Category Archives: Engineering History

Engineering history as to civil and military engineering, electronics and related topics.

Engineering History

Das Funkgerät in “Fuerza-Aérea-Uruguaya-Flug 571”

1. Einführung

Im Oktober 1972 verunglückte in den Anden eine mit 45 Menschen besetzte Fairchild F-27 der uruguayischen Luftwaffe während eines Charterflugs nach Santiago de Chile.

Angesichts der verheerenden Kollision mit einem Berg schien es zunächst als unglaubliches Glück, dass ein größerer Teil der Passagiere den Absturz überlebte und mit vergleichsweise harmlosen Verletzungen davonkam.

Die Absturzstelle befand sich in einem abgelegenen und schwer zugänglichen Teil der Hochanden. Es war noch … read more

Engineering History, Hiking and Mountaineering

Former NATO towers on the Hoher Bogen

Introduction

As a person born in the late 1970s I am old enough to remember the existence of two German states and the Iron Curtain that ran between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic until 1989, as peaceful revolutions overthrew the economically and morally bankrupt communist systems throughout Eastern Europe.

My grandparents and many of my relatives lived (and still live) in the Oberpfalz (Upper … read more

Cycling, Engineering History

Main-Danube Canal

Introduction

Cycling is one of my favorite outdoor activities during weekends or short vacations, and bike tours alongside the Main-Danube Canal between Nuremberg (German: Nürnberg, Middle Franconia) and Bamberg (Upper Franconia) belong to my personal subset of uncomplicated and convenient tours which do not demand much of a preparation.

There are virtually no climbs, and the track is more or less on my doorstep. For the seventy kilometers from Nürnberg … read more