Anselm Franz (January 21, 1900—November 18, 1994) was a pioneering Austrian jet engine engineer known for the development of the Jumo 004, the world's first mass-produced turbojet engine by Nazi Germany during World War II, and his work on turboshaft designs in the United States after the war as part of Operation Paperclip, including the Lycoming T53, the AGT-1500, and the PLF1A-2, the world's first high-bypass turbofan engine.
Early life
Born in Schladming, Austria, in 1900,
Junkers Aircraft
In 1936, he joined Junkers, and worked for a time with the USAF on engine-related issues at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
In 1951 he was hired to set up a new turbine division at Lycoming's otherwise unused plant in Stratford, Connecticut. Here he decided to focus on engine areas not currently served by the larger companies (General Electric and Pratt & Whitney), eventually settling on helicopter engines. His first design, the T53, He died in 1994, holder of the U.S. Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, the R. Tom Sawyer Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Austrian Decoration of Honour for Science and Art, and the Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Star for Services to the Republic of Austria.