Ferdinand Brandner

While interned in the Soviet Union under Operation Osoaviakhim following World War II, he played a major role in designing the Kuznetsov NK-12, the most powerful turboprop engine ever built.

[4] By 1936 Brandner was working at the Junkers-Motorenbau factory in Dessau designing aircraft engines, and eventually assisted with the war effort for Germany.

In the spring of 1945, Brandner was captured by the Soviet Red Army trying to flee to Prague near the end of World War II.

In 1959, Brandner left Europe for Egypt, where the government was recruiting German World War II scientists for their top-secret aerospace program.

[7] In 1962, the presence of German scientists in Egypt was exposed in the world press, leading to a regional crisis from Israel to Germany.

[5] In 1947, following demands from the Soviet hierarchy, Brandner and his team reconstructed the Jumo 012, a powerful engine they had begun working on during the war in Germany.