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'''Wunibald Kamm''' (April 26, 1893 in [[Basel]] – October 11, 1966 in [[Stuttgart]]) was an [[Automotive design|automobile designer]], [[engineer]], and [[aerodynamics|aerodynamicist]]. He is best known for his breakthrough in reducing car turbulence at high speeds; the style of car bodywork based on his research has come to be known as a [[Kammback]] or a Kamm-tail.


{{Infobox person
⚫
==Design==
|image =
⚫
One goal of [[automotive aerodynamics]] is to reduce the air [[turbulence]], or [[Drag (physics)|drag]], caused by the shape of the automobile. Aerodynamic drag may be reduced either by reduction of frontal area or by reduction of drag coefficient.<ref>{{cite book|title=Journal of Automotive Engineering, Volume 1|year=1970|publisher=Institution of Mechanical Engineers (Great Britain). Automobile Division|author=Institution of Mechanical Engineers|page=18}}</ref> In bodies such as automobiles and airships, drag decreases after the rear of a car's cross-sectional area is reduced to fifty percent of the car's maximum cross section; "the best position is nearer 45 per cent of the length, and ... to have this maximum cross- section nearer the rear end than the front, and its drag has proved even less".<ref>{{cite book|title=SAE transactions, Volume 27|year=1932|publisher=Society of Automotive Engineers|page=118}}</ref> There are other aspects of the car's design such as keeping the flow of air attached to the body far to the back of the car as possible to minimize pressure drag (the [[Bernoulli's principle|Bernoulli relationship]]).<ref>{{cite book|last=Barnard|first=R. H.|title=Road vehicle aerodynamic design: an introduction|year=2001|publisher=MechAero|isbn=9780954073404|page=43}}</ref> A design with less drag means higher efficiency and an increased maximum [[velocity]], given the same [[powertrain]].
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|name = Wunibald Kamm
|nationality = German
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1893|04|26|df=y}}
|birth_place = [[Basel]]
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1966|10|11|1893|04|26|dr=y}}
|death_place = [[Stuttgart]]
|occupation = [[Engineer]], [[aerodynamics|aerodynamicist]]
|parents =
|employer =
|education =
|awards = [[Automotive Hall of Fame]]
|signature =
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}}


⚫
'''Wunibald Kamm''' (26 April 1893 – 11 October 1966) was an [[Automotive design|automobile designer]], [[engineer]], and [[aerodynamics|aerodynamicist]]. He is best known for his breakthrough in reducing car turbulence at high speeds; the style of car bodywork based on his research has come to be known as a [[Kammback]] or a Kamm-tail.
==Career==
⚫
German Professor, Wunibald Kamm worked with aerodynamics engineer Baron Reinhard von Koenig-Fachsenfeld. They developed a design with a smooth roofline and a taper in the automobile's body that is suddenly chopped off at the rear end. This design makes the air flow act as if a full tapered "tail" was present on the vehicle. A full size [[prototype]] was developed in 1938. It was a four-door [[sedan (car)|sedan]] featuring a sharply truncated rear end. The test car represented a compromise between a low air resistance and practicality in the automobile's size and shape.


