Theodor Benzinger, German pioneer in high altitude physiology research and altitude protection

Theodore Benzinger was a pilot-physician who performed pioneering research-often involving self-experimentation-in areas related to flight at high altitude during World War II. Of greatest historical interest to those of us in aerospace medicine is his work on the effects of rapid decompression and related oxygen equipment. Benzinger was born in Stuttgart, Germany, on 28th August 1905. He studied medicine and natural sciences at the universities of Tuebingen, Munich, and Berlin. From 1934 to 1944, Benzinger headed the aeromedical laboratory "EMed" in Rechlin, where he was instrumental in conducting studies related to stratospheric flight, including self-experimentation with rapid decompression up to 19,000 m (62,320 ft). His Rechlin experiments made an important contribution to understanding the physiology and life-support requirements for high-altitude aviation and later work under space-equivalent conditions. Following World War II, Benzinger joined the staff of the U.S. Army Air Force Aeromedical Center in Heidelberg. In 1947 he was recruited by "Operation Paperclip" to work at the U.S. Naval Medical Research Institute (NMRI) in Bethesda, MD, where he worked on various aspects of human physiology. He died as a U.S. citizen in Bethesda, MD, on 26th October 1999.