Franz Friedrich Kruckenberg (born on the 21st of August 1882 in Uetersen, Germany; died on the 19th of June 1965 in Heidelberg) was an engineer and pioneer of high speed railway systems.

Even then he already criticised airships because of their explosive hydrogen filling; and the civil use of aircraft because of their high fuel- and maintenance costs.

Later together with Hermann Föttinger he founded the Flugbahn-Gesellschaft mbH to build a high-speed propeller driven train, the "Schienenzeppelin".

The Schienenzeppelin was revolutionary for its time, since the aerodynamic streamline profile and the light weight design were proven as feasible features for high speed railways.

While Kruckenberg's ideas continue to influence high speed train design today (ICE, Acela, TGV, AVE) the Schienenzeppelin was scrapped in 1939.