German History in Huntsville...

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FROM NORTH GERMANY TO HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA, USA IN 1958

by Adolf Burghardt, 06 January 1999

A Jubilee Meeting of the “first Huntsvillers” in Peenemünde after 40 years

A German Bundeswehr success story which hardly anyone remembers today. On 09 and 10 October 1998 fifty-one former German Air Force soldiers who were the “men right in at the start” in 1958, met in Peenemünde, Germany.

The author, Adolf Burghardt, joined the German Air Force on 03 June 1957 and, together with his fellow-soldiers, was part of the first attachment sent to Huntsville, Alabama and Fort Bliss, Texas for training. He served in the 21st SAM Battalion of the GAF up to 1974, then in higher command headquarters of the GAF and NATO and from 1990 to 1998 was Specialist for Logistics Affairs at the Office of Defense Cooperation in the American Embassy, Bonn, Germany.

Looking Back

Just thirteen years after the end of World War Two and ten years after the monetary reform, a group of soldiers of the new German Air Force bid farewell to their parents, girl-friends, friends and acquaintances at Hamburg Airport at the start of a long journey across the Atlantic to the United States of America. At that time, this was something so unusual that it could have been labeled under the category “adventure”. Today a 14-hour commercial flight to New York with two stopovers is almost inconceivable. In that same year, however, but in the reverse direction, Elvis Presley traveled by ship to Germany to do his military service with the U.S. Army in Bad Nauheim. He was, naturally, of greater interest to the press than we were, but more about that later.

What had happened and what was the reason for such a posting so far from the homeland Germany?

In every respect, West Germany was in the grips of the “economic miracle”. One US dollar was worth DM 4.20. From a political point of view, the Federal Republic of Germany never wanted to be subject to blackmail or tempted through the division of Germany. Joining NATO on 09 May 1955 was of enormous significance also for the other members of the alliance. During the Cold War, the Federal Republic provided the strongest conventional army amongst the European allies – and all allies on German territory defended not only German security, but also their own countries. Thus it was only consequent that the German Bundeswehr provided a corresponding contribution to the overall defense. On this score, the German Air Force was committed, besides the flying units, to developing the air defense units.

The “Law on the Agreement of 30 June 1955 between the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States of America on Reciprocal Defense Aid”, was signed on 21 December 1955 by Federal President Theodor Heuss, Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and the Federal Ministers Blücher and Blank. For the United States of America the document was sigened by James Bryant Conant. This was the basis for permission for our group of 110 men (technical group) to enter the USA.

But why did we meet up today in Peenemünde? The answer is relatively simple, if confined only to the technical and military part of our personal and modest contribution in the past 40 years of German history; and it is my intention to portray only this part considering the otherwise so sensitive past of Peenemünde.

The history of the German rocket technology started here in Peenemünde. At that time, Wernher von Braun and his team made a very considerable, even if at first unintentional, contribution to our development and that of German air defense.

When we landed on American ground in Huntsville, Alabama, we soon became aware that, long before us, the 120 scientists from Peenemünde had made themselves at home here and developed the Redstone Arsenal of the U.S. Army into an important technology center. It was indeed an irony of fate that we were to be trained in this place. What was once “imported to the USA from Germany was now being given back in an improved state (in a way a sort of two-way-street). The German supersonic rocket development “Waterfall” which had its first start in 1944 and was guided from the ground, is fine evidence of this fact.

The Lord Mayor of Huntsville insisted at that time on personally welcoming the German rocket students. The restaurants in Huntsville had prepared themselves for the German guests, ever since the scientists from Peenemünde had arrived and thus also paved the way in advance. Another experience for many of us was the fact that as most of us were under the age of 21, there were no alcoholic drinks (also no beer - it was a very dry country). Even though no one admitted it, we were nevertheless very proud and completely fascinated by it all.

The Scientists, the Team and the Results

The emblem of the experimental prototype No. 4 which, on 3 October 1942, whizzed high over the Baltic from Peenemünde for almost 85 kilometers, was the operetta girl “Frau Luna”. This missile was the prototype of the lethal V 2, also the forerunner of the projectile for the journey to the moon and other guided missiles. A sample can still be seen today in Peenemünde.

Wernher von Braun called it a “heartrending conflict” that his dream and that of mankind of conquering the universe could be spurred on only through a pact with a regime obsessed with annihilation. At the same time, however, he had the nerve to compare himself with Michelangelo, who “in times of war stopped working on St. Peter’s and had to devote himself to designing fortifications”.

When John F. Kennedy encouraged the race with the Soviets to the moon describing it as the most courageous, most dangerous and greatest adventure” in history, the blond blue-eyed Prussian in America gave the title of “I reach for the stars” to a biographical film.

Finally, while the enthusiasm of contemporaries turned into doubts over the benefits of space trips and then into disinterest, von Braun never tired of invoking a “new cosmic awareness” – looking back, as it were, on the “tiny earth with its limited source of raw materials, its very thin atmosphere and its vulnerability vis-à-vis abuse”.

During a speech in the St. Paul’s Church in Frankfurt, Germany he admitted in principle that it was “simply unfair to question us scientists and engineers” as to the purpose of technological progress.

But then, from 1936 onwards, using the national startup capital of 20 million Marks from the Nazis, he began developing the missile experimental station in Peenemünde. For this reason, he battled with Hitler in 1943 for the highest priority to be given to the V-2 development – and in 1945, together with his team, fought his way through to the American front “to be on the side of the winner”. Some specialists from the Peenemünde team, however, went off to Moscow, thus providing the prerequisites for the arms race later on.

In the USA von Braun soon got himself naturalized and did not allow himself to be irritated by those new fellow-citizens who could not quite forget nor forgive the raid on London (so the “New York Times” in 1970). He became the strongest promoter of American space flight, be it as petitioner to the Senate or as adviser to Walt Disney on science fiction films.

And he remained the ingenious designing engineer. From “Sauerkraut Hill” in Huntsville, Alabama, he controlled a core team of a civilian army, at times with a strength of over 400,000 persons, which for a hundred billion Marks prepared the moon shots and help the United States to recover from the Sputnik shock.

Even during the first flight round the moon, every third member involved in this event of the century became superfluous; when Neil Alden Armstrong made the first ever “ great jump for mankind” on a foreign celestial body, a further 100,000 had only more to do with earthly troubles.

Only half-heartedly was von Braun able to extol the moon as stopover for interplanetary expeditions. Frustrated as the Planning Chief of NASA, which received hardly any approval for new projects, he finally accepted jobs in industry (with the US concern Fairchild and on the board of directors of Daimler-Benz).

