German Forces

Rocket Men.

Generalmajor Dr. Walter Dornberger (left) and Dr. Professor Werhner von Braun at a Christmas, 1944 dinner, reading congratulatory telegrams on their award of the Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross with Swords, the medal of which both are wearing at the throat. Von Braun and Dornberger were the principal collaborators in the development of German military rocketry programmes - solid fuel and liquid fuel - from 1933; the latter was the former's military superior in a development programme that was confined by law (such as law was) to the military. Both were somewhat ambivalent as regards their overall intent in rocketry development (Von Braun was primarily a space travel enthusiast, and Dornberger, even as a career soldier, seems to have had the same primary inclination) and this exposed them to some career difficulties in Nazi Germany, as did the persistent efforts of the SS to gain control of the rocketry programme in the 1943-'45 period. Following relocation to Bavaria (following the for-once welcome orders of their SS "minder", advanced weapons expert and SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Hans Kammler), Dornberger, Von Braun and the majority of their research staff succeeded in surrendering to US forces in May, 1945. Both ended up in the employ of the Americans (throught "Operation Paperclip" - although Dornberger had to spend two years in British captivity first) and went on to play a major role - central, in Von Braun's case - in the development of US military and civilian rocketry aviation programmes in the postwar period. Best regards, JR.