⚫
== Design ==
⚫
Established in 1930, the Research Institute of Automotive Engineering and Vehicle Engines located near [[Stuttgart]] ({{lang-de|[[Forschungsinstitut für Kraftfahrwesen und Fahrzeugmotoren Stuttgart]] - FKFS}}) was called the "Kamm-Institut"<ref>{{cite book|last=Hirschel, Horst Prem, Gero Madelung|first=Ernst-Heinrich|title=Aeronautical research in Germany: from Lilienthal until today, Volume 147|year=2003|publisher=Springer-Verlag|isbn=9783540406457|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=OoFcHOLpCskC&pg=PA221&dq=FKFS+called+in+brief+Kamm-Institut&hl=en&ei=Cj2ATPLMM8aAlAfEqvGfDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=FKFS%20called%20in%20brief%20Kamm-Institut&f=false|accessdate=2 September 2010|page=221}}</ref> after its founder and long-time director.<ref>{{cite web|title=History (1930-1945)|url=http://www.fkfs.de/english/company/history/|publisher=Forschungsinstitut für Kraftfahrwesen und Fahrzeugmotoren Stuttgart|accessdate=3 September 2010}}</ref>
⚫
One goal of [[automotive aerodynamics]] is to reduce the air [[turbulence]], or [[Drag (physics)|drag]], caused by the shape of the automobile. Aerodynamic drag may be reduced either by reduction of frontal area or by reduction of the drag coefficient.<ref>{{cite book|title=Journal of Automotive Engineering |volume=1 |year=1970 |publisher=Institution of Mechanical Engineers - (Great Britain) Automobile Division|author=Institution of Mechanical Engineers |page=18}}</ref> In bodies such as automobiles and airships, drag decreases after the rear of a car's cross-sectional area is reduced to fifty percent of the car's maximum cross section; "the best position is nearer 45 percent of the length, and ... to have this maximum cross-section nearer the rear end than the front, and its drag has proved even less".<ref>{{cite book|title=SAE transactions |volume=27 |year=1932 |publisher=Society of Automotive Engineers |page=118}}</ref> There are other aspects of the car's design such as keeping the flow of air attached to the body far to the back of the car as possible to minimize pressure drag (the [[Bernoulli's principle|Bernoulli relationship]]).<ref>{{cite book|last=Barnard|first=R. H.|title=Road vehicle aerodynamic design: an introduction |year=2001 |publisher=MechAero |location=St Albans |isbn=9780954073404 |page= [https://archive.org/details/roadvehicleaerod0000barn/page/43 43] |url= https://archive.org/details/roadvehicleaerod0000barn/page/43}}</ref> A design with less drag means higher efficiency and an increased maximum [[speed]], given the same [[powertrain]].


==The first "Kamm coupe"==
== Career ==
⚫
German Professor, Wunibald Kamm worked with aerodynamics engineer Baron [[Reinhard von Koenig-Fachsenfeld]]. They developed a design with a smooth roofline and a taper in the automobile's body that is suddenly chopped off at the rear end. This design makes the air flow act as if a full tapered "tail" was present on the vehicle. A full-size [[prototype]] was developed in 1938. It was a four-door [[sedan (car)|sedan]] featuring a sharply truncated rear end. The test car represented a compromise between low air resistance and practicality in the automobile's size and shape.
⚫
In late summer of 1938, [[BMW]] tested a prototype of the so-called "Kamm-Coupe" based on their [[BMW 328|328 chassis]]. It had a [[drag coefficient]] of only 0.25 compared to the great 1940 [[Mille Miglia]] winning BMW 328 Touring Coupe with drag coefficient 0.35.<ref>[http://www.cardesignnews.com/news/2004/041203mcd-history3/ Ihrig, Ron "Part 3: Production, Physics, Politics - Only the Strong Survive" German Design History in Car Design News, Dec 3, 2004], retrieved on September 6, 2007.</ref> This automaker's naming of its [[coupé]] model appears to be the earliest use of "Kamm" to publicly describe an automobile body incorporating the Koenig-Fachsenfeld's design patent.


In the 1920s, Kamm worked for [[Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft|Daimler]] designing engineering race car engines. Thereafter, a prototype, namely the Kamm “SHW Wagen” incorporated principles that have become standard parts of the car engineering toolbox. He paid particular attention to the [[Suspension (vehicle)|suspension]] and minimizing vehicle weight. These improvements included extremely low-weight design, an [[aluminum]] semi-[[monocoque]] body, [[front wheel drive]], [[Flat engine|boxer-style engines]] (horizontally opposed cylinders), [[Independent suspension|independent suspension on all wheels]], and [[coil spring]]s mated to hydraulic [[shock absorber]]s.<ref name="hall"/> His comprehensive approach to automotive engineering and design presaged the concept of "[[Mechatronics]]," a word that did not come into existence until 1971.
⚫
==Kammback named production cars (USA)==
*[[AMC Gremlin]] and [[AMC Eagle]] -- The design was not to improve [[Streamlines|streamlining]], but to improve space efficiency.
*[[Chevrolet Vega]] -- The [[station wagon]] model had more taper than the Gremlin, but not enough to gain aero-effects.


