 2 , 1894 – February 11 , 1976 ) was a German pioneer of aerodynamics . He made important contributions to the understanding of flying wing s , delta wings and the ground effect . His most famous design is the Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket - powered interceptor . Lippisch was born in Munich , Kingdom of Bavaria . He later recalled that his interest in aviation stemmed from a demonstration conducted by Orville Wright , over Tempelhof Field in Berlin , in September 1909 . Nonetheless , he planned to follow his father ’ s footsteps into art school . The outbreak of World War I intervened . During his service with the German Army from 1915 – 1918 , Lippisch had the chance to fly as an aerial photographer and mapper . Tailless aircraft . Following the war , Lippisch worked with the Zeppelin Company , and it was at this time that he first became interested in tail - less aircraft . In 1921 his first such design would reach production in as the Lippisch - Espenlaub E - 2 glider , built by Gottlob Espenlaub . This was the beginning of a research programme that would result in some fifty designs throughout the 1920s and 1930s . Lippisch ’ s growing reputation saw him appointed the director of the Rhön - Rossitten Gesellschaft ( RRG ) , a glider research group . Lippisch ’ s work led to a series of tail - less designs numbered Storch I – Storch IX ( Stork I - IX ) between 1927 and 1933 ( these were not related to the successful Fieseler Fi 156 Storch STOL aircraft of World War II ) . These designs attracted little interest from the government and private industry . Nonetheless , it was during this time that Lippisch ’ s Ente ( " Duck " ) became the first aircraft to fly under rocket power . Experience with the Storch series led Lippisch to concentrate increasingly on delta - winged designs . The Delta I was the world ' s first tailless delta wing aircraft to actually fly ( in 1931 ) . This interest resulted in five aircraft , numbered Delta I – Delta V , which were built between 1931 and 1939 . In 1933 , RGG had been reorganised into the " Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug " ( German Institute for Sailplane Flight , " DFS " ) and the Delta IV and Delta V were designated as the DFS 39 and DFS 40 respectively . War projects . In early 1939 , the " Reichsluftfahrtsministerium " ( RLM , Reich Aviation Ministry ) transferred Lippisch and his team to work at the Messerschmitt factory , in order to design a high - speed fighter aircraft around the rocket engines then under development by Hellmuth Walter . The team quickly adapted their most recent design , the DFS 194 , to rocket power , the first example successfully flying in early 1940 . This was the direct ancestor of what would become the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet . Although technically novel , the Komet did not prove to be a successful weapon , and friction between Lippisch and Messerschmitt was frequent . In 1943 , Lippisch transferred to Vienna ’ s Aeronautical Research Institute ( " Luftfahrtforschungsanstalt Wien " , " LFW " ) , to concentrate on the problems of high - speed flight . That same year , he was awarded a doctoral degree in engineering by the University of Heidelberg . Wind tunnel research in 1939 had suggested that the delta wing was a good choice for supersonic flight , and Lippisch set to work designing a supersonic , ramjet - powered fighter , the Lippisch P . 13a ( wartime test footage ) . By the time the war ended , however , the project had only advanced as far as a development glider , the DM - 1 . Post war in the United States . Like many German scientists , Lippisch was taken to the United States after the war under Operation Paperclip . Advances in jet engine design were making Lippisch ' s ideas more practical , and Convair became interested in a hybrid ( mixed power ) jet / rocket design which they proposed as the F - 92 . In order to gain experience with the delta wing handling at high speeds , they first built a test aircraft , the 7002 , which became the first jet - powered delta - wing aircraft to fly on June 9 , 1948 . Although the U . S . Air Force lost interest in the F - 92 , the next test model 7003 was designated the XF - 92A . This led Convair to proposing delta wing for most of their projects through the 1950s and into the 1960s , including the F - 102 Delta Dagger , F - 106 Delta Dart and B - 58 Hustler . Ground Effect . From 1950 – 1964 , Lippisch worked for the Collins Radio Company in Cedar Rapids , Iowa , which had an aeronautical division . It was during this time that his interest shifted toward ground effect craft . The results were an unconventional VTOL aircraft ( an aerodyne ) and an aerofoil boat research seaplane X - 112 , flown in 1963 . However , Lippisch contracted cancer , and resigned from Collins . When he recovered in 1966 , he formed his own research company , Lippisch Research Corporation , and attracted the interest of the West German government . Prototypes for both the aerodyne and the ground - effect craft RFB X - 113 ( 1970 ) then RFB X - 114 ( 1977 ) were built , but no further development was undertaken . The Kiekhaefer Mercury company was also interested in his ground - effect craft and successfully tested one of his designs as the Aeroskimmer , but also eventually lost interest . Lippisch died in Cedar Rapids on February 11 , 1976 .