In the following months Otto's company is absorbed. Gustav Otto´s Gustav Flugmaschinefabrik merging with Rapp-Motorenwerke formed Bayerische Flugzeug-Werke or BFW, in English Bavarian Aircraft Works
Portrait of Gustav in 1910
Gustav Otto - Short presentation
2 January 1883– 28 February 1926 was a German aircraft and aircraft-engine designer and manufacturer.
Otto was born in Cologne son of Nikolaus August Otto, the founder of N. A. Otto & Cie. and inventor of the four-stroke internal combustion engine. It is therefore regarded that his interest in engines, specifically aircraft and the manufacture thereof, was something he inherited from his father at an early age.
Early life
Otto was regarded as successful and career-minded, and moved in elevated social circles. He attended a higher secondary school in Cologne, and had internships at machine tool manufacturers. Later, he attended the Technical Colleges in Hanover, Karlsruhe and Munich for further engineering study. He is believed to have remained in Munich after completing his studies to co-found the Bayrische Autogarage Company. Having a famous father, Gustav was driven to prove himself. However, like many sons of famous fathers, Gustav had a difficult time getting out from under his father's long shadow. Therefore he was prone to bouts of depression, which affected his work.Passion for Flight
Gustav competed successfully in cars and on motorcycles in various sports events. He was also very active in the earliest days of aviation. On 10 April 1910 he obtained his pilot's license on an Aviatik biplane (also he took over an agency for this aircraft). He founded the "Aeroplanbau Otto-Alberti" workshop (renamed "Gustav Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik" in 1911) at the Puchheim airfield. In 1910, Gustav built a biplane he designed; it created a sensation throughout Germany. Gustav, along with a few others, flew machines made of wood, wire, canvas and powered by Daimler aeroengines. Gustav sold over 30 aircraft through his company, which also included a flight school. Through their passion for these flying machines, they helped transform aviation from a do-it-yourself hobby to a genuine industry vital to the military, especially after the breakout of World War I. Interestingly, Ernst Udet, the second-highest scoring German flying ace of World War I (second only to the Red Baron), earned his pilots license from private training with Gustav at this time.
Gustav founded numerous companies for the purpose of building aircraft. For his first company, the following entry was recorded in the Munich Company Register under the number 14/364 on 15 March 1911: "Gustav Otto in Munich, Flugmaschinenfabrik (aircraft factory), Office Karlstrasse 72". Shortly afterwards, Otto moved the workshop from its original location at 37, Gabelsberger Strasse to its new premises at 135, Schleissheimer Strasse, and in 1913 started to construct a new factory at 76, Neulerchenfeldstrasse (later Lerchenauer Strasse)at the Oberwiesenfeld (the business was renamed "Otto-Werke" in 1915).
The Foundation of BFW
Unable to navigate these politics without leaving his pride and integrity intact deeply troubled Gustav.
After the First World War, Otto started a new attempt within the automobile manufacturing area with the Starnberger Automobilwerke. The luxury "Otto-Mercedes" car built there is alleged to have been well received abroad. During this time, he was divorced from his wife Ada in 1924, an event under which Otto suffered badly. Ada remarried, but in August 1925 died in mysterious circumstances that gave rise to much speculation. Despite the fact he was no longer married to her, Otto took her death most harshly and apparently fell into a deep depression.
In 1926, between failed attempts at business (caused by various reasons), the death of his wife, and health issues, Otto committed suicide at the age of 43.
Franz-Josef Popp, an Austrian engineer, directed Rapp's business. He was securing the all-importnt military contracts. Popp tranformed then the existing company into Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH. BMW formally recognizes its birthday as March 7, 1916. Shortly after the merge, Popp realized that the company expanded too quickly and they needed financial help. He turned to Camillo Castiglioni, a Vienna financier, who was head of the Wiener Bankverein. Popp and Castiglioni recapitalized the company.
