Bernd Rosemeyer Denkmal Restplatz on the A5 Autobahn…
At around 11am, on January 28th, 1938,
Bernd Rosemeyer crashed his Auto Union rekord car on the A5 Autobahn between Frankfurt and Darmstadt. Rosemeyer was twenty eight years old. He was driving in excess of 400 kph when he lost control and crashed into a bridge burm. This was at the Langen – Moerfelden bridge/exit on the A5. His earlier record runs in his Auto Union stood until the mighty 917 of Mark Donahue went fasters in the late seventies! Even today the Veyron Super sport flirts with the same V-max speeds!
Anyone can stop at this small autobahn restplatz and take a moment to remember this famous man. In lots of ways he was a pioneer of the early racing days of the Silver Arrows. Some would say the golden years.
Driving from Frankfurt take the A5 autobahn South bound. The restplatz is the 2nd one on that autobahn. Just a few kilometers from Cargo City or the old Rheinmein AFB that closed a few years back. IF you pass the Walldorf - Langen – Moerfelden exit you have gone too far. And remember you can access this rest platz only when you are drivng SOUTH.
Once you find the small restplatz it still is kind of hard to tell where the memorial is located. You have to park, and then walk on the grass/woods along the autobahn. Behind the guardrail of course! Some seventy meters along the side of the autobahn is where the memorial is located. This is where they found Rosemeyer’s body after the crash. Audi has built this small memorial for Bernd Rosemeyer.
I have always been fascinated by the Silver Arrow cars of Auto Union and Mercedes Benz. Perhaps it is because I am drawn to Ferdinand Porsche’s work on race cars and street cars.
Not many people know this… but the official story was Rosemeyer was killed by sudden gust of wind while making his record attemp. But what really happened was Auto Union was keen to test a new front lip design. This new nose, had a much larger air slot in the leading edge of the Auto Union record car. Instead of a small slit for air flow intake, the car had a one meter long slot in the front nose cone. This in turn created a high pressure air to buildup inside of the cabin. It blew out the Auto Unions floor and then Rosemeyer lost control of his car. I only found this out when I visited the Prototyp Museum in Hamburg and purchased a documentary that aired on German ZDF tv. ZDF is sort of the German version of PBS in the states. I found this a real eye opener because Auto Union and Hitler at the time really did not want too many people questioning the accident. All they wanted was a “hero” and more propaganda for the Reich. Well…. That is just what they got! Even though Rosemeyer really disliked Hitler and his ideas.
First some photos of the record Auto Union car and of the crash: (all found on the internet) Yesterday & Today shots…
Bernd Rosemeyer
The record car…
Note: notice the long slot on the leading edge. Earlier runs used a much smaller slit/opening.
Earlier car with no slit opening…
The crash…
Here are my photos:
The record car type at Audi Forum Ingolstadt Feb, 2010.
Driving SOUTH on the A5 autobahn…
Memorial 70 meters ahead…
Here is bridge where the redord car came to rest. You have to walk to the right of the guard rail to find the memorial (denkmal) site…
Here it is…
And… one last look before I take off…
And driving on the A5 Northbound lanes… you need to get out here:
Construction and Stau’s!!! UGggg!
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B]64546 Mörfelden[/B] - Bernd Rosemeyer Denkmal Restplatz on the A5 Autobahn.