Robert Kronfeld

Squadron Leader Robert Kronfeld, AFC (5 May 1904 – 12 February 1948) was an Austrian-born gliding champion and sailplane designer of the 1920s and 30s.<ref name="AEIOU "/><ref name="Liebhart">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name= "Ulrich">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name= "Lehár">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=hermsdorf>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="biographlex"/> He became a British subject and an RAF test pilot. He was killed testing a glider in 1948.

Early life

Kronfeld was born in Vienna,<ref name= "Lehar">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name= "Scouting">Template:Cite journal</ref> the son of dentist also called Robert Kronfeld (1874–1946), who was nephew of Adolf Kronfeld (de) (doctor, writer), Ernst Moriz Kronfeld (de) (botanist), both Galician Jews.<ref name="hermsdorf"/><ref name="biographlex"/> In his youth his favourite sport was boating.<ref name="biographlex"/>

Gliding

As a young man, he visited the Wasserkuppe in Germany and became passionate about the sport of gliding that was developing there. So Kronfeld became a member of the first Austrian gliding school.<ref name="biographlex"/> He befriended Walter Georgii, who was a meteorologist working at the nearby Darmstadt University of Technology and who had recently discovered thermals. Kronfeld became something of a test-pilot for Georgii, investigating this still-new phenomenon with the assistance of a variometer disguised as a vacuum flask.

In 1926, the German newspaper Grüne Post offered a RM 5,000 prize for the first glider pilot to fly Template:Convert. Kronfeld took up the challenge in 1929 and selected a long chain of hills, the Teutoburger Wald, as a promising site for the record attempt.<ref name="Ulrich"/><ref name="hermsdorf"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
He took off in a glider of his own design, named Wien ("Vienna"),<ref name="Liebhart"/> launched by bungee, near Ibbenbüren. After a flight lasting over five hours, he landed near Detmold, 102.5 km away. Kronfeld used the prize money to build a gigantic sailplane, named Austria,<ref name="Liebhart"/> which had a wingspan of 30 metres - a record not to be matched until the end of the twentieth century. Kronfeld was awarded the Hindenburg Cup in 1930.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the same year he undertook the first flight from a mountain in Lower Austria.<ref name="AEIOU "/><ref name="hermsdorf"/> He also staged large air shows.<ref name="AEIOU "/><ref name="hermsdorf"/><ref name="Lehar"/> By 1930 he held the world records for distance (164 km) and height (2,589 m).<ref name="Liebhart"/><ref name="hermsdorf"/><ref name="AEIOU">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1930 he also had success gliding in England.<ref name="biographlex">Template:Cite book</ref>

On 15 February 1931 Robert Kronfeld and Wolf Hirth were the first men awarded the "Silver C".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name= "Pioniere">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

On 20 June 1931 Kronfeld was the first pilot to fly a glider across the English Channel, making a return flight the same day.<ref name="AEIOU "/><ref name="Liebhart"/><ref name="hermsdorf"/><ref name="Lehar"/><ref name="Pioniere"/><ref name="phila">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Spiegel"/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> For this he won £1000 from the Daily Mail<ref>Flight 1931 p576</ref><ref>"Power Glider Crosses Channel" Popular Mechanics, September 1935</ref>

Kronfeld was an Air Scout within the Österreichischer Pfadfinderbund and took part in the 4th World Scout Jamboree (1933) in Hungary as a member of the Austrian contingent.<ref name="Lehár"/><ref name= "Scouting"/> He participated in the Air Scout camp and contributed to the Airshow.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He served as Commissioner for Air Scouts of the Österreichischer Pfadfinderbund.<ref name= "Scouting"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Kronfeld also was an honorary member of this Scout association.<ref name= "Scouting"/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Höhepunkte"/>

In addition to being the first person to pilot a glider across the English Channel, on Saturday 4 June 1938, Kronfeld became the first pilot to fly a towed glider across the Irish Sea.<ref name="ReferenceA">Isle of Man Times, Saturday, 11 June 1938; Page: 4</ref> Under tow from an Avro Cadet piloted by Mark Lacayo, they departed Kirby Moorside, Yorkshire, proceeding westwards via Blackpool the original planned point in order to make the crossing to Ronaldsway Airport, Isle of Man.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

However, with an airspeed of 65 knots flying into a 50 knot head wind resulting in a groundspeed of 15 knots, it was difficult to make concerted progress and at one point Lacayo suggested abandoning the attempt.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The wind was causing significant problems in addition to lowering cloud and had blown the aircraft and glider 30 nautical miles off course.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Nevertheless, Kronfeld was determined to make the attempt and they managed to fix their position at 2,000 feet above St Bees Head and re-planned a crossing to Maughold Head. The weather resulted in the aircraft and glider descending to only 50 feet above the sea and a further problem was being caused by reducing visibility and the approaching darkness. The sea crossing took 1 hour 50 minutes. Due to the weather conditions a landing at Ronaldsway Airport could not be made and this resulted in them diverting to Hall Caine Airport, touching down at 20:00hrs.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> On Tuesday 7 June, Kronfeld gave an exhibition of aerobatics over Ronaldsway as a feature of the 1938 Manx Air Derby.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Exile

