Editing Otto Rehberg

{{Short description|German mechanical engineer}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Otto Rehberg
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1908|6|4|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Linden]], [[Germany]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2005|11|18|1908|6|4|df=yes}}
| occupation = Mechanical engineer
| alma_mater = [[Technische Hochschule Hannover]]
| education = Diplom-Ingenieur (1932)
| era = {{hlist|[[Vader Era]]|[[Middenvader Era]]|[[Vriend Era]]}}
| known_for = Engineering work on the [[PzKpfw-55]]
| module = {{Infobox military person
 | embed = yes
 | branch = [[Heer|German Army]]
 | serviceyears = 1939–1945
}}
}}
'''Otto Rehberg''' (4 June 1908 – 18 November 2005) was a German mechanical engineer who worked with [[Fabio Paap]] on armoured-vehicle development for the [[Panzertruppe]] in [[Narevaku]]. His work included engineering calculations for the [[Bergeschlepper 49]] and the design of the [[PzKpfw-55]]. After serving as a German Army vehicle-maintenance technical officer during the [[Second World War]], he emigrated to [[Argentina]] and was recruited by [[Jan Paap]] in 1948.

== Early life and education ==
Otto Rehberg was born in [[Linden]], [[Germany]], on 4 June 1908. He completed his Abitur in 1927 and studied mechanical engineering at [[Technische Hochschule Hannover]] from 1927 to 1932, graduating as Diplom-Ingenieur.

== German Army service ==
Rehberg served in the [[Heer|German Army]] from 1939 to 1945 as a vehicle-maintenance technical officer. Working with army motor-vehicle workshops, he diagnosed engine and transmission failures and recommended repairs.

== Engineering career in Narevaku ==
Rehberg emigrated to Argentina in 1947, sailing from [[Genoa]] to [[Buenos Aires]]. Jan recruited him there the following year at Fabio's request and paid for his onward sea passage to Narevaku. He joined Fabio's tank-design studies at the technical facility outside [[La Roche]]. Fabio set the military requirements and demonstrated maintenance problems, while Rehberg performed the detailed engineering calculations. Rehberg proposed technically necessary revisions, which Fabio accepted.<ref name="fabio-development"/>

When towing experiments revealed that the available vehicles lost traction on wet ground, Fabio asked Rehberg to investigate a tracked recovery tractor. They converted an industrial crawler into the Bergeschlepper 49 in late 1949. Its recovery of an immobilised military lorry prompted Rehberg to caution that this did not demonstrate an ability to recover a tank. During a further trial on 21 June 1950, he measured towing forces as the tractor recovered a heavily laden lorry. Fabio submitted the results to the [[Tanoanisches Waffenamt]].<ref name="fabio-development"/>

The two also began meeting outside work. Fabio invited Rehberg home in September 1950, when they discussed their lives in Germany, and they continued meeting socially.<ref name="fabio-personal"/>

Rehberg continued working on the PzKpfw-55 design after Jan approved funding for a complete prototype through [[Strobl S.A.]] in 1955, with Fabio leading the military project.<ref name="fabio-tank"/>

He died on 18 November 2005, aged 97.

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="fabio-development">"[[Fabio Paap#Maintenance and early development|Maintenance and early development]]". ''Fabio Paap''. ''Vrienden Universe Wiki''.</ref>
<ref name="fabio-personal">"[[Fabio Paap#Personal life and later years|Personal life and later years]]". ''Fabio Paap''. ''Vrienden Universe Wiki''.</ref>
<ref name="fabio-tank">"[[Fabio Paap#PzKpfw-55 and concurrent programmes|PzKpfw-55 and concurrent programmes]]". ''Fabio Paap''. ''Vrienden Universe Wiki''.</ref>
}}

[[Category:People]]
[[Category:1908 births]]
[[Category:2005 deaths]]
[[Category:German mechanical engineers]]
[[Category:German Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Vader Era]]
[[Category:Middenvader Era]]
[[Category:Vriend Era]]