Georg Hans Madelung Georg Hans Madelung ( born 31 July 1889 in Rostock , died 17 August 1972 in Uffing ) was a German academic and aeronautical engineer . Madelung studied at a several German Technical Universities before his service as a pilot in the First World War . After the war he lectured and worked in Germany and the United States , working on a number of significant aeronautical achievements . Madelung joined the Nazi Party in 1937 , and during the Second World War was involved with aeronautical warfare research , including work with Wernher von Braun ' s rocket program . After the cessation of hostilities , Madelung resumed academic work in both Germany and the USA . Madelung ' s research at the Naval Medical Research Institute , Bethesda , Maryland included the effects of high acceleration on the human body . He permanently returned to live in Germany from 1954 until his death in 1972 . The second son of his marriage to Elisabeth Emma née Messerschmidt is Wilferd Madelung , a noted scholar in Islamic studies . Early life . Madelung ' s father was Otto Wilhelm Madelung , a surgeon and medical research er , and his mother was Hedwig Madelung , née Köhler . Education . From 1985 to 1907 Madelung was schooled at a Protestant " gymnasium " in Strasbourg . He volunteered for military service in 1907 . Madelung studied at the University of Strasbourg ( 1907 – 1908 ) , the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology ( 1908 – 1909 ) , the University of Hanover ( 1909 – 1910 ) , and the Technical University of Berlin from 1910 to 1919 . He was belatedly awarded a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the Technical University of Berlin in 1919 , and was admitted as Doctor of Engineering of the University of Hanover in 1921 . WWI service . Madelung was trained as a pilot and may have flown some combat missions in the First World War . He was involved with fellow engineer Fritz Harber ' s deployment of poison gas . In 1915 Madelung was retained as an assistant at the " Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt " " — acronym DVL — the " German Aviation Laboratory " . Between the wars . Junkers F . 13 project . In 1919 Madelung was a participant in the development of the Junkers F . 13 , a pioneering all - metal stressed - skin low - wing cantilever wing monoplane . On 13 September 1919 , the F . 13 was flown to a then - record altitude of 6 750 metres . " Vampyr " glider . Madelung was the designer of the 1921 " Hannover Vampyr " glider , which has been claimed to be the model for all modern sailplanes . Work in the United States . From 1921 to 1924 Madelung worked as an airplane designer in the United States . Return to Germany . Madelung returned to Germany and the DVL in 1925 . In 1929 he was appointed to the office of director - general of the airplane department and a member of the board of the DVL . In 1937 , he joined the Nazi Party , and in the same year was appointed the director of the re - formed " Deutsche Akademie der Luftfahrtforschung " ( German Aviation Research Academy ) . World War II . After the outbreak of World War II , in 1941 Madelung formed the " Forschungsanstalt Graf Zeppelin " ( " Count Zeppelin Research Institute " ) with Madelung himself as director . The Institute worked on bomb s , torpedo guidance , depth charge s , and construction of airplane catapult s . Madelung was considered an expert in bomb construction . Later in the war , he was involved with Wernher von Braun ' s " Raketenprogramm " . Later life . After the defeat of Nazi Germany , Madelung resumed academic work at the University of Stuttgart . From 1946 to 1954 , Madelung was a visiting scholar at the USA Naval Medical Research Institute , Bethesda , Maryland , where he was involved with studies into the ability of the human body to bear large accelerations . He left the USA for Germany again in 1954 . Personal life . Madelung married Elisabeth Emma Messerschmidt in 1927 . The couple had three daughters and two sons . Their first son Gero Otto George ( born 1928 ) was a professor for aviation technology at the University of Munich and member of the supervisory board of Bosch AG . Their second son Wilferd Ferdinand ( born 1930 ) was a professor for Oriental Studies at Oxford University and is the author of numerous scholarly works in Islamic studies .