Wolf-Dieter Bensinger

Wolf-Dieter Bensinger (26 February 1907 – 17 June 1974) was a German engineer and university professor who contributed significantly to the development of the Wankel rotary engine.

Life and career

Bensinger was born in Donaueschingen in 1907.

In 1931, Bensinger became head of development at Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt (DVL) in Berlin. At DVL, he developed a sleeve valve system for the Daimler-Benz DB 600. On 20 October 1934, Bensinger married Ilse Margarete Anna, who originated from Stargard, Pommern. Their son was born in 1936. In the 1930s he met Felix Wankel, who became a long-term friend, and with whom Bensinger had a strong bond of trust.

From 1943 or 1944 Besinger worked as an engineer with Daimler-Benz AG in Stuttgart and he contributed to the design of the Mercedes-Benz M 198 Otto engine used in the Mercedes-Benz W 198 series Type 300 SL. without having a written licence agreement with Wankel or NSU; Bensinger and Wankel, who were friends, had a verbal agreement. In 1971, Bensinger received and offer of a professorship at the University of Stuttgart. Contemporaries considered Bensinger a Wankel engine enthusiast.

Works

Wolf-Dieter Bensinger: Konstruktion und Berechnung von hochbelasteten Zahnrädern. Formeln zur Berechnung der Zahnradabmessungen und zur Aufzeichnung der Verzahnungen, Automobiltechnische Zeitschrift, vol. 54, Springer, 1952, p. 256–258

Wolf-Dieter Bensinger, Alfred Meier: Kolben, Pleuel und Kurbelwelle bei schnellaufenden Verbrennungsmotoren, 2nd edition, Springer, Berlin Heidelberg 1961, ISBN 9783540027096

Wolf-Dieter Bensinger: Der heutige Entwicklungsstand des Wankelmotors. In: MTZ – Motortechnische Zeitschrift, Vol. 31, No. 1, Springer, 1970, ISSN 0024-8525, p. 10–16