Erich Warsitz Erich Warsitz ( 18 October 1906 , Hattingen , Westphalia - 12 July 1983 ) was a German test pilot of the 1930s . He held the rank of Flight - Captain in the Luftwaffe and was selected by the Reich Air Ministry as chief test pilot at Peenemünde West . He is remembered as the first person to fly an aircraft under liquid - fueled rocket power , the Heinkel He 176 , on June 20 , 1939 and also the first to fly an aircraft under turbojet power , the Heinkel He 178 , on August 27 the same year . Biography . Aviation career . Warsitz was born at Hattingen . Together with his practical tuition and technical studies , Erich Warsitz ’ aeronautical training as a sport flier for the A - 2 licence began at the Academic Aviation Group Bonn / Hangelar ( 1929 - 1930 ) . In stages subsequently came the B - 1 and B - 2 training at various aerodromes of the contemporary sports associations , and further training at DVS ( German Commercial Pilot School ) at Stettin for the C - 2 ( land aircraft and commercial carriage of persons ) and all licences for flights over the sea . Meanwhile he was awarded the major K - 2 aerobatics licence , passed the blind - flying training and obtained the navigation certificate for short distances . After he had been to DVS and obtained all flying licences there , he took employment as a sporting aircraft instructor and was later transferred to the Reichsbahnstrecke ( i . e . the Railway section , a cover name for long - distance flying experience , a unit concealed within the 100 , 000 - man Weimar standing army ) as flight instructor , senior flight instructor and then training leader . In 1934 orders arrived drafting him to Rechlin , the Luftwaffe ’ s test centre . At that time the German aviation industry was operating at full blast , and at Rechlin Erich Warsitz was soon flying everything the aircraft factories could produce . This was the starting point of an activity which , only a little while later , would bring him into intimate contact with developments in aviation which were of tremendous historical importance . Heinkel He 111 & He 112 . Late in 1936 Erich Warsitz was seconded by the RLM to Wernher von Braun and Ernst Heinkel , because he had been recognized as one of the most experienced test - pilots of the time , and because he also had an extraordinary fund of technical knowledge . In 1937 , working closely with Wernher von Braun , Erich Warsitz undertook the initial flight testing of the Heinkel He 112 fitted with von Braun ’ s rocket engine . Despite the wheels - up landing and having the fuselage on fire , it proved to official circles that an aircraft could be flown satisfactorily with a back - thrust system through the rear . In parallel the RLM had suddenly acquired an interest in so - called rocket boosters fitted for the sake of simplicity below the wings of a heavily loaded bomber to cut down the length of runway needed for take - off from small aerodromes and airfields . Once in the air the spent booster casings would be dropped by parachute for re - use . The firm of Hellmuth Walter at Kiel handled this development . The first standing trials and tests flights of their boosters were also held at Neuhardenberg using an Heinkel He 111 E placed at disposal by Heinkel . Walter had also been commissioned by the RLM to build a rocket engine for the He 112 , so there were two different new rocket motor designs at Neuhardenberg : whereas the von Braun ’ s engines were powered by alcohol and liquid oxygen , Walter engines had hydrogen peroxide and calcium permanganate as a catalyst . Von Braun ’ s engine used direct combustion and created fire , the Walter devices hot vapours from a chemical reaction , but both created thrust and provided high speed . The subsequent flights with the He 112 used the Walter - rocket instead of von Braun ' s ; it was more reliable , simpler to operate and the dangers to pilot and machine were less . All those test flights at Neuhardenberg were made by Erich Warsitz . Heinkel He 176 . During the development programme at Neuhardenberg the term " interceptor " had been coined , and the Heinkel He 176 was seen as the research machine for the project . The RLM was really thinking along the lines of a new kind of fighter aircraft . With a fantastic rate of climb it would take off almost vertically to intercept enemy bomber formations at 6000 – 7000 metres , make a swift attack from below at high speed , emptying the MGs or cannons into the enemy machines and then land once the fuel tanks were dry . The Messerschmitt Me 163 , which was developed and tested independently of the He 176 , came later , during the Second World War , as an operational interceptor . Because the He 176 development was classified top secret , Heinkel set up a special department in his Rostock - Marienehe works . A wooden barrack hut was erected first for the initial testing . Only very few employees were allowed access . This " shed " was soon converted into a permanent building . The development then progressed very quickly . Ground work began at Peenemünde - West with rolling tests to establish the characteristics on the runway . There came a moment when Erich Warsitz felt that a series of brief hops in the He 176 had made him familiar with its characteristics and nasty tricks , and he suddenly made up his mind to carry out the first real flight on June 20 , 1939 . Heinkel He 178 . The He 176 rocket aircraft had been developed in close collaboration with the RLM , but in spite of its success , Heinkel did not receive the support he had hoped for . In fact , there were many important individuals at the Air Ministry who showed an interest , but the Second World War was imminent , and other concerns took centre stage . The He 178 design was pushed through without the knowledge of the RLM , and it was this small aircraft which was later to usher in the Jet Age . On August 27 , 1939 Erich Warsitz undertook the world first jet flight with the Heinkel He 178 fitted with Hans von Ohain ’ s jet engine , the He S 3 turbine . After the second circuit Erich Warsitz set the He 178 up for the landing . The turbine responded to the throttle lever very obediently . Just above the ground he corrected the machine ’ s attitude , pulled off a perfect landing and came to a halt just short of the waters of the Warnow . World War II . After the Führer - Directive , ordering all developments not ready for mass - production within a year to be suspended with immediate effect , Erich Warsitz dedicated himself fully to his work as chief test pilot at Peenemünde - West . In 1941 also as an instructor in Nantes and Eindhoven training the bomber squadrons the correct use of the rocket boosters ( Heinkel He 111 and Junkers Ju 88 ) . In 1942 , during a test flight with a Messerschmitt Bf 109 , he had an accident – caused by a faulty fuel lead – which put him out of flying for a year . Thus he took over the management of his father ’ s precision mechanical firm and also founded the ‘ Warsitz Werke ’ in Amsterdam making various high - precision materials . Post War . After the end of the war , Warsitz was living in an apartment in the American sector , but at 3 a . m . on the night of 5 / December 6 , 1945 he was abducted by four Soviet officers . Numerous interrogations followed , concentrating on his former work on the development of rocket and jet aircraft in the OKH and RLM , at Peenemünde and the Heinkel factory . He was required to sign a contract which obliged him to co - operate with the Soviets for a period of five years on the development of related technology , but he refused . As a result he was condemned to twenty - five years forced labour . Shortly after this he was transported to Siberia , to the notorious penal colony 7525 / 13 . After his return in 1950 , thanks to Chancellor of West Germany Konrad Adenauer , he founded his precision mechanical firm “ Maschinenfabrik Hilden ” , until , in 1965 , he retired . In April 1983 , Warsitz suffered a stroke and as a result died at the age of 76 on July 12 , 1983 , at Lugano , Switzerland . Cultural references . For his flying achievements , Erich Warsitz ’ memory was honoured with a special stamp issue by the German Post Office on October 4 , 2007 .