This collection consists of the oral history recordings and transcripts for the Peenemünde Interviews Project, which examined the development of the German Peenemünde complex from the early 1930s through World War II.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of 39 hours of interviews with 13 individuals (in both audio cassette and transcript formats).
Arrangement:
The Peenemünde Interviews Project is arranged alphabetically by interviewee. Boxes 1, 2 and 3 contain the interviews on cassette tapes; box 4 contains the edited transcripts of the audio.
Historical note:
The collection consists of the oral history recordings and transcripts for the Peenemünde Interviews Project, which examined the development of the German Peenemünde complex from the early 1930s through World War II. This project constitutes one of several oral history projects conducted within the Department of Space History, NASM. The principal investigator for this project was Michael Neufeld and the following individuals were interviewed: Werner Dahm; Konrad Danneberg; Walter Haeussermann; Karl Heimberg; Helmut Hoelzer; Fritz Mueller; Herman Oberth; Eberhard Rees (with Mrs. Rees); Gerhard Reisig; Arthur Rudolph; Bernhard Tessman (with Karl Heimburg); Georg von Tiesenhausen; and Walter Wiesman.
Provenance:
Space History, NASM, Transfer, 1999, 1999-0038, Varies
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
United States. Army Air Forces. Air Materiel Command. Air Documents Division (T-2) Search this
Extent:
30 Frames
Container:
Reel 1, Item 3
Type:
Archival materials
Microform
Frames
Date:
October 4, 1945
Scope and Contents:
AAF ATSC Air Documents Division (T-2) translation, October 4, 1945. Translated by Reynold Dreyer from Hermann Oberth, "Projekt Einer Fern-Rakete."
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Collection Citation:
Captured German Aeronautical Documents (CGD) Microfilm, Acc. XXXX.0408, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
United States. Army Air Forces. Air Materiel Command. Air Documents Division (T-2) Search this
Extent:
26 Frames
Container:
Reel 1, Item 1
Type:
Archival materials
Microform
Frames
Date:
September 25, 1945
Scope and Contents:
AAF ATSC Air Document Division translation, September 25, 1945. Translated by Robert Patek from Hermann Oberth, "Die Flak-Rakete," 1945.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Collection Citation:
Captured German Aeronautical Documents (CGD) Microfilm, Acc. XXXX.0408, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
United States. Army Air Forces. Air Materiel Command. Air Documents Division (T-2) Search this
Extent:
26 Frames
Container:
Reel 1, Item 2
Type:
Archival materials
Microform
Frames
Date:
October 1, 1945
Scope and Contents:
AAF ATSC Air Documents Division (T-2) translation, October 1, 1945. Translated by Margaret Wacknitz from Hermann Oberth, "Der Holz-Strahl-Motor", March 12, 1945.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Collection Citation:
Captured German Aeronautical Documents (CGD) Microfilm, Acc. XXXX.0408, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Die Möglichkeit der Weltraumfahrt : allgemeinverständliche Beiträge zum Raumschiffahrtsproblem / von professor Hermann Oberth, dr. Franz v. Hoefft, dr.-ing. Walter Hohmann, dr. Karl Debus, ingenieur Guido von Pirquet und ingenieur Fr. W. Sander ; herausgegeben von Willy Ley; mit 70 abbildungen
Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen / von Hermann Oberth ; mit 3 Tafeln, 58 Textabbildungen, 1 Photographie une einem Vorwort von Prof. Fr. Wernher von Braun
In 1928, along with Wernher von Braun, Rolf Engel joined the newly formed Berlin Section of the Verein Für Raumschiffahrt (German Rocket Society), where he participated in liquid propellant rocket experiments at the Raketenflugplatz (Rocket Airfield) with people like Rudolf Nebel, Willy Ley, Klaus Riedel and von Braun. Engel also worked as chief technical assistant to Johannes Winkler, who launched the HW-1 rocket on February 20, 1931 at a military parade ground near Dessau. This event represented the first launching of a liquid propellant rocket by someone other than Robert Goddard.
This collection consists of files for eight different projects related to rockets conceived by members of the Verein für Raumschiffahrt, including Hermann Oberth, Rudolf Nebel, Franz Mengering, Reinhold Tiling, Johannes Winkler and some unattributed work.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of files for eight different projects related to rockets conceived by members of the Verein für Raumschiffahrt (Germany Rocket Society), including Hermann Oberth, Rudolf Nebel, Franz Mengering, Reinhold Tiling, Johannes Winkler and some unattributed work. The rockets discussed in the project files include Mirak and Doppelstaber (this may be another name for the Repulsor), as well as several other types. The files contain drawings, notes, and photographs. All materials are in German.
There are also several folders of National Air and Space Museum-generated copy photography and a set of photocopies of many of the images.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged in two series: Project Files and NASM Copy Photography. The first series, Project Files, contains drawings, notes, and photographs of Verein für Raumschiffahrt rocket projects and is arranged by project number. The second series, NASM Copy Photography, contains copy photographs, notes, and captions for materials from the Rolf Engel collection, generated by the National Air and Space Museum.