He entertained boyhood dreams to the end – both as a student and just before he left NASA, he still yearned to “ storm through space itself”.

He died of cancer in Alexandria near Washington in June 1977, at the age of 65.

Recollections

In May 1959, the German magazine, “Die Bunte”, published a large article with photos on our life in Huntsville and the special training given by the U.S. Army. “Learn and learn again – was what the GAF soldiers, some of whom had already received a year’s training on the air defense missile NIKE, repeatedly heard. That summer the first group returned to form a cadre for the three air defense missile battalions planned for the GAF. The American teachers held the Bundeswehr students in high esteem. By this time, the German population’s acceptance of the Bundeswehr soldiers had improved considerably. During the basic training, however, this had not always been the case. Perhaps the reason for the change of attitude amongst the population was the fact that Franz Josef Strauss had become Defense Minister at the head of the Bundeswehr, a man with a heart for us soldiers. His visit at the beginning of 1959 to Fort Bliss, Texas, made that very clear.

The NIKE Weapon System

The U.S. Army introduced the NIKE weapon system at the end of the Fifties. From 1959 to 1960, the GAF set up the first three NIKE Missile Battalions with the AJAX guided missile still propelled by liquid fuel, which was replaced from 1964 onwards by the two-phase solid fuel propelled HERCULES in all six battalions. The HERCULES could be used with both conventional and nuclear warheads and was subjected to the strictest of surveillance by the U.S. Army in regard to configuration controls and operation. Thus the German soldiers in the units as well as in the GAF logistics system were able to familiarize themselves through this weapons system in a very strict way with the operational and maintenance procedures used in the US Army. This training left its mark for the next few decades on the service and thinking of many generations of system operators and technicians. After about thirty years of use, at the end of the Eighties, it was taken out of service, and it also paved the way in all logistic facilities for learning and adapting the operating principles of the U.S. Army. In those thirty years of use, technical development did not stand still. Thus the weapons system had to be adjusted to the tactical and above all technological requirements. The adjustment was carried out by way of modifications. Even though the modifications went towards improving the capability of the system, the fast technological development had to be taken into account in the following years. At the end of the Seventies, support of the weapons system with spares and exchangeables could no longer be guaranteed, as old technology products, for example tubes or wire wound resistance coils to pick up very precise analogous measuring elements could no longer be supplied by industry at realistic prices – inherent necessities, the mastering of which also brought new experiences to the GAF logistics system. For these reasons, the weapons system had to be adjusted to the latest state of technology through diverse modifications.

1986-1989 - during this period the Air Defense Battalions 21-26 were decommissioned. A mammoth program was managed by the units and the GAFAMO/Systems Division IV as a large portion of the equipment was made available by the NATO partners of Greece and Turkey as defense aid ready for use.

Individual part systems went to Italy and the USA. Long after 1989, soldiers and civilian workers of the System Division IV were still busy closing the NIKE era.

As mentioned previously, the US Army Missile Command (USAMICOM) in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, USA was responsible for construction, documentation as well as the development of modifications.

The constant development in technology, change to the threat and tactical requirements drove the NIKE weapons system to the utmost limits of its capabilities. A new weapons system had to be introduced: everybody was soon talking the name of PATRIOT about. Whereas the NIKE weapons system had to give way to it in Central Europe, the countries of southern countries of Europe continued using it for quite a long time.

Conclusion

Reviewing the situation after forty years and looking at the new weapons systems, which even today are still helping to keep the peace, even though not in such direct confrontation with the enemy, it was a real success for us to have contributed significantly under the Bundeswehr and NATO towards the defense. As almost the entire training was carried out in English, this also had a positive effect on the professional career of the soldiers concerned. At this point, mention simply must be made of those fellow-soldiers who by reason of their excellent technical training after leaving the GAF acquired very good jobs in industry at home and abroad and thus contributed most significantly to the further development of our countries.

Investigations during our short visit to Peenemünde revealed that the local authorities are extremely interested in establishing transatlantic ties between Huntsville, Alabama and Peenemünde, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. To this end, the Mayor of Peenemünde, Mr. Günter Koch, visited the USA in 1997 and concluded a partnership agreement between the two towns. In this way, the wheel of history has come full circle and maybe through our contacts with Huntsville, we can make a positive contribution towards the further development of the Historical-Technical Information Center in Peenemünde. As there were also five Honorary Citizen of the City of Huntsville in our crew at this 40th anniversary meeting, this project might be successful. We plan to hold our next meeting in Huntsville, Alabama, USA.

Sources:

Federal Gazette, Part II of 29 Dec 1955

Bunte Deutsche Illustrated Magazine of 30 May 1959

Der Spiegel of June 1977

Press and Information Office of the Federal Government”
“Germany, from division to unification” As at April 1994

Spiegel Special No. 0/1998

Chronic of the GAF Air Materiel Office, September 1998

Several pictures are available

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Recommended Exhibitions, Museums, Space Centers:

Huntsville, Alabama, USA

Cape Canaveral, USAF Part, Florida, USA

Air & Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA

Fort Bliss, Texas & White Sands Missile Range, NM, USA

Peenemünde, Historical-Technical Information Center, Germany

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1958 von Norddeutschland
nach Huntsville, Alabama, USA

Adolf Burghardt, Stand: 06. Januar 1999

Ein Jubiläumstreffen der "ersten Huntsviller" in Peenemünde nach 40 Jahren

Eine Erfolgsgeschichte der Deutschen Bundeswehr an die sich heute kaum jemand erinnern kann. Am 09. und 10. Oktober 1998 trafen sich 51 ehemalige Luftwaffensoldaten in Peenemünde, die 1958 "die Männer der ersten Stunde" waren.

Der Verfasser Adolf Burghardt trat am 03. Juni 1957 in die Luftwaffe ein und wurde im Juni 1958 das erste Mal nach Huntsville, Alabama und Fort Bliss, Texas zusammen mit seinen Kameraden zur Ausbildung kommandiert. Er diente in der Luftwaffe im FlaRakBtl 21 bis 1974, danach in Höheren Kommandobehörden der Luftwaffe und in der NATO und war von 1990 bis 1998 Referent für logistische Vertragsangelegenheiten beim Office of Defense Cooperation der Amerikanischen Botschaft, Bonn.

