World War II Julius Meimberg (11 January 1917 – 17 January 2012) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II, a fighter ace credited with 53 aerial victories—that is, 53 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft—claimed in over 250 combat missions.

Following acceptance, his military training began on 1 November 1937 at the Luftkriegsschule 2 (LKS 2—2nd air war school) in Berlin–Gatow.

[2] World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland.

On 15 November, Meimberg received orders to move his Staffel to Tunisia in North Africa where they were based at the Bizerte Airfield where they fought in the Tunisian campaign.

That day, the Oberbefehlshaber Süd (Commander in Chief South), Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring, ordered 11.

Due to Meimberg's intervention, Oberstleutnant Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn, the Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 53, decided to retain 11.

[12] Following a brief honeymoon which the couple spent in Würzburg, Meimberg returned to his unit on 20 January 1943, which at the time was based at El Aouina, a municipality of Tunis, Tunisia.

[15] During his convalescence, Meimberg was promoted to Hauptmann (captain) on 1 March, and awarded the Wound Badge in Silver (Verwundetenabzeichen in Silber) in May.

[18] Shortly before Christmas, Meimberg left JG 53 again as his injuries sustained to his hands on 1 February required further treatment and skin grafting.

[22] Meimberg flew his last combat mission on 17 April 1945, strafing US vehicles travelling on the Autobahn near Nürnberg.

He was forced to bail out and landed safely in a field where he was picked up by a SS-unit and taken back to his unit at Rißtissen, located approximately 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) southwest of Ulm.

[25] Following World War II, Meimberg worked at the Nordhorn based textile company Rawe.

The sheep's wool was hand spun locally, inspiring Meimberg to think about automating the spinning process.

[27] Over the next months, he began experimenting and building a crude prototype for continuous yarn production, powered by a sewing machine motor, which he completed in 1948.

[28] Meimberg, presented his prototype to the German Patent and Trade Mark Office in Munich and the Deutsche Spinnereimaschinenbau AG Ingolstadt, the German spinning machine factory in Ingolstadt, owned by the Schubert & Salzer GmbH.