"Symposium Transsonicum" was founded by Klaus Oswatitsch four decades ago when there was clearly a need for a systematic treatment of flow problems in the higher speed regime in aeronautics. The first conference in 1962 brought together scientists concerned with fundamental problems involving the sonic flow speed regime. Results of the conference provided an understanding of some basic tran sonic phenomena by proposing mathematical methods that allowed for the de velopment of practical calculations. The "Transonic Controversy" (about shock free flows) was still an open issue after this...