Fritz von Opel

Fritz von Opel (4 May 1899 to 8 April 1971) was a German automotive heir and engineer, the only son of Wilhelm von Opel and a grandson of Adam Opel, who founded the Opel company. Born in Rüsselsheim, he studied at the Technische Universität Darmstadt, took a doctorate there, and became the Opel company's director of testing and head of publicity. He is remembered chiefly for the Opel RAK programme, a series of rocket powered cars and aircraft commissioned with Max Valier and Friedrich Wilhelm Sander, which earned him the nickname Rocket Fritz. In 1928 the RAK 2 reached 238 kilometres per hour at the AVUS track in Berlin, a rail vehicle reached 256 kilometres per hour, and on 11 June 1928 a rocket plane made the first crewed rocket powered flight. The demonstrations drew huge public attention and inspired the young Wernher von Braun. Von Opel also won motor races, including the first race at AVUS in 1921, and dominated motorboat racing in the late 1920s. Until 1928 he was a partner in the family firm, which sold most of its shares to General Motors in 1929.