Biographical / Historical:
Rolf Engel was born on August 10, 1912 in Menz/Ruppin, Germany. In 1928, along with Wernher von Braun, Engel joined the newly formed Berlin Section of the Verein Für Raumschiffahrt (German Rocket Society), where he participated in liquid propellant rocket experiments at the Raketenflugplatz (Rocket Airfield) with people like Rudolf Nebel, Willy Ley, Klaus Riedel and von Braun. Engel also worked as chief technical assistant to Johannes Winkler, who launched the HW-1 rocket on February 20, 1931 at a military parade ground near Dessau. This event represented the first launching of a liquid propellant rocket by someone other than Robert Goddard. From 1932 to 1935, Engel founded two research groups, Research Institute for Rocket Technology and Versuchsabteilung (Experimental Department), but they were short-lived due to lack of funding. In 1939, Engel was named technical director of Versuchsanstalt Für Strahltriebwerke (Research Center for Jet Engines) where work primarily focused on the development of fin-stabilized, solid propellant liquid rockets.
During World War II, Engel was a member of the Ministry of Armament's Commissions on Ammunition, Armament, and Ballistic Missiles and also a member of the Reichsforschungsrat (National Research Council). From August 1944 to April 1945, he served as the head of the test division of Waffen-Union Skoda-Brunn in Pibrans, Czechoslovakia. From 1946 to 1952, Engel worked in France as a consultant for ONERA (Office National d'Etudes et de Recherches Aéronautiques). From 1952 to 1957, he worked in Egypt advising the Egyptian Air Force as Director of CERVA (Compagnie des Engines à Réaction pour Vol Accéleré). From 1957 to 1962, Engel lived in Rome, Italy and served as a consultant to various guided missile manufacturers including SISPRE (Societa Italiana per lo Studio della Propulsione a Reazione) and Bombrini Parodi-Delfino. In 1962, Engel returned to Germany where he was named Director of the newly-formed space division of the Messerschmitt-Boelkow-Blohm (MBB) consortium in Munich. In 1971, Engel retired from active professional life for health reasons, although he published several books throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Rolf Engel died in 1993 at the age of 81.
Provenance:
Rolf Engel, Gift, 1965, NASM.XXXX.0856
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection consists of copies of material gathered or written by Milton Lehman for his authorized biography of Robert H. Goddard, This High Man, 1963. The collection contains the following: a typed transcript of Goddard's diary, 1898-1930; a typed transcript of Goddard's "Red Idea Notebooks" (1-10) covering the years 1924-1942; Goddard's patents and patent correspondence between Goddard and Charles T. Hawley, 1926-1945; and typed interview notes with Goddard's contemporaries, including: Hermann Oberth, Hugo Gernsback, G.R. Gladding, L.A. Gore, Charles T. Hawley, Andrew G. Haley, George Bode, Rear Admiral Calvin C. Bolster, Homer A. Boushey, Col. Henry Breckenridge, Dr. William Cole, Richard B. Dow, Rear Admiral Delmer Fahrney, Harry Guggenheim, Al Campbell, Clarence Hickman, Charles Lindbergh, Edward Pendry, and Inez Powers.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Mildred Lehman, gift, 1997, 1997-0040, unknown
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection consists of Peenemunde documents, including the following: memorandums, correspondence, telegrams, and reports. These documents are in German, and some of the documents have signatures of General Dornberger, Wernher von Braun, and Hermann Oberth. This collection also contains a few translated documents from the Wright Field Collection.
Biographical / Historical:
The Peenemunde Research and Development Station, Germany, was established in the mid-1930s. By the late 1930s, the research station was dedicated to the study and development of rocket driven projectiles, notably the V-2. Peenemunde was also the location of the V-1 test flying program and the test site for several other secret projects including the Messerschmitt 163 rocket-propelled aircraft.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Various sources, gift/transfer, 1994, 1991-0083, unknown
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection consists of material in German and English documenting Oberth's life and career in the field of astronautics. The information includes six photographs, an article written by him for Space Journal, correspondence between Dr. Oberth and the donor Anton Palmai, and four books, three of which are in German.
Biographical / Historical:
Hermann Oberth (1894 - 1989) was known as the Father of Astronautics. Born in Rumania in 1894, he received his German citizenship in 1941. After extensive studying at Gottingen, Heidelberg, Klausenbury, Munich and Vienna, he became a teacher, having at one time Dr. Wernher von Braun as his pupil. In 1923 he published his first work, The Rocket to the Planets, the first book to treat the theory of rockets as applicable to space flight in a scientific manner. Oberth was one of the three great rocket pioneers of the world, along with Professor Goddard of America and Professor Ziolkovsky of Russia.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Anton Palmai, Gift, 1989, 1989-0091, NASM
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests