{{Short description|German aircraft designer and pilot}} thumb|Heini Dittmar in the cockpit of possibly his La Falda or Condor glider. '''Heini Dittmar''' (March 30, 1912 in Bad Kissingen – April 28, 1960 near Mülheim an der Ruhr, West Germany) was a record-breaking German glider pilot.
Inspired by the example of his glider flying brother Edgar, Dittmar took an apprenticeship at the German Institute for Gliding (DFS). In 1932, flying his self-built glider ''Condor I'', he won a first prize at the Rhön Glider Competition.
Dittmar then became a research pilot. In 1934, he, Hanna Reitsch, Peter Riedel, and Wolf Hirth were members of Professor Georgii's South American Glider Expedition,<ref name=Reitsch>Reitsch, H., 1955, The Sky My Kingdom, London: Biddles Limited, Guildford and King's Lynn, {{ISBN|1853672629}}</ref>{{rp|65}} where in Argentina he achieved a new world gliding altitude record (about {{Convert|4350|m}}).<ref>[http://www.segelflugmuseum.de/index.php?id=4288&psid=36acea5862043b7b5f446800cda5e2eb Heini Dittmar] at the Deutsches Segelflugmuseum.</ref> Later the same year, he achieved a new world record for long-distance using a ''Fafnir II'' and was awarded the Hindenburg Cup. In 1936, he achieved the first crossing of the Alps in a glider. He then crowned his career as a glider pilot by becoming the first Gliding World Champion after his victory at the first Rhön International Gliding Competition in 1937.<ref>[http://www.sport-komplett.de/sport-komplett/sportarten/f/flugsport/hst/32.html First gliding world champion] www.sport-komplett.de</ref>
During and after the Second World War, Dittmar worked as an aircraft designer and test pilot. On 2 October 1941, flying the Messerschmitt Me 163A V4 KE+SW, he became the first human to fly faster than {{Convert|1000|km/h|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Reitsch/>{{rp|175}} This record was achieved over the FAI-specified 3-km distance and was measured using an Askania theodolite. Later, on 6 July 1944, he reached a speed of {{Convert|1130|km/h|abbr=on}} in the Me 163B V18 bearing the ''Stammkennzeichen'' code of VA+SP, nearly losing the complete rudder surface in the process to flutter.<ref>(in German) Käsmann, Ferdinand C.W., ''Die schnellsten Jets der Welt'' (Berlin: Aviatic-Verlag GmbH, 1999, {{ISBN|3-925505-26-1}}), pp. 17, 122.</ref><ref>de Bie, Rob. [http://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/me163/production.htm "Me 163B Komet - Me 163 Production - Me 163B: Werknummern list."] ''robdebie.home.'' Retrieved: 28 July 2013.</ref><ref>[http://www.walterwerke.co.uk/walter/me163c1a.htm "Me 163."] ''walterwerke.co.uk''. Accessed: 28 August 2010.</ref> It is unclear, however, if sufficient altitude was attained to make this a true supersonic flight.{{source?|date=March 2018}}
Dittmar died in a crash in 1960 while test-flying a light aircraft of his own design, the HD-153 Motor-Möwe, near Essen/Mülheim airport.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=iEfJSMyE5tUC&pg=PA7&dq=heini+dittmar&sig=ACfU3U0QeSmFI7eJj5q_5hacRlcq5Bljzw#PPA8,M1 50 Jahre Deutsche Motorflugzeuge], Page 8.</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dittmar, Heini}} Category:1912 births Category:1960 deaths Category:Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Germany Category:Flight speed record holders Category:German aviation record holders Category:German glider pilots Category:German test pilots Category:German World War II pilots Category:Glider flight record holders Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1960 Category:Victims of flight test accidents