Jacob Goedecker

[Varese2002]

I found some information about the now little known German early aviation pioneer Jacob Goedecker here.

There is even a short selection of pictures presented as a movie.

Goedecker made advanced Dove (Taube) machines in 1911 / 1912, which were partly of metal (aluminium). Characteristic was his undercarriage which sported a nose wheel and a tail skid, with additional small wheels at the wingtips.

Goedecker constructed the (second) Spider (Spinne) designed by Anthony Fokker according to the legend. Sure the expertise and knowledge of Goedecker was involved in constructing this machine.

Cheers

Kees

[Mark II]

Some sources mentioned Goedecker even as the designer of the first spider, although it’s clear that he made parts of the construction.

The first Goedecker Taube have been flown near Gonsenheim on 24 april 1910. The first Goedecker Taube was made of wood, the second was made with lighter steel tubes. He made another three Taubes. These were powered by a single 70hp Argus engine.

I have read in Janes that Goedecker maybe have made a copy of the Avro biplane. Is this confirmed by other sources?

[Varese2002]

Originally Posted by Mark II

S------

I have read in Janes that Goedecker maybe have made a copy of the Avro biplane. Is this confirmed by other sources?

I could not find this information in Jane 1913. Can you state the precise source. Other descriptions of the output of Jacob Goedecker (Lange) do not mention that he made a copy of the Avro.

The AGO firm made a floatplane based on the Avro early floatplane.

Cheers

Kees

[Mark II]

It’s just a single line of text within the Goedecker part of “Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War 1”, Random House Group LTD, London, 2001. It contains information of the Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft editions 1914, 1916, 1917, 1918 and 1919.

[Varese2002]

I checked your quote (p.154)

Reported, without proof, to manufacture during the war a copy of the Avro biplane, shot down at Friedrichshafen during the British attack on the Zeppelin Works there.

Jane's could not bring it more cautious

Goedecker built a biplane trainer in 1914, which was not accepted by the Idflieg. This machine looked like a characteristic German training biplane of the period with radiators at the side of the fuselage. Sure that is no copy of the Avro 504 as cautiously quoted by Janes. AFAIK this was the last machine designed and built by Goedecker. After that the factory changed to repair of damaged front aeroplanes. Quoted are about 100 man, Bauaufsicht Nr. 33. In 1914 Jacob Goedecker was send to the front as a military, leaving his factory more or less without management.

I have read a little more into the history of Jacob Goedecker and find his expertise somewhat belittled in various books and articles. In reality he studied at the Technische Hochschule at Aachen and Charlottenburg (for instance one of his tutors was Junkers). So it is a bit humiliating to read that Fokker went to the shipbuilder Goedecker or to the technician Goedecker. Fokker had almost no technical training or expertise. There is at least the suspicion that history has been 'bended' here.

Interesting is the Dutch language piece on Goedecker in the book by Frido Troost - Salto Mortale; Fokker in bedrijf 1911-1996 published in 1998.

Cheers

Kees

[Mark II]

Originally Posted by Varese2002

I checked your quote (p.154)

Interesting is the Dutch language piece on Goedecker in the book by Frido Troost - Salto Mortale; Fokker in bedrijf 1911-1996 published in 1998.

Interesting at least, but I have read agian some parts about the spider development and it seems to me that not all things went as Fokker said. More or less the same occurs with the construction of the gun synchronization.

[Makhpiyaluta]

Kees en Mark,

een beetje laat met reageren ik kijk hier niet al te vaak maar Goedecker heeft alle onderdelen van alle Spinnen gemaakt. Ik heb in Niederwalluf zijn oude werkplaats bezocht waar de Spin II gebouwd is. Helaas heeft Goedecker nooit de eer gekregen die hij verdiende. Na de oorlog heeft Fokker altijd beweert dat hij de ontwerper en bouwer van de Spinnen was maar hij assambleerde alleen de door Goedecker gezonden onderdelen. Zelfs de naccelen van de gesloten Spinnen werden niet door Fokker gemaakt maar door de firma Kruck in Frankfurt. Ik heb wat fotos uit het Goedecker familie archief (die ik niet mag publiceren) die duidelijk laten zien dat de Goedecker toestellen dezelfde constructie gebruikten als gevonden op de Spin. Zijn Sturmvogel was eigenlijk hetzelfde geconstrueerd als de Spin, twee houten balken als romp met een Argus en ook de constructie van de vleugels is precies eender aan de Spin vleugels. Dus eigenlijk kunnen we spreken van de Goedecker Spin en niet de Fokker Spin.

Willem

[Varese2002]

Hi Willem,

Dank voor deze interessante info. Staat de werkplaats van Goedecker er nog steeds in Niederwalluf .... en zit er al wat schot in de 'her-resrtauratie' van de Spin op het Aviodrome?

Vind je het trouwens goed dat ik je stuk over Goedecker vertaal in het Engels, dan hebben al de niet-Nederlands lezende Forumleden er ook wat aan (dat is dus ongeveer iedereen minus 3 .

Het allerbeste

Kees