Chronology

Chronological outline of the life of Prof. Gerhard Eggers (1912–1998).

Year Event
1912 Born 6 July in Rostock, second son of Louis Eggers and Margarete Eggers, née Gerwe
1930 Abitur at the Realgymnasium in Rostock
1930–1936 Studies at the universities of Rostock, Vienna and Hamburg; graduates with distinction; obtains pilot’s licence
1936 Joins Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG, Dessau, as test engineer; later chief scientific assistant to Prof. Heinrich Hertel
1939 Marries Hildegard Koch
1940–1945 Birth of the children Karsten (20 December 1940), Birgit (20 December 1943) and Heidrun (28 February 1945, Gernrode)
1944 Family evacuated to Gernrode
1946 Emigrates to France; joins SNECMA in Decize; works on the ATAR jet engine under Dr. Hermann Oestrich
1953 Moves to Dammarie-les-Lys; heads the “engine installation” department; ATAR Volant and Coléoptère (C-450) projects
1957 Médaille de l’Aéronautique
1959 Returns to Germany; technical director at Focke-Wulf in Bremen; lives at Schwachhauser Ring 41
1961 Co-founds Entwicklungsring Nord (ERNO) with Focke-Wulf, Weserflug and Hamburger Flugzeugbau
1963 Weser-Flugzeugbau and Focke-Wulf merge on 12 November into Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke (VFW); Eggers joins the management board
1964 Honorary professor at TU Berlin (vertical take-off technology)
1965 Appointed Commandeur d’Honneur
1969 VFW merges with the Dutch N. V. Fokker to form VFW-Fokker
1970 Board member of the VFW-Fokker central company in Düsseldorf; family moves to Bad Zwischenahn
1974 On 5 June ESRO selects VFW-Fokker/ERNO as prime contractor for the European Spacelab programme (contract volume 579 million DM)
1977 Retires
1978 Death of his wife Hildegard
1992 Gerhard-Eggers-Straße named in Bremen
1998 Dies 23 August in Bad Zwischenahn from the consequences of a fall
Last edited on July 3, 2026.
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