Hans Mauch

Hans Adolph Mauch (6 March 1906 – 20 January 1984) was an engineer known for his work in early jet engine development in Germany, and aeromedical and prosthesis work in the USA in the post-war era. His S-N-S artificial leg design remains in widespread use in the 2010s.

Hans Mauch was born in the Bad Cannstatt section of Stuttgart and studied mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering at universities in Stuttgart and Berlin. He received his Diplom at the Berlin Institute of Technology in 1929 near the top of his class. One of his professors was Georg Schlesinger, who had greatly advanced the art of prosthetics during World War I. Mauch began working on his PhD, but when another student published the same work at another university, he left school in 1930 and took a position at the E. Zwietusch company, where he worked on pneumatic tube designs. Here he worked on the development of an automated switching system that read labels on the capsules as they moved through the tubes.

In 1935 he took a job at the Ministry of Aviation. In 1938 the Ministry re-organized its various internal departments, and in April Mauch took over the Special Development Division, which worked on JATO-type applications. When he heard rumours of a new engine being developed by Hans von Ohain, he visited the Heinkel plant and grilled the engineers for hours. In August he met Helmut Schelp, who was working on jet engines in the Ministry's technical division (the T-Amt). Mauch hired Schelp into the development division to take over management of the development program.

Mauch began organizing a major jet engine development program, but was concerned that such work might interfere with the traditional split between engine and airframe companies. In particular, he noted that both Heinkel and Junkers, who had started a similar program, lacked engineering talent in the engine field, and were working in primitive conditions. The two approached the traditional engine companies in order to convince them to buy these efforts, but found a mixed reception until considerable funding was offered. These companies were concerned about the lead the UK industry had built up in traditional aviation engine design, and were committed to improving existing designs before striking out on new efforts. Mauch initially suggested that Heinkel give up his team to Daimler-Benz, but instead settled for Heinkel's suggestion that they instead buy Hirth and move the work there. A similar solution was found for Junkers, who merged with the formerly spun-off Junkers Motoren. However, the Junkers move led to the team leader, Max Adolph Müller, being displaced in the company hierarchy, and a considerable number of the group left to join the new team at Hirth.

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