Rückblick

Dreizehn Jahre nach Beendigung des zweiten Weltkrieges und zehn Jahre nach der Währungsreform verabschiedeten sich Mitte 1958 einige Soldaten der neuen Deutschen Luftwaffe von ihren Eltern, Freundinnen, Freunden und Bekannten am Flughafen in Hamburg Fuhlsbüttel, um eine weite Reise über den Atlantischen Ozean in die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika anzutreten. Das war damals etwas so ungewöhnliches, daß man es schon in die Kategorie Abenteuer einstufen konnte. Ein 14 Stunden Flug mit zwei Zwischenlandungen bis New York wäre heute undenkbar. Im selben Jahr, aber in umgekehrter Richtung reiste gerade Elvis Presley per Schiff nach Deutschland, um seine Wehrpflicht bei der U.S.-Army in Bad Nauheim abzuleisten. Ihm war selbstverständlich ein größeres Presseinteresse beschieden als uns, aber dazu später mehr.

Was war geschehen und was war der Anlaß zu einer solchen Kommandierung fern vom heimatlichen Deutschland?

Das Wirtschaftswunder hatte Westdeutschland in jeder Hinsicht voll im Griff. Ein US Dollar kostete 4,20 DM. Die Bundesrepublik Deutschland wollte sich politisch durch die Teilung Deutschlands zu keiner Zeit erpreßbar und verführbar zeigen. Der Eintritt in die NATO am 09. Mai 1955 war von außerordentlicher Bedeutung auch für die anderen Mitglieder des Bündnisses. Die Bundesrepublik stellte während des kalten Krieges die stärkste konventionelle Armee unter den europäischen Verbündeten - und alle Verbündeten verteidigten auf deutschem Territorium nicht nur die deutsche Sicherheit, sondern auch ihre eigenen Länder. Da war es nur konsequent, daß die Deutsche Bundeswehr einen entsprechenden Beitrag zur Gesamtverteidigung stellte. Hierzu wurde die Luftwaffe neben den fliegenden Verbänden für den Aufbau der Luftverteidigungsverbände in die Pflicht genommen.

Das "Gesetz über das Abkommen vom 30. Juni 1955 zwischen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika über gegenseitige Verteidigungshilfe" am 21. Dezember 1955, unterschrieben auf deutscher Seite von Bundespräsident Theodor Heuss, Bundeskanzler Konrad Adenauer und den Bundesministern Blücher, Blank und von Brentano und auf amerikanischer Seite von James Bryant Conant war für unsere Truppe von 110 Mann des technischen Anteils die Einreisegenehmigung in die USA. Warum aber treffen wir uns heute in Peenemünde? Die Antwort ist relativ einfach, wenn man sich auf den technologischen und soldatischen Anteil unseres persönlich bescheidenen Beitrages an den vergangenen 40 Jahren der deutschen Geschichte beschränkt und nur das darzustellen ist auch meine Absicht angesichts der sonst so heiklen Vergangenheit von Peenemünde.

Hier in Peenemünde begann die Geschichte der deutschen Raketentechnologie. Wernher von Braun und sein damaliges Team hatten einen ganz wesentlichen, wenn auch zunächst unbeabsichtigten Anteil an unserem Werdegang und dem Aufbau der deutschen Flugabwehr.

Als wir in Huntsville Alabama amerikanischen Boden betraten, wurde uns bald bewußt, daß hier schon lange vor uns die 120 deutschen Wissenschaftler aus Peenemünde heimisch geworden waren und das Redstone Arsenal der U.S.-Army zu einem entscheidenden Technologiezentrum ausgebaut hatten. Es war schon eine Ironie des Schicksals, daß wir an diesem Ort ausgebildet werden sollten. Was einmal aus Deutschland in die USA "ausgeführt" worden war, wurde nunmehr in verbesserter Form zurückgegeben (auch eine Art von two-way-street). Die deutsche Überschall-Raketenentwicklung "Wasserfall" deren erster Start 1944 erfolgte und die vom Boden aus gelenkt war, ist ein guter Beleg für diese Tatsache.

Der Oberbürgermeister von Huntsville ließ es sich damals auch nicht nehmen, die deutschen Raketenschüler persönlich am Flugplatz zu begrüßen. Auf deutsche Gäste waren die Restaurants in Huntsville vorbereitet, seit die Wissenschaftler aus Peenemünde auch hier in Vorleistung gegangen waren. Eine andere Erfahrung war, daß es für viele von uns keine alkoholischen Getränke gab (auch kein Bier), da wir das 21. Lebensjahr noch nicht erreicht hatten (it was a very dry country). Wenn es auch kaum einer zugegeben hat, aber stolz waren wir trotzdem und faszinierend war es auch.

Der Wissenschaftler, das Team und die Folgen

Das Emblem, mit dem das ,,Versuchsmuster 4" am 3. Oktober 1942 von Peenemünde fast 85 Kilometer hoch über die Ostsee fauchte, war das Operetten-Girl Frau Luna: Diese Rakete wurde der Prototyp der todbefrachteten V 2, Vorläufer aber auch der Projektile für die Mondfahrt und anderer Lenkflugkörper. Ein Exemplar kann heute noch in Peenemünde besichtigt werden. Einen ,,herzzerreißenden Konflikt" hat Wernher von Braun es genannt, daß er seinen und der Menschheit Traum von der Eroberung des Alls nur durch den Pakt mit einem vernichtungsbesessenen Regime beflügeln konnte. Doch er scheute sich wiederum nicht, sich dabei mit Michelangelo zu vergleichen, der ,,in Kriegszeiten seine Arbeiten an der Peterskirche einstellen und sich dem Entwurf von Festungsanlagen widmen mußte". Als John F. Kennedy zum Wettrennen mit den Sowjets nach dem Mond als dem ,,kühnsten, gefährlichsten und größten Abenteuer" der Geschichte rief, ließ der blonde, blauäugige Preuße in Amerika einen biographischen Film ,,Ich greife nach den Sternen" betiteln. Am Ende, während die Begeisterung der Zeitgenossen in Zweifel am Nutzen der Raumreisen und schließlich in Desinteresse umschlug, wurde er nicht müde, ein "neues kosmisches Bewußtsein" zu beschwören - gleichsam im Blick zurück auf die ,,winzige Erde mit ihren beschränkten Rohstoffquellen, ihrer hauchdünnen Atmosphäre und ihrer Verwundbarkeit gegenüber Mißbrauch". Im Grunde, bekannte er in einem Vortrag in der Frankfurter Paulskirche, sei es "einfach unfair, uns Wissenschaftlern und Ingenieuren solche Fragen" nach dem Sinn technologischen Fortschritts zu stellen. Dafür baute er mit 20 Millionen Mark NS-staatlichen Startkapitals von 1936 an die Raketenversuchsstation in Peenemünde auf. Dafür kämpfte er 1943 bei Hitler um höchste Dringlichkeitsstufe für die V-2-Entwicklung - und schlug sich 1945, um ,"auf der Seite der Gewinner" zu sein, mit seinem Team zur amerikanischen Front durch. Einige Spezialisten aus dem Peenemünde-Team gingen aber auch nach Moskau, womit die Möglichkeit zum späteren Wettrüsten gegeben war. Dafür auch ließ er sich, bald in den USA naturalisiert, nicht dadurch irritieren, daß ihm die neuen Mitbürger den Sprengsatzhagel auf London ,,nicht gänzlich vergessen und vergeben wollten (so noch 1970 die ,,New York Times"): Er wurde der stärkste Promoter der amerikanischen Raumfahrt, ob als Bittsteller beim Senat oder als Berater Walt Disneys für Sciencefiction-Filme. Und er blieb der geniale Konstrukteur. Vom ,,Sauerkraut-Hill" in Huntsville, Alabama dirigierte er eine Kernmannschaft jenes zeitweilig mehr als 400 000 Mann starken zivilen Heeres, das für hundert Milliarden Mark die Mondschüsse vorbereitete und die Vereinigten Staaten vom Sputnik-Schock kurierte. Schon während der ersten Mondumrundung freilich war jeder dritte Mitarbeiter an diesem Jahrhundertunternehmen überflüssig geworden; als Neil Alden Armstrong erstmals den ,,großen Sprung für die Menschheit" auf einen fremden Himmelskörper machte, hatten weitere 100 000 nur mehr mit irdischer Mühsal zu tun. Nur halbherzig konnte von Braun noch den Mond als Zwischenstation zu interplanetarischen Expeditionen preisen. Frustriert als Planungschef der NASA, der kaum neue Projekte bewilligt wurden, nahm er schließlich Industriejobs (beim US-Konzern Fairchild und im Aufsichtsrat von Daimler-Benz) an. Knabenträume hegte er bis zuletzt - ,,selbst durch den Raum stürmen", wie er es als Student ersehnt hatte, wollte er noch kurz vor dem Abschied von der NASA. Er starb, 65 Jahre alt, im Juni 1977 in Alexandria bei Washington an Krebs.