Franz-Josef Popp - Short presentation
Early years
Popp was born in Vienna in 1886 and in 1901 his family moved to Brno where he completed his university entrance qualification at the local grammar school. He went on to study mechanical and electrical engineering at the local Technical College and qualified with a degree in engineering in 1909. When he returned to Vienna, Franz Josef Popp joined the Viennese company AEG-Union as an electrical engineer. He soon became head of the department for “Electric Trains and Locomotives”, and one of his responsibilities was to develop electric locomotives for the Mittenwald railway. At the start of the First World War, Popp joined the Kaiserliche und Konigliche Luftfahrtruppen or "K.u.K. Luftfahrtruppen" (Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops) as a marine engineer at the Pula base on the Adriatic Sea (in present-day Croatia). This is where he had spent his military service as a one-year volunteer during his course of studies. However, three weeks later he was ordered back to Vienna to oversee construction for aircraft engine production, initially at AEG and then at the Austro-Daimler works in Wiener Neustadt. In this capacity, Popp traveled to Germany a number of times to visit the biggest aircraft engine manufacturers in the Reich- Daimler, NAG and Benz. The purpose was to explore opportunities for the production under license of German prototypes at the Austro-Daimler works. Unfortunately, these exploratory talks came to nothing. The Austro-Daimler works went on to develop their own new 12-cylinder aircraft engine for the Austrian navy, although there was not sufficient capacity available for production of this engine. It was necessary to find a production facility that was in a position to manufacture the engine in the quantities required by the military authorities. While he was serving in Pola, Popp had got to know the Rapp Motorenwerke (Rapp Engine Works) in Munich. This company had the necessary skilled workforce and production facilities for manufacturing aircraft engines, but it lacked a competitive product since its engines were not successful as aircraft engines. Given this scenario, Popp regarded the Rapp Engine works as an ideal production facility for manufacturing the 12-cylinder Austro-Daimler engine. He lobbied hard for this solution and was successful in convincing the responsible authorities to take up his suggestion. In 1916, he was dispatched to Munich as the representative of the Austrian Navy to supervise production under license at the Rapp Motorenwerke (Rapp Motor Works). However, Popp was worried about unsatisfactory decisions and targets set by the technical and commercial managers. He became concerned that volumes determined contractually would not be complied with. To ensure compliance with production targets, Popp effectively began to take on the role of factory manager. Popp ensured that Max Friz, a very talented young engineer at Daimler who had recently applied for a position, was hired by Rapp (Friz and Rapp were colleagues together at Austro-Daimler) . Popp understood that Rapp Motorenwerke very much needed a chief engineer with new ideas on making aircraft engines.
Popp was born in Vienna in 1886 and in 1901 his family moved to Brno where he completed his university entrance qualification at the local grammar school. He went on to study mechanical and electrical engineering at the local Technical College and qualified with a degree in engineering in 1909. When he returned to Vienna, Franz Josef Popp joined the Viennese company AEG-Union as an electrical engineer. He soon became head of the department for “Electric Trains and Locomotives”, and one of his responsibilities was to develop electric locomotives for the Mittenwald railway. At the start of the First World War, Popp joined the Kaiserliche und Konigliche Luftfahrtruppen or "K.u.K. Luftfahrtruppen" (Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops) as a marine engineer at the Pula base on the Adriatic Sea (in present-day Croatia). This is where he had spent his military service as a one-year volunteer during his course of studies. However, three weeks later he was ordered back to Vienna to oversee construction for aircraft engine production, initially at AEG and then at the Austro-Daimler works in Wiener Neustadt. In this capacity, Popp traveled to Germany a number of times to visit the biggest aircraft engine manufacturers in the Reich- Daimler, NAG and Benz. The purpose was to explore opportunities for the production under license of German prototypes at the Austro-Daimler works. Unfortunately, these exploratory talks came to nothing. The Austro-Daimler works went on to develop their own new 12-cylinder aircraft engine for the Austrian navy, although there was not sufficient capacity available for production of this engine. It was necessary to find a production facility that was in a position to manufacture the engine in the quantities required by the military authorities. While he was serving in Pola, Popp had got to know the Rapp Motorenwerke (Rapp Engine Works) in Munich. This company had the necessary skilled workforce and production facilities for manufacturing aircraft engines, but it lacked a competitive product since its engines were not successful as aircraft engines. Given this scenario, Popp regarded the Rapp Engine works as an ideal production facility for manufacturing the 12-cylinder Austro-Daimler engine. He lobbied hard for this solution and was successful in convincing the responsible authorities to take up his suggestion. In 1916, he was dispatched to Munich as the representative of the Austrian Navy to supervise production under license at the Rapp Motorenwerke (Rapp Motor Works). However, Popp was worried about unsatisfactory decisions and targets set by the technical and commercial managers. He became concerned that volumes determined contractually would not be complied with. To ensure compliance with production targets, Popp effectively began to take on the role of factory manager. Popp ensured that Max Friz, a very talented young engineer at Daimler who had recently applied for a position, was hired by Rapp (Friz and Rapp were colleagues together at Austro-Daimler) . Popp understood that Rapp Motorenwerke very much needed a chief engineer with new ideas on making aircraft engines.
