mysterious German airplane part

The explanation for "Luftpresser" is quite simple. Starting (I believe) in the 1920s, there was a drive to replace "foreign" words in use by "proper German" words. This, of course, became an official policy in the Third Reich. So "Kompressor" (compressor) was replaced by "Presser" (translation unnecessary). So, "Elektro-Luftpresser" means simply "electrically-driven air compressor". You may well have seen other results of this policy in schematics or descriptions of German systems; for instance, in descriptions of electrical systems a frequently-used word is "Selbstschalter" which is a relay; the usual word "Relais" was too French to be used in official documents. In a similar vein, "Hydraulikflüssigkeit" (hydraulic fluid) was replaced by "Drucköl" (pressure oil). Such verbal shenanigans make it more difficult for non-German speakers to decipher official documents or, as in this case, identification plaques on parts.

Hey guys,

"presser" is a derivation of a French word.

I spoke to a friend who emigrated from Germany in the 1950's and he says a possible usage of "Elektro-Luftpresser" is 'electric-air control' or possibly 'electric-air controller'. A more colloquial meaning might be 'electric-air regulator' or something similar.

ThomasP said:

"presser" is a derivation of a French word.

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That is quite correct, but "Erpressung" (blackmail) is a well-established word in German that not even a Nazi (who was certainly familiar with the concept) would regard as anything but a bona-fide German word. I concede that "Luftpresser" is uncommon, "Luftverdichter" would be the usual word, but it certainly has nothing to do with control or regulation. Trust me, I'm a born German speaker.

Hey mikemike,

I talked to my friend again and asked him about what you said. He said "it may be the words are not taught the same way in schools today, even in Germany". He suggested I look up "air presser" in French and see how it translates to German (he would have done it himself but he was born in 1925 and is becoming somewhat physically unsound). He said that prior to WWII there were several dialects of German spoken including one from the lowlands(?) and in what became known as the Ruhr area (he was from the farm country near Cologne). Apparently "air presser" in French translated literally means 'air flattener' or 'air device', and in German use became 'luftpresser'. He is pretty sure he remembers it being used as 'air control device' or 'air control' or 'air controller'?? (His mind is still pretty sharp. He is poking me with his cain as I type this to make sure I include that his mind is still sound.)

Do we know where the Gebr. Becker factories were located??

Hi, ThomasP,
I was born in 1953 myself and I'm from the Ruhr area (Essen, to be precise), and I don't think my understanding of German would differ much from that of your friend. Simply said, "Presse" translates as "press" in all its meanings, and what does a press do? Why, apply pressure, of course. So, "Presser", taken as a noun, not a verb, is most likely something that generates pressure. As I said, before the Third Reich, this device would most likely have been called "Luftkompressor".