Chapter 3 - On the development of aeronautics and aeronautic medical research in Berlin from 1880 to 1918

Abstract

This chapter investigates the civil and military aeronautics medical research developments in Berlin. It provides a brief description of the field's historical development and focuses on the extent to which the research institutions of the time created the logistical prerequisites for scientific aeronautic research, and at what point in time, by whom, and in which scope an understanding of the issues pertaining to aeronautic medicine developed in these institutions. The history of scientific aviation in Berlin stretches back to the end of the nineteenth century, when the meteorologist and physician Assmann began to plan and implement scientific balloon ascents for purposes of meteorological research. In May and June of 1902, in the context of the Berlin convention of the International Commission for Scientific Airship Flight, Zuntz and von Schroetter undertook their balloon ascents for physiological purposes. These two ascents marked the start of systematic balloon-physiological research in Germany. At the same time the French scientists had performed experiments on changes to the blood, respiration, arterial blood pressure, and the impact on the vestibular organ during balloon ascents. In Germany, in the years between 1902 and 1912, it was primarily Zuntz's student, von Schroetter, who addressed the “hygiene of aeronautics” in detail. The year 1912 marked a turning point in the history of aeronautic medicine in Germany for multiple reasons: von Schroetter published his Hygiene of Aeronautics and Aviation, and Zuntz published his paper on the Physiology and Hygiene of Aeronautics a short time later; also, the Scientific Association for Flight Technology was founded in Berlin, with a subcommittee for medical psychological issues.