The Key Role Jewish Inventors and Aviators Played in the Development of Manned Flight
The story of manned flight is a complex one. Though figures such as the Wright brothers played key roles, many unsung inventors, scientists, engineers and pilots also contributed essential efforts to the aviation industry. From the innovators who helped launch the first manned flights to some of the most daring pilots and entrepreneurs who brought aviation into the mainstream, many were Jewish. Here’s a closer look at some of those historic figures.
The Jewish Contribution to the Invention of Flight
A number of Jewish inventors and innovators helped pave the way to manned flight:
- Mechanical engineer Otto Lilienthal, a German, was among the first to observe the principles of birds in flight and apply it to manned aircraft, designing gliders that could be controlled by humans. Known both as the “flying man” and as the “Father of Aviation,” Lilienthal meticulously documented glider flights, eventually pioneering the concept of heavier-than-air aircraft. In 1891, he built the first prototype of the modern airplane wing. Unfortunately, in 1896, while conducting an experiment, he lost control of a glider and broke his neck, leading to his death.
- David Schwarz, a contemporary of Lilienthal, built the first airplane with a rigid body, made entirely of metal. A native of Hungary, Schwarz first became interested in aviation in the 1880s when his lumber business was failing. He proposed the use of aluminum, which worked. Unfortunately, he died before the ship was first launched.
- Emile Berliner, a German-born engineer who developed the first lightweight engine to facilitate motorized flight
- Marcel Dassault (born Marcel Bloch), joined the French Aeronautics Research Laboratory during the First World War and is credited with the invention of an aircraft propeller subsequently used on French aircraft during the conflict. Bloch subsequently established his own aircraft company, which was seized by the German Army during the occupation in World War II. Bloch refused to work with the German army or the Vichy government and was imprisoned for the remainder of the war, spending time at Buchenwald. After the war, Bloch legally changed his name to Dassault and reestablished himself in the aviation industry.
Some of the most important pilots and flyers of all-time have also been Jewish:
- Arthur L. (“Al”) Welsh, a Russian-born aviator who emigrated to the United States and served as a flight instructor with the Wright brothers. Born Laibel Welcher in Kiev in 1881, Welcher came to the United States with his parents at the age of nine. Welch, who set a number of the early altitude records for manned flight, died at the age of 31 in a crash. He was alternately described as “one of the most daring professional aviators in America” and “the most promising of the younger aviators.”
- Robert Kronfield, an Austrian, established a world gliding record in 1930 when he became the first person to take a lighter than air craft across the English Channel
- Charles A. Levine became the first passenger to cross the Atlantic Ocean by plane, traveling just two weeks after Charles Lindbergh’s historic solo flight.
Jewish Women Have Also Played a Role in the History of Aviation
Jewish women have also played an integral role in the history of aviation:
- Zahara Levitov, born in Tel Aviv in 1927, developed her aeronautical skills in the United States in the late 1940s and piloted many combat missions during the 1948 War of Independence. She died in 1948 at the age of 21 in a plane crash in Jerusalem.
- Selma Kantor Cronan, born in Asbury Park, New Jersey, took her first plane ride when she was around 10 and decided she wanted to be a pilot. At the age of 28, she got her commercial pilot’s license and joined the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots, also known as the WASPs. She was voted into the Aviation Hall of Fame of New Jersey in 1994 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
- Lydia Litvyak, the so-called “White Lily of Stalingrad,” was born in Russia in 1921, and became the world’s first female fighter pilot, logging 14 victories in more than 65 combat sorties. The first woman to earn the title of fighter ace, she died at the age of 21 during the Battle of Kursk when she was shot down by German anti-aircraft.
- Yael Rom, born Yael Finkelstein, one of the first female pilots in the Israeli Air Force, most famously co-piloted the lead C-47 on the parachute drop that launched the 1956 Suez War at the Mitla Pass.
Gutterman’s and Gutterman Warheit—Providing Comprehensive Funeral and Burial Services to the Jewish Community for More than 130 Years
At Gutterman’s and Gutterman Warheit, with funeral chapels in New York and Florida, we offer more than five generations of experience and compassion to individuals and families in the Jewish faith. We understand the unique customs within each Jewish tradition and can offer guidance on any issue, from the structure of the memorial services or the choice of a casket or monument to the details of sitting Shiva or the preparation of a Yahrzeit calendar. We will also work directly with the Chevra Kadisha to ensure compliance with Jewish law in the preparation of the body.
To learn how we can help, send us an email or call us at one of the numbers listed below.
Gutterman’s & Gutterman Warheit — Where Relationships Matter
Family Owned and Operated Since 1892
Rockville Centre: (516)764-9400 | Woodbury: (516)921-5757 | Brooklyn: (718)284-1500
Boca Raton, FL: (561)997-9900 | (800)992-9262