This paper documents the pioneering work of Dr. Max Bentele during his long and distinguished career in Germany, the UK, and the United States. His early work on turbojets at the Heinkel-Hirth Corporation in conjunction with his life-long friend, Dr. Hans von Ohain, culminated in the development of the advanced HeS 011 turbojet. Dr. Bentele’s pioneering work in the area of blade vibration is documented along with details of his spectacular solution of the turbine blade vibration problem of the Junkers 004B engine which propelled the world’s first operational jet fighter—the Me-262. Also covered are his pioneering contributions to turbine blade cooling and blade manufacturing and his important work at Curtiss—Wright and Avco Lycoming prior to his retirement.

Issue Section:
Gas Turbines: Aircraft Engine
Keywords:
jet engines, gas turbines, cooling, military aircraft
Topics:
Blades, Cooling, Design, Engines, Environmental health and safety, Turbines, Turbojets, Compressors, Vibration, Turbine blades, Turbochargers
1.
Bentele, M., 1991, Engine Revolutions: The Autobiography of Max Bentele, SAE, Warrendale, PA.
1.
Meher-Homji, C. B., and Prisell, E., 1999, “Pioneering Turbojet Developments of Dr. Hans von Ohain—From the HeS1 to the HeS 011,” ASME Gas Turbine and Aeroengine Conference, Indianapolis, ASME Paper No: 99-GT-228;
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Constant, E. W. II, 1980, The Origins of the Turbojet Revolution, John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, 1980.
2.
Meher-Homji, C. B., 2000, “The Historical Evolution of Turbomachinery,” Proceedings of the 29th Turbomachinery Symposium, Texas A&M University, Houston, TX, September 2000.
1.
Meher-Homji, C. B., 1996, “The Development of the Junkers Jumo 004B—the World’s First Production Turbojet,” 1996 ASME Gas Turbine and Aeroengine Conference, Birmingham, UK, June 10–13, 1996. ASME Paper No. 96-GT-457.
2.
Also in
ASME Transactions of Gas Turbines and Power
1194
, October
1997
.
1.
“An Encounter Between the Jet Engine Inventors Sir Frank Whittle and Dr. Hans von Ohain,” 1978, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH, History Office, Aeronautical Systems Division, US Air Force Systems Command.
2.
Neville, L. E., and Silsbee, N. F., 1948, Jet Propulsion Progress, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1948.
3.
Bentele, M., 1989, “Das Heinkel-Hirth Turbostrahltriebwerk HeS011—Vorganger, Characteristiche Merkmale Erkenntnisse,” Proceedings of Conference on 50 Years of Jet-Powered Flight, Sponsored by the DGLR (German Society for Aeronautics and Astronautics), DGLR Publ. No. 89-05, October 26–27, 1989, Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany.
4.
Hirth-Motoren GmbH Report, April 1944, VEW 1-139, “Schwingungsuntersuchungen an der HeS 11—Turbine V1 aund V6 mit Vollschaufeln,” dated Jan 31, 1944; Max Bentele Papers, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
5.
Hirth-Motoren GmbH Report, April 1944B, VEW 1-140, “Untersuchung der Fussbefestigung von Topf und Falt-Schaufeln durch Kaltschleuderprufung,” dated April 16, 1944; Max Bentele Papers, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
6.
“Design of the German 109-011 A-O Turbojet,” Aviation, September, 1946.
7.
“Basic Technical Data on the 109-011 Jet Engine A-O Development Series,” U.S. Navy Department Bureau of Aeronautics, Third Edition, December 1944.
8.
Bamford, L. P., and Robinson, S. T., 1945, “Turbine Engine Activity at Ernst Heinkel Atiengesellschaft Werk Hirth-Motoren, Stuttgart/Zuffenhausen,” Report by the Combined Intelligence Objectives Sub-committee dated May 1945.
9.
Carter, J. L., 1945, Ernst Heinkel Jet Engines, Aeronautical Engine Laboratory [AEL], Naval Air Experimental Station, Bureau of Aeronautics, US Navy, June 1945.
10.
Franz, A., 1979, The Development of the Jumo 004 Turbojet Engine, 40 Years of Jet Engine Progress, edited by Boyne, W. J. and Lopez, D. S., National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian, Washington, 1979.
11.
Bentele, M., and Lowthian, C. S., 1952, “Thermal Shock Tests on Gas Turbine Materials,” Aircraft Engineering, February, 1952, pp. 32–38.
12.
Bentele, M., and Laborde, J., 1972, Evolution of Small Turboshaft Engines, National SAE Aerospace Engineering and Manufacturing Conference, San Diego, CA, October 2–5, 1972, SAE Paper No. 720830.
Copyright © 2005
 by ASME
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