Opel, Fritz Von

Fritz von Opel, (born May 4, 1899, Rüsselsheim, Ger.—died April 8, 1971, Saint Moritz, Switz.), German automotive industrialist who took part, with Max Valier and Friedrich Wilhelm Sander, in experiments with rocket propulsion for automobiles and aircraft.

He was a grandson of Adam Opel, who in 1862 had founded at Rüsselsheim a firm bearing his name that manufactured bicycles, sewing machines, refrigerators, air compressors, and (from 1898) automobiles. The world’s first rocket-propelled car, the Opel-Rak 1, was initially tested on March 15, 1928. Opel himself test-drove an improved version, the Opel-Rak 2, on May 23 of that year. On Sept. 30, 1929, Opel piloted the second rocket airplane to fly, a Hatry glider fitted with 16 solid-fuel rockets.