Blog 010

The Aerospace History Blog - Page 10

Post 048

Discoveries from the family photo album My grandfather, Willi Jack, was working in the German aviation industry of the 1930/40ies. But this is not the only connection of my family with aiviation. My wifes grandfather, Hans Hahn, was a Lufthansa clerk during the 1920/40ies. He left us some pictures. During his work at the Tempelhof airport, he took a photograph of the interesting Cierva Autogyro C8L, coded G-EBYY, visting Berlin in October 1928. Most likely at the same occasion, he photographed a Dornier Merkur passenger aircraft with the registration D-1083. As a Lufthansa member, he was allowed to be behind the barrier separating the airfield from normal visitors to take this snatshot. Two postcards from the Baltic coast document his love for aviation, because from this holiday no other picture can be found in the collection. The giant Dornier Do X with twelve engines flies along the beach in very low altitude. Probably to profit from the ground effect to save fuel. The location is Fischerkathen, now Pogorzelica in Poland. The date is given as June 30, 1932.

Posted by Uwe W. Jack

The autogiro Cierva C8L in the hangar at Tempelhof airport in October 1928. (click to enlarge - the file may not be modified - commercial use is prohibited.)

Parked on the apron of Tempelhof airport in 1928 are two Dornier Merkur passenger aircraft. (click to enlarge - the file may not be modified - commercial use is prohibited.)

Four years later, the Dornier Do X follows the beaches at the Baltic coast. (click to enlarge - the file may not be modified - commercial use is prohibited.)

An enlargement of the right postcard with the Dornier Do X. (click to enlarge - the file may not be modified - commercial use is prohibited.)

Post 049

From the desk of Wernher von Braun When I studied Aerospace Technology in Berlin from the 1970s, I had several conversations in the office of the institute's director Heinz Hermann Koelle (1925 - 2011). The man was a legend and was revered by us students. He had been on the launch team of the first U.S. satellite Explorer, had been decisive in the development of the Saturn rocket, and had been director of the Marshall Spaceflight Center. In 1965, he went to Berlin to succeed the late space pioneer Eugen Sänger (1905 - 1964). In Berlin, it was common practice for the library to give away books and journals that were no longer needed to students. In his office, Koelle had a stack of books ready to give away. When our conversation turned to Wernher von Braun, he retrieved a thick pack of papers from there. This "Orbital Flight Handbook" he had received from Wernher von Braun. When he was in his office for a meeting, it was on his desk. In his position, he no longer needs to make any of the complicated calculations himself, von Braun said with a smile. He simply passes the order on and gets the result delivered a few days later. So he no longer needs the manual. Koelle then took it. Would I be interested in it? Of course! So I lugged the thick stack of paper around with me this day.

Posted by Uwe W. Jack

Wernher von Braun and Heinz Hermann Koelle. In the background the rocket collection of designs, Wernher von Braun was involved, can be seen. As a young man, I build all this rockets in 1:48 scale. Only the Saturn V was missing, Because my parents refused to cut an opening into the ceiling, like von Braun has in his office, (click to enlarge)

Wernher von Braun at his desk in the early 1960s. (click to enlarge)

The foreword (click to enlarge - the file may not be modified - commercial use is prohibited.)

Leafing through the manual, I was horrified. Hundreds of pages of complex mathematics, about 1200 to 1300 sheets in all! My admiration for people who understand orbital mechanics! To keep the pages from getting jumbled, and since I couldn't find a ring binder in US format, I bound the three volumes into paperbacks. The legacy of Heinz Hermann Koelle is now in the German Museum of Technology in Berlin. I think his "Orbital Flight Handbook" from the desk of Wernher von Braun, should belong to it. I will give it to the museum.

The cover of NASA’s Orbital Flight Handbook from 1963. (click to enlarge - the file may not be modified - commercial use is prohibited.)

The table of the (then known) planetary dimensions makes clear, what we have learned since then. (click to enlarge - the file may not be modified - commercial use is prohibited.)

Mathematics and more mathematics… (click to enlarge - the file may not be modified - commercial use is prohibited.)

All kind of orbital trajectories are calculated. Please have in mind, that there had been virtually no computers at the time! (click to enlarge - the file may not be modified - commercial use is prohibited.)

Escape from earth the long way. (click to enlarge - the file may not be modified - commercial use is prohibited.)

Post 050

Forced Labor in Nazi-Germany People from neighboring countries have always worked in Germany. This was also the case before 1939. But with the beginning of the Second World War, the situation changed. Many wanted to stay in their home countries during these times and in Germany many workers had to join the military. As a result, there was a shortage of labor. When advertising abroad showed little success, the Nazis began to bring workers to Germany against their will. Later, prisoner- of-war soldiers and inmates of concentration camps and prisons were also forced to work. The conditions under which these people had to live and work were often very bad. Different nationalities were treated differently. The Russian prisoners of war, had the hardest live. At a flea market in Berlin I found a silent witness of this time. A sign, which probably hung in a workshop. In German and Czech language it applies for people from both countries: "Theft of tools and materials is sabotage and is punishable by death”.

Posted by Uwe W. Jack

In the midst of beautiful old things lies a sign of a hard and deadly time. (click to enlarge - the file may not be modified - commercial use is prohibited.)

Concentration Camp prisoners working with BMW aeroengine company. The person in the white work coat must have been an engineer. No other people were allowed to wear a white work coat (click to enlarge - the file may not be modified - commercial use is prohibited.)

Working labor in Germany December 31. 1943. German = black, foreign = grey. No prisoners of war included. (click to enlarge - the file may not be modified - commercial use is prohibited.)

1 - Agriculture 2 - hunters, fishermen 3 - Mining 4 - Stone- ceramic workers 5 - Metal professions 6 - Musical instruments, toys 7 - Chemistry 8 - Rubber 9 - Textile 10 - Paper 11 - Leather 12 - Wood 13 - Food 14 - Clothing

15 - Hairdressing, personal care 16 - Building trades 17 - Graphic arts 18 - Cleaning work 19 - Theater - film workers 20 - Restaurants 21 - Transportation 22 - Domestic help 23 - unskilled workers 24 - Machinists, stokers 25 - Office 26 - Technicians 27 - other professions 28 - Workers without profession

Prisoners from a jail (Z = Zuchthaus) working at BMW at engines BMW 801 for Focke Wulf Fw 190 or some Junkers bombers. (click to enlarge - the file may not be modified - commercial use is prohibited.)