Erinnerungen

Die Bunte Deutsche Illustrierte hat im Mai 1959 einen großen Bild- und Wortbericht über unser Leben in Huntsville und die fachliche Ausbildung bei der U.S.-Army veröffentlicht: "Pauken und noch einmal pauken - so heißt es für die Soldaten der deutschen Luftwaffe, die zum Teil schon seit einem Jahr an den Flugabwehrraketen vom Typ "NIKE" ausgebildet werden. Diesen Sommer werden die ersten zurückkommen und Kader bilden für die drei vorgesehenen Flugabwehrraketenbataillone der Luftwaffe. Als ausgezeichnete Schüler werden die Bundeswehrmänner von ihren amerikanischen Lehrern geschätzt" Zu diesem Zeitpunkt hatte sich die Akzeptanz für die Bundeswehrsoldaten in der deutschen Bevölkerung schon wesentlich verbessert. Während unserer Grundausbildung war das nicht immer so. Vielleicht lag die veränderte Einstellung der Bevölkerung in der Tatsache begründet, daß mit Franz Josef Strauß ein Verteidigungsminister an der Spitze der Bundeswehr stand, der für uns Soldaten ein Herz hatte. Sein Besuch Anfang 1959 in Fort Bliss, Texas ließ das jedenfalls klar erkennen.

Das Waffensystem NIKE

Das Waffensystem NIKE wurde Ende der 50er Jahre von der U.S.-Army eingeführt. Die deutsche Luftwaffe stellte von 1959 bis 1960 die ersten drei Raketenbataillone NIKE mit dem noch flüssigkeitsgetriebenen Lenkflugkörper AJAX auf, der ab 1964 durch den zweistufigen mit Feststoff angetriebenen Lenkflugkörper HERCULES in nun insgesamt 6 Bataillonen ersetzt wurde. Die HERCULES konnte sowohl konventionell als auch nuklear eingesetzt werden und unterlag in Konfigurationskontrolle und Einsatz strengster Überwachung durch die U.S.-Army. So machte dieses Waffensystem die deutschen Soldaten in den Verbänden, aber auch im Logistischen System der Luftwaffe, in ganz besonders strikter Weise erstmalig mit den in der U.S.-Army genutzten Verfahren in Betrieb und Materialerhaltung vertraut. In den folgenden Jahrzehnten prägte es Dienstbetrieb und Denkweise vieler Jahrgänge von Systembedienern und Technikern. Es wurde erst nach rund 30 Jahren Nutzung, Ende der 80er Jahre, außer Dienst gestellt und war auch in allen Versorgungseinrichtungen ein Wegbereiter für das Erlernen und Umsetzen der Arbeitsweise der U.S.-Army. Im Laufe der 30-jährigen Nutzung blieb die technische Entwicklung nicht stehen. So war es erforderlich, das Waffensystem den taktischen - vor allem aber den technischen Erfordernissen anzupassen. Die Anpassung erfolgte durch Formänderungen - sogenannte ,,Modifications". Dienten die Formänderungen in den ersten Jahren der Leistungssteigerung des Systems, mußte in den folgenden Jahren der rasanten technischen Entwicklung Rechnung getragen werden. Ende der 70er Jahre war die Versorgbarkeit des Waffensystems mit Ersatz- und Austauschteilen nicht mehr sichergestellt, denn Produkte alter Technologie, so zum Beispiel Röhren oder drahtgewickelte Widerstandsspulen zum Abgriff genauester analoger Meßwerte konnten von der Industrie nicht mehr zu realistischen Preisen geliefert werden - Sachzwänge, deren Bewältigung auch im Logistischen System der Luftwaffe zu neuen Erfahrungen führte. Aus diesen Gründen mußte das Waffensystem durch mannigfaltige Formänderungen auf den neuesten Stand der Technik gebracht werden.

1986-1989 folgte die Außerdienststellung der FlaRakBtl 21-26. Durch die Verbände und die Systemabteilung IV des MatALw war ein Mammutprogramm abzuwickeln, denn ein Großteil der Geräte wurde den NATO-Partnern Griechenland und Türkei als Verteidigungshilfe in einsatzbereitem Zustand zur Verfügung gestellt.

Einzelne Teilsysteme gingen nach Italien und USA. Weit über das Jahr 1989 hinaus waren Soldaten und zivile Mitarbeiter der Systemabteilung IV damit beschäftigt, die Ära NIKE ,,ad acta" zu legen.

