Heinrich Hertel was a German aeronautical engineer.

After graduating as an engineer

Engineer

An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...

 from a Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

 technical college, he joined the Junkers company in 1926. In 1932, he was recruited by Ernst Heinkel

Ernst Heinkel

Dr. Ernst Heinkel was a German aircraft designer, manufacturer, Wehrwirtschaftführer in the Third Reich, and member of the Nazi party. His company Heinkel Flugzeugwerke produced the Heinkel He 178, the world's first turbojet aircraft and jet plane, and the Heinkel He 176, the first rocket aircraft...

 and two years later was made the Technical Director of the Heinkel

Heinkel

Heinkel Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight.-History:...

 company where he oversaw many projects including the Heinkel He 100

Heinkel He 100

The Heinkel He 100 was a German pre-World War II fighter aircraft design from Heinkel. Although it proved to be one of the fastest fighter aircraft in the world at the time of its development, the design was not ordered into series production. Approximately 19 prototypes and pre-production machines...

 and He 111

Heinkel He 111

The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Often described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing", it masqueraded as a transport aircraft, but its purpose was to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium...

.

In May 1939 he returned to the Board of Directors at Junkers where he was closely connected with the development of the Junkers Ju 288

Junkers Ju 288

|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Hitchcock, Thomas H. Junkers 288 . Acton, MA: Monogram Aviation Publications, 1974. ISBN 0-914144-02-2.-External links:...

 and Ju 248.
In February 1945, he also worked on a project of the Dornier Do 635

Dornier Do 635

|-See also:-External links:*...

, one of the twin boom fighter aircraft developed from Dornier Do 335

Dornier Do 335

The Dornier Do 335 Pfeil was a World War II heavy fighter built by the Dornier company. The two-seater trainer version was also called Ameisenbär . The Pfeils performance was much better than other twin-engine designs due to its unique "push-pull" layout and the much lower drag of the in-line...

 but the project was cancelled in 1945.

After World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Hertel worked in France before returning to Germany in 1950 to teach aeronautics

Aeronautics

Aeronautics is the science involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of airflight-capable machines, or the techniques of operating aircraft and rocketry within the atmosphere...

 in Berlin. From 1959 until his retirement in 1977 he worked as a technical consultant for Focke-Wulf

Focke-Wulf

Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft before and during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.-History:...

 in Bremen.