Political meddling
These reservations were not politically motivated. Even though Popp admitted that he joined the Nazi Party on 1 May 1933 under pressure from Gauleiter Wagner, head of the Bavarian administrative district, he kept his distance from the party. Looking back, he maintained that joining the party shortly after the National Socialists seized power was simply intended to prevent his removal as General Director of BMW. In February 1936, the local group leader of the National Socialist Party started proceedings to exclude Popp from the party. This was based on accusations that despite warnings, Popp continued to allow his family to be treated by a Jewish family doctor. Following an official “warning” from the Munich Party Court, Popp put the matter to rest, not least to prevent the issue from escalating and endangering his position as Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. Popp’s skepticism against shifting the focus of production at BMW to aircraft engine production was based on his thinking that this would provide a one sided orientation for the group by focusing its activities on armament in preparation for war. Although this area was financially lucrative, it would mean that the group was heavily dependent on decisions made by the National Socialist regime. In June 1940, he wrote to the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Emil Georg von Stauss, explaining that the situation could “threaten the very existence of BMW AG if there were any setback to aircraft engine production”. The strategically important position of BMW for air armament would lead to a rise in the volume of specifications and more interference from political and military agencies, which would in turn increasingly restrict the scope for entrepreneurial manoeuvre. This would weaken the position of the group’s management. It would also erode the position of Franz Josef Popp, who up until then had directed the company largely autonomously and autocratically.
Tense climate
As the war progressed, the increasing shortage of labor and raw materials combined with the opaque procurement policy of the Reich Air Ministry to ensure that BMW fell well behind the production output requested. This increased the pressure pervading the already tense atmosphere between Popp and the responsible General Aviation Supervisor Erhard Milch in the Air Ministry. Popp’s attempts to gain backing from influential official quarters against Milch’s demands and to obtain realistic production requirements proved counter-productive. The General Aviation Supervisor felt slighted by Popp’s actions and accused him of refusing to perform his duty and of sabotage. Since Popp’s management style had already caused significant tensions in the BMW Board of Management prior to the disputes with the ministry, the Supervisory Board attempted to solve the conflicts by granting Popp leave of absence in January 1942. To prevent public speculation about the management change, Popp was appointed to the Supervisory Board but was no longer able to influence the day-to-day running of the company from this position.
Unsuccessful comeback
Directly after the end of the war, at the age of 59, Popp was again appointed by the Supervisory Board to the Board of Management in May 1945. One month later, the Allies arrested him on account of his title Military Economic Leader, which he had been granted in the course of the war. During the denazification process he was designated as a “nominal member of the Nazi party” and was finally, after an appeal, classified as “untainted”. Franz Josef Popp then once more attempted to join the Board of Management at the Bayerische Motoren Werke. However, his attempts were completely unsuccessful and his move to Stuttgart marked the end of these ambitions. Popp died there on 29 July 1954.
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