⚫
Established in 1930, the [[Research Institute of Automotive Engineering and Vehicle Engines Stuttgart|Research Institute of Automotive Engineering and Vehicle Engines]] located near [[Stuttgart]] ({{langx|de|[[Forschungsinstitut für Kraftfahrwesen und Fahrzeugmotoren Stuttgart]] - FKFS}}) was called the "Kamm-Institut"<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hirschel |first2=Horst |last2=Prem |first3=Gero |last3=Madelung |first1=Ernst-Heinrich |title=Aeronautical research in Germany: from Lilienthal until today |volume=147 |year=2003 |publisher=Springer-Verlag |isbn=9783540406457 |page=221 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=OoFcHOLpCskC&q=FKFS+called+in+brief+Kamm-Institut&pg=PA221 |accessdate=25 March 2016}}</ref> after its founder and long-time director.<ref name="kraftfahrwesen">{{cite web|title=History (1930-1945)|url= http://www.fkfs.de/english/company/history/ |publisher=Forschungsinstitut für Kraftfahrwesen und Fahrzeugmotoren Stuttgart |archivedate=19 July 2011 |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20110719020415/http://www.fkfs.de/english/company/history/ |accessdate=25 March 2016}}</ref>
The Kammback "cut off tail" design continues to be popular. Most often, however, it only insinuates streamlining when used in [[Production vehicle|production cars]]. It is then only a design trick to make the vehicle look "fast".


Kamm was inducted into the [[Automotive Hall of Fame]]. He did pioneering work in [[vehicle aerodynamics|aerodynamics]], driving dynamics, [[tires|tire technology]], minimalist construction techniques, [[Internal combustion engine|engine combustion]] efficiency. [[Wind tunnel]]s were an effectively applied technology, and he "built the first full-scale wind tunnel for motor vehicles."<ref name="kraftfahrwesen"/> "Dr. Kamm, even today, and perhaps even more so because of his foresight, is considered one of the greatest researchers in automotive engineering." His work on turbulence is considered to have been a "breakthrough" and fundamental.<ref name="hall">{{cite web |url= https://www.automotivehalloffame.org/honoree/wunibald-i-e-kamm/ |title=Wunibald I.E. Kamm inducted 2009 |work=Automotive Hall of Fame |accessdate=11 March 2023}}</ref>
Dr. Kamm's wind cheating principle is used in a variety of popular mass-market vehicles, [[supercar]]s, highly efficient hybrid powered cars, as well as outright racecars.


He came to the U.S. as one of the first hundred German scientists stationed at the [[Dayton, Ohio]] [[Wright-Patterson Air Force Base]] and remained there as a consulting engineer until 1953. That year, he went as a professor to the [[Stevens Institute of Technology]] in [[Hoboken, New Jersey]]. For three years beginning in 1955 he was head of [[Mechanical Engineering]] at the [[Battelle Memorial Institute]] in Frankfurt, Germany.<ref name="hall"/>
==Notes==
{{Reflist}}


== Awards and honors ==
==External links==
* In 1958, he received the [[Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany|German Service Cross, First Class]].<ref name="hall"/>
* [http://homepage.mac.com/christopher.z/hobby/80-AMXitems/Information/production/KammbackStory.html Article on the origins of Kammback design]
* The [[University of Braunschweig]] conferred an honorary Ph.D. in recognition of technical lifetime achievements.<ref name="hall"/>
* [http://www.bmwism.com/bmws_designers.htm ''BMW Designers'' ] Wunibald Kamm on the website with overview of automotive designers working for BMW.
* Asteroid [[22499 Wunibaldkamm]] was named in his memory.<ref name="MPC-object" /> The official naming citation was published by the [[Minor Planet Center]] on 25 September 2018 ({{small|[[Minor Planet Circulars|M.P.C.]] 111798}}).<ref name="MPC-Circulars-Archive" />
* [http://www.design-classic-cars.de/jaray/kamm.html Web pages (in German) with Kamm's designs and test cars]


== The first "Kamm coupe" ==
<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->
⚫
In late summer 1938, [[BMW]] tested a prototype of the so-called "Kamm-Coupe" based on their [[BMW 328|328]] chassis. It had a [[drag coefficient]] of only 0.25 compared to the great 1940 [[Mille Miglia]] winning BMW 328 Touring Coupe with a drag coefficient of 0.35.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.cardesignnews.com/news/2004/041203mcd-history3/ |last1=Ihrig |first1=Ron |title=Part 3: Production, Physics, Politics {{ndash}} Only the Strong Survive |series=German Design History |date=December 3, 2004 |work=Car Design News |archivedate=11 January 2005 |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20050111230624/http://www.cardesignnews.com/news/2004/041203mcd-history3/ |accessdate=25 March 2016}}</ref> This automaker's naming of its [[coupé]] model appears to be the earliest use of "Kamm" to publicly describe an automobile body incorporating the Koenig-Fachsenfeld's design patent.
{{Persondata

|NAME = Kamm, Wunibald
⚫
== Kammback named production cars (USA) ==
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
* [[AMC Gremlin]] and [[AMC Eagle]] Kammback<ref>{{cite magazine|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=KO4pAQAAIAAJ&q=AMC+Gremlin+Kammback |page=58 |title= 1980 Automobiles |magazine=U.S. News & World Report |volume=89 |date=1980 |quote=the SX/4 and Kammback are descended from the Spirit/Gremlin |accessdate=25 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=PdQDAAAAMBAJ&q=AMC+Eagle+Kammback&pg=PA80 |pages=80–81 |title=Driving the new AMC Eagles |first1=Gary |last1=Witzenburg |first2=Moss |last2=Miller |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=September 1980 |volume=154 |issue=3 |quote=The Eagle Kammback looks very much like the old Gremlin. |via=Google Books |accessdate=11 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/United%20States/AMC/1982-AMC/1982-AMC-Eagle-Folder/slides/1982_AMC_Eagle_Folder-02.html |title=1982 AMC Eagle folder (Standard Features) |accessdate=11 March 2023}}</ref> — The truncated hatchback design increased interior space capacity, not for [[wikt:streamline|streamlining]].
|SHORT DESCRIPTION = automobile designer, engineer, aerodynamicist
* [[Chevrolet Vega]] Kammback<ref>{{cite magazine|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wQEAAAAAMBAJ&q=Vega+wagon+is+called+Kammback,+after+W.+Kamm&pg=PA56 |page=58 |title=Chevy's top ball talk about Vega: Starlet with a future |first=Jim |last=Dunne |magazine=Popular Science |date=September 1970 |volume=197 |issue=3 |quote=Vega wagon is called Kammback, after W. Kamm |via=Google Books |accessdate=11 March 2023}}</ref> — The [[station wagon]] design has more taper than the Gremlin, but not enough to gain aero-effects.
|DATE OF BIRTH = April 26, 1893

|PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Basel]] [[Switzerland]]
The Kammback "cut-off tail" design continues to be popular. It often insinuates streamlining when used in [[Production vehicle|production cars]] and is a design technique to make the vehicle look "sporty".<ref>{{cite magazine|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8z8EAAAAMBAJ&q=Kammback+sporty&pg=PA45 |title=You call that a station wagon? (Chevrolet Vega ad) |magazine=Life |date=31 December 1971 |page=45 |volume=71 |issue=26 |quote= ... our Kammback ... Loving its sportyaerodynamic styling. |accessdate=27 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.carlustblog.com/2008/04/car-lust--amc-g.html |title=Car Lust--AMC Gremlin X |first=Chris |last=Hafner |date=16 April 2008 |quote= the Kamm-back quasi-hatchback rear end was actually considered a very sporty look in the 1970s |accessdate=27 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=M_Zuroh1si8C&q=It+was+also+downright+sporty+looking+with+its+quasi-Kamm-back+tail+and+racing-style+gas+cap&pg=PA70 |page=70 |title=Chrysler Muscle Cars: The Ultimate Guide |first=Mike |last=Mueller |year=2006 |publisher=Krause Publications |isbn=9780873499705 |quote=(1967 Plymouth Barracuda) It was also downright sportylooking with its quasi-Kamm-back tail and racing-style gas cap. |accessdate=27 March 2016}}</ref> Kamm's design approach is found on popular mass-market vehicles, [[supercar]]s, [[alternative fuel vehicle]]s, as well as for [[Auto racing|race cars]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=zOQDAAAAMBAJ&q=Longer,+narrower+and+with+a+Kammback+tail+section+and+removable+rear+window&pg=PA58 |page=60 |title=Happy Birthday Corvette! |first=Cliff |last=Gromer |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=September 1988 |volume=165 |issue=9 |quote=(1968 Corvette): Longer, narrower and with a Kammbacktail section and removable rear window, the new body ... |accessdate=27 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1smsFpLmtIoC&q=The+Mach+I+option+became+the+centerpiece+around+which,+the+“kammback”+'71+Mustang+was+designed&pg=PA67 |page=67 |title=Horsepower War: Our Way of Life |first=Robert |last=Harless |publisher=iUniverse |year=2003 |isbn=9780595302963 |quote=The Mach I option became the centerpiece around which, the “kammback” '71 Mustang was designed. |accessdate=27 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=gaht86fdYhcC&q=The+windshield+was+raked+back+and+a+long,+sloping+fastback+ended+in+a+sliced-off+Kamm-back+tail |page=154 |title=Shelby Cobra Gold Portfolio 1962~1969 |first=R.M. |last=Clarke |publisher=Brooklands Books |year=1990 |isbn=9781855200234 |quote=The windshield was raked back and a long, sloping fastback ended in a sliced-off Kamm-back tail. |accessdate=27 March 2016}}</ref>
|DATE OF DEATH = October 11, 1966

|PLACE OF DEATH = [[Stuttgart]] [[Germany]]
== References ==
⚫
}}
{{reflist|30em|refs=

<ref name="MPC-object">{{cite web
|title = 22499 Wunibaldkamm (1997 MP9)
|work = Minor Planet Center
|url = https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=22499
|accessdate = 17 October 2018}}</ref>

<ref name="MPC-Circulars-Archive">{{cite web
|title = MPC/MPO/MPS Archive
|work = Minor Planet Center
|url = https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html
|accessdate = 17 October 2018}}</ref>

}} <!-- end of reflist -->

== Further reading ==
* {{cite web |first1=Peter |last1=Robinson |year=2002 |url=http://www.landcrab.net/mainframes/main_pinafarina1800.htm |title=The Pininfarina 1800 |work=Landcrab Owners' Club International |access-date=25 March 2016}} An explicitly Kamm-influenced design which informed the [[Citroën CX]] and [[Rover SD1]]
* {{cite web |first1=Christopher |last1=Ziemnowicz |year=2004 |url=http://homepage.mac.com/christopher.z/hobby/80-AMXitems/Information/production/KammbackStory.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120415182304/http://homepage.mac.com/christopher.z/hobby/80-AMXitems/Information/production/KammbackStory.html |archive-date=15 April 2012 |title=The Origin of the Kammback Design |access-date=25 March 2016 |via=the [[Wayback Machine]]}}
* {{cite web|url= http://www.bmwism.com/bmws_designers.htm |title=Dawn of the Automotive Design before 1930: People who influenced the BMW's car design |date=31 January 2013 |work=BMWism |access-date=25 March 2016}} People who influenced the BMW's car design.

{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamm, Wunibald}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamm, Wunibald}}
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[[Category:Swiss automobile designers]]
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[[Category:Swiss automotive engineers]]
[[Category:1893 births]]
[[Category:1893 births]]
[[Category:1966 deaths]]
[[Category:1966 deaths]]
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[[Category:German automobile designers]]

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[[Category:German automotive engineers]]
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[[de:Wunibald Kamm]]
[[Category:German expatriates in the United States]]
[[fr:Wunibald Kamm]]
[[Category:People from Basel-Stadt]]
[[ru:Камм, Юнибальд]]
[[Category:Swiss emigrants to Germany]]

Latest revision as of 21:30, 2 November 2024

Wunibald Kamm
Born(1893-04-26)26 April 1893
Basel
DiedOctober 11, 1966(1966-10-11) (aged 73)
Stuttgart
NationalityGerman
Occupation(s)Engineer, aerodynamicist
AwardsAutomotive Hall of Fame

Wunibald Kamm (26 April 1893 – 11 October 1966) was an automobile designer, engineer, and aerodynamicist. He is best known for his breakthrough in reducing car turbulence at high speeds; the style of car bodywork based on his research has come to be known as a Kammback or a Kamm-tail.

Design

[edit]

One goal of automotive aerodynamics is to reduce the air turbulence, or drag, caused by the shape of the automobile. Aerodynamic drag may be reduced either by reduction of frontal area or by reduction of the drag coefficient.[1] In bodies such as automobiles and airships, drag decreases after the rear of a car's cross-sectional area is reduced to fifty percent of the car's maximum cross section; "the best position is nearer 45 percent of the length, and ... to have this maximum cross-section nearer the rear end than the front, and its drag has proved even less".[2] There are other aspects of the car's design such as keeping the flow of air attached to the body far to the back of the car as possible to minimize pressure drag (the Bernoulli relationship).[3] A design with less drag means higher efficiency and an increased maximum speed, given the same powertrain.

Career

[edit]

German Professor, Wunibald Kamm worked with aerodynamics engineer Baron Reinhard von Koenig-Fachsenfeld. They developed a design with a smooth roofline and a taper in the automobile's body that is suddenly chopped off at the rear end. This design makes the air flow act as if a full tapered "tail" was present on the vehicle. A full-size prototype was developed in 1938. It was a four-door sedan featuring a sharply truncated rear end. The test car represented a compromise between low air resistance and practicality in the automobile's size and shape.

In the 1920s, Kamm worked for Daimler designing engineering race car engines. Thereafter, a prototype, namely the Kamm “SHW Wagen” incorporated principles that have become standard parts of the car engineering toolbox. He paid particular attention to the suspension and minimizing vehicle weight. These improvements included extremely low-weight design, an aluminum semi-monocoque body, front wheel drive, boxer-style engines (horizontally opposed cylinders), independent suspension on all wheels, and coil springs mated to hydraulic shock absorbers.[4] His comprehensive approach to automotive engineering and design presaged the concept of "Mechatronics," a word that did not come into existence until 1971.

Established in 1930, the Research Institute of Automotive Engineering and Vehicle Engines located near Stuttgart (German: Forschungsinstitut für Kraftfahrwesen und Fahrzeugmotoren Stuttgart - FKFS) was called the "Kamm-Institut"[5] after its founder and long-time director.[6]

Kamm was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame. He did pioneering work in aerodynamics, driving dynamics, tire technology, minimalist construction techniques, engine combustion efficiency. Wind tunnels were an effectively applied technology, and he "built the first full-scale wind tunnel for motor vehicles."[6] "Dr. Kamm, even today, and perhaps even more so because of his foresight, is considered one of the greatest researchers in automotive engineering." His work on turbulence is considered to have been a "breakthrough" and fundamental.[4]

He came to the U.S. as one of the first hundred German scientists stationed at the Dayton, Ohio Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and remained there as a consulting engineer until 1953. That year, he went as a professor to the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. For three years beginning in 1955 he was head of Mechanical Engineering at the Battelle Memorial Institute in Frankfurt, Germany.[4]

Awards and honors

[edit]

The first "Kamm coupe"

[edit]

In late summer 1938, BMW tested a prototype of the so-called "Kamm-Coupe" based on their 328 chassis. It had a drag coefficient of only 0.25 compared to the great 1940 Mille Miglia winning BMW 328 Touring Coupe with a drag coefficient of 0.35.[9] This automaker's naming of its coupé model appears to be the earliest use of "Kamm" to publicly describe an automobile body incorporating the Koenig-Fachsenfeld's design patent.

Kammback named production cars (USA)

[edit]

The Kammback "cut-off tail" design continues to be popular. It often insinuates streamlining when used in production cars and is a design technique to make the vehicle look "sporty".[14][15][16] Kamm's design approach is found on popular mass-market vehicles, supercars, alternative fuel vehicles, as well as for race cars.[17][18][19]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Institution of Mechanical Engineers (1970). Journal of Automotive Engineering. Vol. 1. Institution of Mechanical Engineers - (Great Britain) Automobile Division. p. 18.
  2. ^ SAE transactions. Vol. 27. Society of Automotive Engineers. 1932. p. 118.
  3. ^ Barnard, R. H. (2001). Road vehicle aerodynamic design: an introduction. St Albans: MechAero. p. 43. ISBN 9780954073404.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Wunibald I.E. Kamm inducted 2009". Automotive Hall of Fame. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  5. ^ Hirschel, Ernst-Heinrich; Prem, Horst; Madelung, Gero (2003). Aeronautical research in Germany: from Lilienthal until today. Vol. 147. Springer-Verlag. p. 221. ISBN 9783540406457. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  6. ^ a b "History (1930-1945)". Forschungsinstitut für Kraftfahrwesen und Fahrzeugmotoren Stuttgart. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  7. ^ "22499 Wunibaldkamm (1997 MP9)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  8. ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  9. ^ Ihrig, Ron (3 December 2004). "Part 3: Production, Physics, Politics – Only the Strong Survive". Car Design News. German Design History. Archived from the original on 11 January 2005. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  10. ^ "1980 Automobiles". U.S. News & World Report. Vol. 89. 1980. p. 58. Retrieved 25 March 2016. the SX/4 and Kammback are descended from the Spirit/Gremlin
  11. ^ Witzenburg, Gary; Miller, Moss (September 1980). "Driving the new AMC Eagles". Popular Mechanics. Vol. 154, no. 3. pp. 80–81. Retrieved 11 March 2023 – via Google Books. The Eagle Kammback looks very much like the old Gremlin.
  12. ^ "1982 AMC Eagle folder (Standard Features)". Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  13. ^ Dunne, Jim (September 1970). "Chevy's top ball talk about Vega: Starlet with a future". Popular Science. Vol. 197, no. 3. p. 58. Retrieved 11 March 2023 – via Google Books. Vega wagon is called Kammback, after W. Kamm
  14. ^ "You call that a station wagon? (Chevrolet Vega ad)". Life. Vol. 71, no. 26. 31 December 1971. p. 45. Retrieved 27 March 2016. ... our Kammback ... Loving its sportyaerodynamic styling.
  15. ^ Hafner, Chris (16 April 2008). "Car Lust--AMC Gremlin X". Retrieved 27 March 2016. the Kamm-back quasi-hatchback rear end was actually considered a very sporty look in the 1970s
  16. ^ Mueller, Mike (2006). Chrysler Muscle Cars: The Ultimate Guide. Krause Publications. p. 70. ISBN 9780873499705. Retrieved 27 March 2016. (1967 Plymouth Barracuda) It was also downright sportylooking with its quasi-Kamm-back tail and racing-style gas cap.
  17. ^ Gromer, Cliff (September 1988). "Happy Birthday Corvette!". Popular Mechanics. Vol. 165, no. 9. p. 60. Retrieved 27 March 2016. (1968 Corvette): Longer, narrower and with a Kammbacktail section and removable rear window, the new body ...
  18. ^ Harless, Robert (2003). Horsepower War: Our Way of Life. iUniverse. p. 67. ISBN 9780595302963. Retrieved 27 March 2016. The Mach I option became the centerpiece around which, the "kammback" '71 Mustang was designed.
  19. ^ Clarke, R.M. (1990). Shelby Cobra Gold Portfolio 1962~1969. Brooklands Books. p. 154. ISBN 9781855200234. Retrieved 27 March 2016. The windshield was raked back and a long, sloping fastback ended in a sliced-off Kamm-back tail.

Further reading

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