It was the Roaring Twenties – a time of jazz, flapper dresses, Art Deco, and phenomenal advances in technology and innovation. It was in this exciting milieu that Max Wiedenhöft, a German airplane designer, dared to dream the extraordinary: a rocket-powered flying bicycle.
Max Wiedenhöft was no stranger to the world of aviation. He had established his own aircraft company at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin, pushing the boundaries of flight and speed. His most audacious creation, however, was not a conventional plane, but rather a bicycle strapped with a rocket engine!
The legendary photo, taken at Tempelhof Airport, shows Wiedenhöft confidently perched on a bicycle that boasted rocket propulsion. With an ambitious target to reach a speed of 400 km per hour, Wiedenhöft was poised to rewrite the rules of transportation and, indeed, reality itself.
However, as astonishing as this feat may sound, there was a whimsical twist to the tale. This extraordinary photograph wasn’t evidence of a remarkable flight. Instead, it was a clever photomontage, printed as an April Fool’s Day joke in a German newspaper. The image was manipulated from a photo taken of Wiedenhöft the previous month, as he was preparing to test his ambitious “rocket bicycle” on a rooftop at Tempelhof.
Despite the playful deception, Wiedenhöft’s image riding his rocket bicycle over Tempelhof Airport captures more than just a prank. It encapsulates the spirit of the 1920s—a decade of innovation, audacity, and limitless optimism. The rocket bike might not have taken flight, but it certainly fueled the imagination of those who dared to dream of a world where the ordinary could become extraordinary.