Verantwortlich für Bauzustand, Dokumentation sowie Entwicklung von Modifizierungen war - wie schon zuvor dargestellt - die U.S.- Army und hier das US Army MISSILE COMMAND (USAMICOM) in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, USA.

Immer weiter fortschreitende Technik, Änderung der Bedrohung und taktische Erfordernisse brachten das WaSys NIKE an die Grenzen der Leistungsfähigkeit. ein neues Waffensystem mußte eingeführt werden: der Name PATRIOT kam in aller Munde. Während ihm das Waffensystem NIKE in Mitteleuropa weichen mußte verblieb es in südeuropäischen Staaten noch längere Zeit in der Nutzung.

Schlußbetrachtung

Zieht man Bilanz nach 40 Jahren und betrachtet man die neuen Waffensysteme, die heute immer noch friedenserhaltend wirken, wenn auch nicht mehr in so direkter Konfrontation mit einem Gegner, so war es doch ein voller Erfolg für uns, im Rahmen der Bundeswehr und der NATO einen wesentlichen Beitrag zur Verteidigung geleistet zu haben. Da fast die gesamte Ausbildung in der englischen Sprache durchgeführt worden ist, war auch dieser Effekt ein positiver Teil für die spätere berufliche Entwicklung der betroffenen Soldaten. An dieser Stelle müssen unbedingt die Kameraden erwähnt werden, die aufgrund der hervorragenden technischen Ausbildung nach ihrem Ausscheiden aus der Luftwaffe später sehr gute Positionen in der Wirtschaft im In-und Ausland erlangt haben und auch dadurch wesentlich zum weiteren Aufbau unseres Landes beigetragen haben.

Recherchen während unseres kurzen Besuchs in Peenemünde haben ergeben, daß die Gemeinde an einem transatlantischen Brückenschlag, Huntsville, Alabama - Peenemünde, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern sehr stark interessiert ist. Zu diesem Zweck besuchte der Bürgermeister Herr Günter Koch in 1997 die USA und hat einen Partnerschaftsabkommen geschlossen. Auf diese Weise schließt sich der Kreis der Geschichte und wir können vielleicht mit unseren Kontakten nach Huntsville positiv dazu beitragen, daß das Historisch - Technische Informationszentrum in Peenemünde weiter ausgebaut werden kann. Da an diesem 40-jährigen Treffen in unserer Crew auch fünf Ehrenbürger der Stadt Huntsville anwesend waren, könnte das Vorhaben wohl gelingen. Unser nächstes Treffen ist in Huntsville, Alabama, USA geplant.

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Quellennachweis:

Bundesgesetzblatt, Teil II vom 29. Dezember 1955

Bunte Deutsche Illustrierte vom 30. Mai 1959

Der Spiegel vom Juni 1977

Presse und Informationsamt der Bundesregierung: "Deutschland, von der Teilung zur Einheit" Stand: April 1994

Spiegel Special Nr. 9/1998

Chronik des Materialamtes der Luftwaffe, September 1998

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Empfehlenswerte Ausstellungen, Museen, Weltraumzentren:

Huntsville, Alabama, USA

US Air Force, Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida, USA

National Air & Space Museum, Smithonian Institution, Washington D.C., USA

Fort Bliss, Texas & White Sands Missile Range, USA

Peenemünde, Historisch - Technisches Informationszentrum, Deutschland

Bildunterschriften:

Bild 1 Das Bundesgesetzblatt 1955 über gegenseitige Verteidigungshilfe mit den USA

Bild 2 Feierlicher Appell 1959 zum Abschluss der Ausbildung des technischen Personals

Bild 3 Die ersten Computer- und Radarspezialisten vor ihrem Gerät

Bild 4 Die Teilnehmer des Treffens 1998 in Peenemünde vor der V-2 "Frau Luna"

Bild 5 Zur Erinnerung ein Geschenk an Herrn Dipl.Ing Peter Profe vom Historisch- Technischen-Informationszentrum Peenemünde

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Wernher Von Braun

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The German Rocket Team and Wernher von Braun

THE GERMAN ROCKET TEAM
A CHRONOLOGY 1927-1980


German Rocket Team, 1946, Fort Bliss Texas

1927-1929 German rocket and space enthusiasts from the Verein fuer Raumschiffahrt (Society for Space Travel). Among the founding members are Hermann Oberth and Willy Ley. Wernher von Braun joins this group after his graduation from high school in 1929.

1929-1931 Within limited private funds, members of the group conduct rocket experiments on an abandoned airfield at Reinickendorf near Berlin.

1932 Wernher von Braun, age 20, accepts research grant from the German Army Weapons Department for scientific investigations and testing of small liquid-fuel rocket engines at the Department's facility in Kummersdorf near Berlin. In charge of the Army's rocket development and testing is Captain Walter Dornberger, later to be Commandant of Peenemuende as a Major General during World War II.

1934 Wernher von Braun receives Ph.D. in physics from the Friedrich Wilhelm University of Berlin. His thesis deals with theoretical and experimental aspects of liquid-propellant rocket motors.

1936 The German Army Weapons Department, in conjunction with the German Air Force, initiates the construction of a large development and test center at Pennemuende at the Baltic Sea. Wernher von Braun becomes technical director of the Army's rocket development program in Peenemuende.

October 3, 1942 First successful launch of the A-4 rocket, the world's first large liquid-fuel rocket, reaching an altitude of approximately 55 km and a range of 196 km. Field deployment of the A-4, also later called the V-2 (Vengeance Weapon 2), begins in 1944. Total strength of civilian and military personnel at Peenemuende reaches nearly 10,000 toward the end of World War II.

August 17, 1943 Major allied night air raid on Peenemuende. Some 700 casualties in housing area; among them Dr. Walter Thiel, Wernher von Braun's deputy. Material damages cause relocation of several laboratories and pilot production facilities.

January-March 1945 Due to advancement of Russian troops into East Germany, Von Braun and majority of his associates decide to abandon Peenemuende and evacuate major organizational elements. Truck convoys and trains are the primary modes of transportation to move personnel, documents and material to locations in western part of Germany.

June 1945 Certain elements of team appear to be trapped when Western Allies turn over another zone of Germany to Russian forces. Last minute moves to West Germany are accomplished with the assistance of the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps, but most previously salvaged laboratory and production facilities must be left behind.

Spring-Summer 1945 Contacts between Peenemuende team members and technical and political intelligence specialists from the United States and other nations. Colonel H.N. "Ludy" Toftoy, U.S. Army Ordnance Corps, and later Commander of Redstone Arsenal as Major General, obtains approval from U.S. Defense Department for his proposal to transfer 118 Peenemuende specialists, V-2 documentation and hardware to the United States. Components for approximately 100 V-2s are shipped. Major James P. Hamill is one of the key U.S. Army officers in this project.

