Reinhold Platz
Encyclopedia
Reinhold Platz was a German
aircraft designer and manufacturer in service of the Dutch company Fokker
.
Platz was hired by Fokker in 1912 as a welder. His first hands-on projects were to weld the frame parts for the Fokker Spin
. Platz became the head designer at the Fokker factory in Schwerin
in 1916. Platz had no higher education like Anthony Fokker
, but was a man of practical knowledge. This turned the two men into a strong team, in which Platz was able to bring forth new revolutionary ideas to aircraft design, while Anthony Fokker implemented them in prototype aircraft. Platz became the head designer at the Fokker factory in Amsterdam after World War I
.
Platz is now largely credited with designing the innovative Fokker D.VII
fighter aircraft. Some have suggested that Platz was merely the foreman of the welding unit at Fokker, however, and that his status was raised in Weyl's book (see below) in an effort to denigrate Anthony Fokker's design achievements.
Platz was born in Cottbus
and died in Ahrensburg
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
aircraft designer and manufacturer in service of the Dutch company Fokker
Fokker
Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names, starting out in 1912 in Schwerin, Germany, moving to the Netherlands in 1919....
.
Platz was hired by Fokker in 1912 as a welder. His first hands-on projects were to weld the frame parts for the Fokker Spin
Fokker Spin
The Fokker Spin was the first airplane built by Anthony Fokker. The many bracing wires made the plane resemble a giant spider, hence its name Spin ....
. Platz became the head designer at the Fokker factory in Schwerin
Schwerin
Schwerin is the capital and second-largest city of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The population, as of end of 2009, was 95,041.-History:...
in 1916. Platz had no higher education like Anthony Fokker
Anthony Fokker
Anton Herman Gerard "Anthony" Fokker was a Dutch aviation pioneer and an aircraft manufacturer. He is most famous for the fighter aircraft he produced in Germany during the First World War such as the Eindecker monoplanes, the Fokker Triplane the and the Fokker D.VII, but after the collapse of...
, but was a man of practical knowledge. This turned the two men into a strong team, in which Platz was able to bring forth new revolutionary ideas to aircraft design, while Anthony Fokker implemented them in prototype aircraft. Platz became the head designer at the Fokker factory in Amsterdam after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Platz is now largely credited with designing the innovative Fokker D.VII
Fokker D.VII
The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the summer and autumn of 1918. In service, the D.VII quickly proved itself to be a formidable aircraft...
fighter aircraft. Some have suggested that Platz was merely the foreman of the welding unit at Fokker, however, and that his status was raised in Weyl's book (see below) in an effort to denigrate Anthony Fokker's design achievements.
Platz was born in Cottbus
Cottbus
Cottbus is a city in Brandenburg, Germany, situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree. As of , its population was .- History :...
and died in Ahrensburg
Ahrensburg
Ahrensburg is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, situated in Stormarn. Its population around 31,700 . Its outstanding sight is the Renaissance castle dating from 1595....
.