In 1933, the new Nazi government prohibited Jews from flying, and as a Jew, Kronfeld fled Germany first for Austria, later for the United Kingdom.<ref name="Liebhart"/><ref name="Lehar"/><ref name="Spiegel"/> In 1934 he was awarded the Silver medal of the Lilienthal Society.<ref name="biographlex"/> There, he continued flying, taking over the British Aircraft Company, and in 1938 became chief instructor for the newly founded Oxford University and City Gliding Club (now split up in the Oxford University Gliding Club and the separate Oxford Gliding Club). He settled in England in January 1938 and his father followed him to England in 1939.<ref name="biographlex"/>

Kronfeld was a member of the Österreichischer Aero Club and brought the records of this association to the United Kingdom.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1939 he became a British citizen<ref name="Spiegel"/> and during World War II he served in the Royal Air Force.<ref name="hermsdorf"/><ref name="Lehar"/> He held the rank of Squadron Leader.<ref name="Liebhart"/><ref name="Spiegel"/> He was posted to the Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment on military glider development. For that work he was awarded the Air Force Cross.<ref name= "Spiegel">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Post war, as Chief Test Pilot for General Aircraft, he was killed in the crash of an experimental flying wing glider - the General Aircraft GAL 56 (TS507) - during stalling trials, at Lower Froyle after taking-off from Lasham Airfield.<ref name="Liebhart"/><ref name="hermsdorf"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After successfully recovering from a stall, the aircraft entered an inverted dive. His observer was able to leave the aircraft and survived despite a low level parachute opening.

Aircraft tested

• British Aircraft Company Drone
• Baynes Bat - tailess military glider

Memory and legacy

There are streets named after Robert Kronfeld in Detmold (Robert-Kronfeld-Straße), Fulda (Robert-Kronfeld-Straße), Oerlinghausen (Robert-Kronfeld-Straße),<ref name="hermsdorf"/> Gerasdorf (Kronfeldgasse), Graz (Kronfeldgasse) and Vienna (Kronfeldgasse).<ref name="hermsdorf"/><ref name="Lehar"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1990 a memorial stone, commemorating the first 100 km flight by Kronfeld in 1929, was erected by the Heimatverein am Hermannshöhenweg near Riesenbeck.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1997 a memorial stone was erected on the Königsberg near Detmold (GPS 51° 55' N, 8° 53' E), where Kronfeld landed after his 100 km flight.

The Robert-Kronfeld-Memorial Prize (Robert-Kronfeld-Gedächtnispreis) is awarded by the Segelflugschule Oerlinghausen, since 1979.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "The-Robert-Kronfeld-Cup was awarded by the State Government of Austria on the occasion of the 21st World Gliding Championships 1989 in Wiener Neustadt."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is also named The Robert Kronfeld Challenge Cup.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There is also a Robert Kronfeld-contest (Robert-Kronfeld-Wettbewerb) organized by the Segelflugschule Oerlinghausen.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1961 the Robert Kronfeld Memorial flight from Innsbruck to Kufstein (Kronfeld-Gedächnissegelflug) took place and a special cachet was issued commemorating this flight.<ref name="Ulrich"/><ref name="phila"/> In 1994 a special cachet was issued commemorating Robert Kronfeld's 90th Birthday.<ref name="phila"/> Robert Kronfeld was commemorated in an exhibition in the National Scout Center of the Österreichischer Pfadfinderbund in Vienna in September 2010 and stamp and special cachet were issued.<ref name= "Höhepunkte">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

An Air Scout group of the Österreichischer Pfadfinderbund in the 1960s was named after Robert Kronfeld.

The sole surviving Kronfeld Drone de Luxe, G-AEKV, built in 1936, is preserved at Brooklands Museum, Surrey, UK. Acquired by Mike Beach in the early 1980s and restored to flying condition at Brooklands around 1984, 'KV was later purchased by Brooklands Museum with the support of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant and is kept in ground running condition.

An orchard in memory of Robert and his son was created at Lasham Airfield in 2014.

In the years following Kronfeld's death his widow, Margaret, approached L Wingfield MC DFC, to create a lasting memorial, to which the Oxford Gliding Club, was reformed, flying at Kidlington Airport in 1951. Kronfeld been the first permanent Chief Flying Instructor in 1938. The club is still operating, based at RAF Weston-on-the-Green to the north of Oxford City.