September 15, 1945 Members of Peenemuende team selected to work with the Army Ordnance Corps in the United States sign a six-month contract, with a provision for an additional six months at the option of the employer. A supplement also provides for additional options of six months each after completion of the first year of employment.

Fall 1945 U.S. Army establishes housing area in Landshut, Germany for families of team members selected to work in the United States.

September 20, 1945 Wernher von Braun and six other team members arrive in the United States via military air transport and begin special assignment at Army Ordnance Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.

October 3, 1945 U.S. Army Ordnance Corps activates "Research and Development Sub-Office Rocket," with 9330th Technical Service Unit as military support organization, in Fort Bliss, Texas, under the command of Major James P. Hamill.

November 16, 1945 Fifty-five members of Peenemuende team arrive in New York via military troop transport on USS Argentina. Entry into the United States is arranged without formal immigration procedures by Presidential Executive Order. Subsequent smaller groups bring the team to a total strength of 118 during the first year. Credit for accomplishments must be given also to other former Peenemuende specialists who accepted Army employment after 1946.

December 1945 After completion of additional screening process in Fort Strong (Boston, Massachusetts), the first team arrives in Fort Bliss, Texas.

June 28, 1946 First successful launch at White Sands Proving Ground, New Mexico, of a V-2 rocket fully instrumented for upper-air research. Rocket attains a height of 67 miles. During the following four years, more than 60 V-2 firings take place from White Sands in support of military and scientific objectives.

November 22, 1946 Team members sign five-year contract with Army Ordnance Corps. Key provisions are move of families to the United States at the expense of the U.S. Government, start of formal procedures to allow legal immigration and gradual normalization of employment conditions toward eventual transfer into Civil Service.

December 1946-April 1947 Families of team members move to the United States via military sea transports.

February 1949 Small groups of team members begin to cross the Mexican border in El Paso for formal immigration procedure with the U.S. Consul General in Juarez, Mexico. The date of "formal entry" becomes the basis for the five-year waiting period toward citizenship.

February 24, 1949 Bumper-Wac, a V-2 carrying a Wac Corporal rocket as second stage, is launched from White Sands Proving Ground. The research vehicle reaches an altitude of 244 miles and a speed of 5,510 miles per hour, the greatest velocity and altitude yet reached by a man-made object.

October 1949 Secretary of the Army designates Redstone Arsenal (Huntsville, Alabama), as future home for Army rocket and missile activities. During World War II, this installation consisted of Redstone Arsenal (Ordnance Corps) and Huntsville Arsenal (Chemical Corps).

April 1, 1950 Fort Bliss organization, under the command of Lt. Col. Hamill, becomes part of Redstone Arsenal. Wernher von Braun is technical director and later becomes head of the Guided Missile Development Division.

April-September 1950 Phased transfer of Fort Bliss activity to Huntsville. Members of team and families, military personnel, civil service employees and industrial contractors arrive to continue their work in considerably larger surroundings.

May 1, 1951 Secretary of the Army grants formal approval to plan, develop, test and launch the Army's first heavy ballistic missile, the "Redstone."

July 1, 1952 Most members of team attain regular U.S. Civil Service status, provided they have filed a "Declaration of Intention" (commonly known then as "First Papers") to become U.S. Citizens and meet other employment requirements. This action was initiated by Anna M. Rosenberg, Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower and Personnel), in a directive dated February 27, 1952, and applied to all "Paperclip" personnel employed by the Department of Defense.

August 20, 1953 First successful launch of Redstone missile from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

September 1954 Following discussions regarding United States' contributions to the International Geophysical Year-to be observed from July 1957 to December 1958-Wernher von Braun submits to the Chief of Naval Research a proposal to launch a man-made satellite. The secret report is entitled "A Minimum Satellite Vehicle Based on Components Available from Developments of the Army Ordnance Corps."

November 11, 1954 First group of 41 members of team is awarded United States citizenship by the United States District Court, Birmingham, Alabama.

April 14, 1955 More than 100 members of team and family members are awarded United States citizenship by United States District Court in a special ceremony conducted in the Huntsville High School auditorium.

February 1, 1956 Activation of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA), with Major General J.B. Medaris as Commander and Wernher von Braun directing the Development Operations Division. ABMA's work force grows to approximately 5,000 civilian and military personnel in a relatively short time.

September 20, 1956 Launch of modified Redstone missile, named Jupiter-C, from Cape Canaveral. The vehicle attains a range of 3,300 miles and a speed of 16,000 mph. Direct military orders assure that the fourth stage is a dummy. A live, fully-powered stage would have caused the United States to have the world's first satellite in orbit. Political and philosophical considerations influenced this decision, one of them being that President Eisenhower did not want a military missile to be the carrier of the first United States satellite.

May 31, 1957 First successful firing of a 1,500-mile Jupiter missile from the Atlantic Missile Range at Cape Canaveral.

August 8, 1957 A Jupiter-C attains an altitude of 600 miles and a range of more than 1,300 miles. Recovery of a scaled-down nose cone marks the first such action related to a man-made object having flown in outer space.

January 31, 1958 Explorer I is place into space by a modified Jupiter-C and becomes the first U.S. satellite. Its payload discovers the "Van Allen" radiation belt.

March 31, 1958 Activation of the Army Ordnance Missile Command with Major General Medaris as Commanding General and headquarters at Redstone Arsenal. Organizational elements are the ABMA, Army Rocket and Guided Missile Agency, White Sands Proving Ground, Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Redstone Arsenal.

August 15, 1958 ABMA receives authorization to begin work on a 1.5 million-pound-thrust booster for a multistage vehicle program, later named Project Saturn.

May 28, 1959 The successful flight of monkeys Able and Baker, the first living beings to return to Earth from outer space, was accomplished. Their survival of speeds over 10,000 mph in a Jupiter nose cone was the first step toward putting a man into space.

January 14, 1960 President Eisenhower directs the transfer of the ABMA Development Operations Division and its space-related missions to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

July 1, 1960 Activation of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) as the largest field organization of NASA with Wernher von Braun as director. Nearly 4,000 civilian employees and all technical facilities are transferred from the Army to NASA. MSFC is headquartered at Redstone Arsenal. The Army Ordnance Missile Command and its organizational elements continue the growing task of developing and providing military rocket and missile systems.

September 8, 1960 MSFC officially dedicated by President Eisenhower, Mrs. George C. Marshall, NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan and others.

January 31, 1961 Chimpanzee Ham launched on Mercury-Redstone from Kennedy Space Center (KSC).

May 5, 1961 Alan B. Shepard becomes the first American astronaut to fly in space. His Project Mercury spacecraft "Freedom 7" is launched into sub-orbital trajectory by a Mercury-Redstone missile.

May 25, 1961 President John F. Kennedy announces Apollo manned lunar landing program as a national commitment.

October 27, 1961 First launch of Saturn I rocket with eight H-1 engines as first stage and water ballasted dummies as upper stages and payloads.

November 9, 1967 First Saturn V carries unmanned Apollo 4 spacecraft into each orbit, testing heat protection against lunar velocity re-entry. All three stages perform perfectly.

October 11, 1968 Saturn 1B launches first manned Apollo capsule into Earth orbit with astronauts Walter Schirra, Donn Eisele and Walter Cunningham.

December 21, 1968 Third launch of Saturn V sending astronauts Frank Borman, James A Lovell and William A. Anders on man's first orbits of the Moon.

July 16, 1969 The sixth Saturn V launches the Apollo 11 spacecraft with astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., on its trajectory to the historic first manned landing on the Moon, on July 20, 1969.

February 1970 Wernher von Braun transfers to Washington as NASA's Associate Deputy Administrator for future planning. Dr. Eberhard F.M. Rees, Von Braun's long-time deputy, is named director of the Marshall Space Flight Center.

July 26, 1971 Saturn V carries Apollo 15 with astronauts David Scott, James Irvin and Alfred Worden to the Moon. Lunar Roving Vehicle, developed by the Marshall Center, is used for the first time for extensive surface exploration of lunar landscape.

January 5, 1972 President Richard Nixon announces the development of the Space Shuttle for routine access to space. The Marshall Center is to provide the main engines, solid rocket boosters and external propellant tank as well as a variety of scientific payloads.

July 1972 Wernher von Braun retires from Government service and accepts position as Vice President for Engineering and Development for Fairchild Industries at Germantown, Maryland.

December 7, 1972 Apollo 17, last manned lunar mission in Project Apollo, is launched.

January 1973 Eberhard Rees retires as director of the Marshall Space Flight Center. Most other team members retire during the remainder of the 1970s.

May 14, 1973 Two-stage Saturn V places Skylab, the first United States experimental space station, into Earth orbit. Skylab was conceived and designed during Wernher von Braun's tenure at MSFC. Three consecutive crews of American Astronauts had lived and worked in space for 171 days, collecting a wealth of information about the Sun, the value of Earth observations from space, and the feasibility of manufacturing products in zero-gravity.

June 16, 1977 Wernher von Braun dies at age 65.

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DR. WERNHER VON BRAUN
BIOGRAPHICAL DATA

Wernher von Braun was born in Wirsitz, Germany, March 23, 1912, the son of Baron Magnus and Emmy (von Quistrop) von Braun. He attended various schools in Germany since his father, a government official (Secretary of Agriculture, 1931-1932, under President von Hindenburg), was transferred frequently.

In the spring of 1930, he enrolled at the Berlin Institute of Technology and in his spare time assisted Professor Hermann Oberth in his early experiments in testing a liquid-fueled rocket engine of about 15 pounds thrust. In September 1930, after Professor Oberth returned to his teaching post in Rumania, Wernher von Braun continued experiments under the sponsorship of the German Society for Space Travel. He received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, Berlin Institute of Technology, in 1932 and entered the University of Berlin.

In the fall of 1932, he accepted a research grant from the German Ordnance Department, which enabled him to develop and conduct scientific investigations on 300- and 600-pound thrust liquid-fueled rocket engines. Starting with one mechanic, he built up a small development station at Kummersdorf Army Proving Grounds.

He received his Ph.D. in physics at the University of Berlin in 1934. For reasons of military security, his thesis bore the nondescript title "About Combustion Tests," but it contained a complete theoretical investigation, supported by experiments, of phenomena involved in a 1933 model liquid-fueled rocket engine. His university research led to full-time employment as a rocket development engineer with the German Ordnance Department. In December 1934, his group performed two successful launches of A-2 liquid-fueled rockets, which reached altitudes of about 1.6 miles.

By early 1937, his experimental station had grown to about 80 people who were busy developing a fully inertially-guided A-3 rocket designed to climb to an altitude of 15 miles with 100 pounds of payload. During the same year, the first successful experimental flights with a liquid-fueled rocket engine installed in a propeller-driven single engine fighter plane (HE 112) were performed.

In April 1937, the busy program of this group led to the establishment of the Rocket Center at Peenemuende, a joint enterprise of the German Army and Air Force. Dr. von Braun was technical director of the Army portion until 1945. From 1939 and 1941 there were 25 successful launchings of A-5 rockets, and improved version of the A-3.

The main task of Dr. von Braun's organization during 1940-1943 was the development of the A-4 long-range ballistic missile which later saw operational use under the better-known designation V-2, (Vengeance Weapon 2). The first successful V-2 launching occurred October 3, 1942.

During 1943-45, Dr. von Braun's group, while still debugging the V-2, also developed the Wasserfall anti-aircraft guided missile, which had 44 successful launches.

In the closing moths of World War II, Dr. von Braun led the majority of Peenemuende rocket specialists out of East Germany and established contact with the Western Allies. These transports included many families and great amounts of documentation and equipment. He and some 100 of his colleagues came to the United States in September 1945, under contact to the U.S. Army where he directed high altitude firings of the V-2 at White Sands Proving Ground, New Mexico. He became project director of guided missile development at Fort Bliss, Texas, and participated in the development of the two-stage Bumper-Wac (V-2 carrying a Wac-Corporal as the second stage), which reached an altitude of 250 miles. His group was also engaged in the development of a V-2 boosted supersonic ramjet missile, Hermes II.

In 1950, the group was transferred to Huntsville, Alabama. From April 1950 until February 1956, Dr. von Braun was Technical Director, Guided Missile Development Group, and later Chief of the Guided Missile Development Division, Redstone Arsenal. During these years the group developed the Redstone, the first large guided ballistic missile system to be introduced in the inventory of the U.S. Department of Defense. They also achieved the first successful recovery of an animal from rocket flight.

On April 14, 1955, Dr. von Braun became a citizen of the United States.

In February 1956, he was appointed Director, Development Operations Division of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency when it was formed in Huntsville, Alabama. Under his technical guidance, this Agency developed the Jupiter Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) and the Pershing Missile. Jupiter-C, originally developed as a nose cone re-entry test vehicle for the Jupiter IRBM, successfully launched the western world's first satellite, Explorer I, on January 31, 1958, as well as two follow-on satellites, Explorers III and IV. Juno II, which combined Jupiter-C upper stage with a Jupiter IRBM first stage, successfully launched Pioneers III and IV (the western world's first artificial planet) as well as the satellites Explorers VII, VIII, and XI. Design study of the Saturn I booster was started in September 1958 as part of the big-booster program of the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Department of Defense.

In July 1960, he and his Army Ballistic Missile Agency development team were transferred to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as the nucleus of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center.

During the period July 1960 to February 1970, Dr. von Braun served as Director of the Marshall Center in Huntsville. Under his leadership a continuing series of historic firsts in space were achieved.

In January 1961, the Redstone, employed in the Mercury program, successfully placed a chimpanzee, Ham, in suborbital flight. The Redstone then successfully placed Alan B. Shepard in suborbital flight in May 1961 and Virgil Grissom in July 1961. The Saturn I, IB and V space launch vehicles were developed during this period. The first Saturn I launch occurred October 27, 1961, at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Ten successful Saturn I vehicle launchings followed, the last three placing into orbit Pegasus satellites, which were also developed under the Marshall center's direction. The satellites relayed data on the size and frequency of meteoroids in space.

Five Saturn IBs were successfully launched in Project Apollo; the fifth launch, Apollo 7, on October 11, 1968, was the first manned flight of Apollo (astronauts Schirra, Cunningham, Eisele). Seven Saturn Vs were launched during this period; the first two unmanned. The third, Apollo 8, launched December 21, 1968, took three astronauts into lunar orbit (Borman, Lovell, Anders); the fourth and fifth launched Apollo 9 (McDivitt, Scott Schweickart) and Apollo 10 (Stafford, Young, Cernan); the sixth, Apollo 11, accomplished the historic first manned landing on the Moon on July 20, 1969 (Armstrong, Aldrin, Collins); the seventh Saturn V vehicle launched Apollo 12, again to a successful lunar landing (Conrad, Bean, Gordon).

The Saturn Program extended over a period of 15 years and at its peak involved more than 125,000 people in Government and industry. The Saturns were the first launch vehicles developed specifically for manned space flight. The Saturn V, most powerful of three Saturns, was a three-stage vehicle that stood 363 feet high and weighed more than 3,000 tons when fueled. Its five first-stage engine developed a thrust of more than 7.5 million pounds. It could place a 113,400 kilogram (250,000 pound) payload into low Earth orbit or boost more than 45,360 kilograms (100,000 pounds) to lunar velocity.

In addition to providing launch vehicles for the manned lunar landing program, the Marshall Space Flight Center, under Dr. von Braun's direction, developed the Lunar Roving Vehicle, which later provided transportation on the lunar surface for two astronauts on the Apollo 15, 16 and 17 missions. The center also undertook the development of Skylab, a first-generation manned Earth-orbiting space station, and the Apollo Telescope Mount, a manned solar observatory that was attached to that station. Studies on advanced space transportation systems leading to the Space Shuttle era were also begun during this period at the Marshall Space Flight Center.

In March 1970, Dr. von Braun transferred to NASA Headquarters to become Deputy Associate Administrator. In that position, he was responsible for providing leadership in program planning, chairing the NASA Planning Board. He also served as NASA's senior representative to other Government agencies, the science community and private industry.

On July 1, 1972, Dr. von Braun left Government service and became Vice President, Engineering and Development, for Fairchild Industries, Germantown, Maryland. Due to ill health, he retired from Fairchild in January 1977.

Dr. von Braun received numerous awards for his pioneering role in rocketry and space exploration, which included:

• Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award presented by Secretary of Defense Charles E. Wilson in April 1957
• Department of Army Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service presented by Secretary of the Army Wilbur M. Brucker in 1957
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce Award for Great Living Americans for missile research and enabling this country to launch its first Earth satellite in 1958.
• Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy in June 1958
• Distinguished Federal Civilian Service Award presented by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in January 1959
• The Notre Dame Patriotism Award, which was presented in February 1959
• Daughters of the American Revolution Americanism Medal, May 1959
• Gold Medal Award presented by the British Interplanetary Society, October 1961
• The Hermann Oberth Award, October 1961
• Order of Merit for Research and Invention (Paris, France), February 1962
• NASA Medal of Outstanding Leadership, October 1964
• Diesel Medal in Gold presented by Kiesel Committee of the German Society for Inventions, Nuremberg, November 1965
• Engineer of the Century, December 1966
• Galabert International Astronautical Prize for 1965 (Paris, France), March 1967
• The American Society of Mechanical Engineers "Man of the Year" Award (New York), May 1967
• Smithsonian Institution, Langley Medal, June 1967
• Associated Press "Man of the Year in Science" Award, December 1967
• NASA Distinguished Service Medal (Houston, Texas), September 1969
• Freedom Foundation National Recognition Award (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania), June 1970
• Medal of Honor awarded by President Gerald Ford, 1977
• In addition, he was awarded more than 20 honorary doctorate degrees.

Dr. von Braun held fellowships or memberships in numerous professional societies including the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, American Astronautical Society, British Interplanetary Society, Norwegian Interplanetary Society, Hermann Oberth Society, Hellenic Astronautical Society (Athens, Greece), International Academy of Astronautics, I.A.F. (Paris, France), Austrian Astronautical Society (Vienna), and the National Academy of Engineering. He was also founding president of National Space Institute, Washington, DC.

Dr. von Braun was a very enthusiastic and effective spokesman on the national and international scene promoting the exploration and utilization of space. He presented many lectures to professional, educational and civic groups and authored/co-authored hundreds of articles and many books including

• Across the Space Frontier, Viking Press, 1952
• Conquest of the Moon, Viking Press, 1953
• The Mars Project, University of Illinois Press, 1953
• Exploration of Mars, Viking Press, 1956
• First Men to the Moon, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1960
• History of Rocketry and Space Travel, Crowell, 1966, 1969, 1975
• Space Frontier, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1971
• Moon, Man's Greatest Adventure, Harry Abrams Publishing Company, 1971
• The Rocket's Red Glare, Doubleday, 1976
• New Worlds, Doubleday, 1979.

Dr. von Braun's main hobbies included scuba diving, sailing and flying. He became a licensed pilot for gliders in 1931, for light single-engine aircraft in 1933, and later maintained an Airline Transport Pilot rating.

Dr. von Braun died, after a prolonged illness, on June 16, 1977. He is survived by his wife, Maria, and his children Iris, Margrit and Peter.

Dr. von Braun's interesting and colorful life in which he fulfilled his dream of aiming at the stars, became the topic of films, television programs and many books.