German History in Huntsville...

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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.