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.
Societe d'Etudes de la Propulsion par Reaction (SEPR) Search this
Extent:
0.15 Cubic feet ((1 flatbox))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drawings
Photographs
Albums
Date:
1939-1960
Scope and Contents:
This album 10 x 7 inches and contains 88 original photographs, taken from 1939 to 1960, of many of Zborowski's rocket, jet and coleopter projects, as well as 6 printed drawings.
Biographical / Historical:
Helmut Philip von Zborowski was a significant figure in early rocket and jet engine development. A contemporary of Werner von Braun, Zborowski worked on rocket and jet development for BMW during World War II, afterwards going to France and serving as a research engineer for the Société d'Etudes de la Propulsion par Réaction (SEPR). Zborowski later founded his own company, Bureau Technique Zborowski.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Stefan and Sylvia Eihhorn, Purchase, 2001, 2001-0060, 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
The bulk of this collection consists of documents relating to Lawrence's work at RMI, including technical reports and administrative papers, as well as personal and business correspondence. The collection also includes some material on ARS and Lawrence's Chrysler years.
Biographical / Historical:
Lovell Lawrence, Jr. (1915-1971) was an amateur rocket experimenter in the 1930s under the American Rocket Society, of which he became president in 1946. He worked as assistant to the chief engineer of IBM from 1933 until 1941, when he joined with John Shesta, James Wyld, and Hugh Franklin Pierce to form Reaction Motors, Inc. (RMI), the first US rocket propulsion company, with Lawrence as president. Lawrence left RMI in 1951 over the gradual loss of administrative and technical authority. In 1953 he joined Chrysler's Missile Division as manager of power plant design. By 1956 he was director of the Redstone project. He went on to Chrysler's Advanced Project organization, first as chief engineer (1959), then as director (1961). In 1964 he became chief research engineer for Chrysler.
General:
Other materials: turbo supercharger (held by National Air and Space Museum, Aeronautics Division, acc. 1973-132)
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
17.25 Cubic feet ((2 legal document boxes) (15 records center boxes))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence
Financial records
Photographs
Drawings
Logs (records)
Manuscripts
Publications
Reports
Date:
1926-1972
bulk 1938-1943
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains the research material that Neill used in compiling his book. The material consists of correspondence and reports dealing with inspection, specifications, and performance tests of automobile and aircraft engines and fuels from 1926 to 1944. There are also reports, articles, and log books of specific engine types, both aeronautical and automotive, collected from all over the world, as well as a rough manuscript copy of Neill's book.
Biographical / Historical:
Thomas Taylor Neill (1903-1988) was an aeropropulsion engineer and author. Following the completion of his degrees at Catholic University of America (BS.ME 1925) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MS 1926) he went to work in the Aircraft Engine Research lab at the United States National Bureau of Standard (engineer 1926-39). He served as an ignition engineer for the Army Air Corps in Dayton, OH (1939-42). He then spent nearly twenty years in research for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (Assistant to the Director of Research 1942-58) and its successor the National Aeronautics and Administration (NASA; Chief of Research Administration Division, Office of Advanced Research Programs 1958-61; Chief of Research and Technical Reports, Office of Advance Research and Technology, 1961-70). Following his retirement from NASA, Neill worked as a consultant to the National Air and Space Museum (1971- ) where he began compiling a book on aviation engines in the inter-war period.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Thomas Neill, transfer, unknown, XXXX-0181, 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
22.45 Cubic feet ((19 records center boxes) (2 flatboxes))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence
Manuscripts
Photographs
Publications
Date:
1898-1980
bulk 1963-1980
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of Meyer's research files. The material contains research files, manuscripts, and photo layouts for several of his books, as well as correspondence and photographs related his work as curator. The material covers all aspects of aero engines, including assembly, operation, and restoration.
Biographical / Historical:
Robert B. Meyer, Jr. (1921-1995) was the first Curator of Propulsion in the Aeronautics Department of the National Air and Space Museum (NASM), Smithsonian Institution (1959-1980). A native of Locust Valley, New York, Meyer was a Yale University graduate and served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. After the war he worked as an insurance broker before joining the museum in 1959. He authored a number of books on the development of aircraft engines. Following his retirement, Meyer remained active in NASM's docent program.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Robert B. Meyer, Jr., gift, 1984, XXXX-0184, 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
Chronik des Werkes Trauen Geschichtliches aus dem Versuchsgelände für Raumfahrtantriebe = History of the Trauen Plant of the arianegroup: historical reports from the rocket propulsion test center Claus Cohrt und Mitarbeiter des Raumfahrthistorischen Archivs Bremen e.V
Title:
History of the Trauen Plant of the arianegroup:historical reports from the rocket propulsion test center
