German Rocket Society - Verein für Raumschiffahrt by Frank H. Winter - Part 5
From The Space Library
The following paper is ©2015 Frank H. Winter.
Contents |
Move Towards The Vfr's First Experimentation With The First Mirak
Ley then relates the circumstances of Nebel's reentry upon the scene. His exact chronology is not spelled out but the following account appears to date back earlier, to the winter of 1929. “...I met,” he recalled, “Nebel on the street by pure chance. Having no job, he had naturally been wondering whether his recently acquired experience (in helping construct a rocket for Oberth) could not be put to some use and he had toyed with the idea of founding a society for the advancement of rocket research.” If this was true, Oberth had never told him of the VfR, despite the fact that they had worked closely together on the ill fated publicity project for the film "Frau Im Mond." Despite this, Ley says he took it upon himself to inform Nebel about the Society and now introduced him to Wurm.
“Oberth and Wurm (at first) glowered at each other across the conference table,” in Ley's words, and "next to me (Ley) sat a young engineer named Klaus Riedel...who had just joined the VfR and wanted to help.” (Ley chose the word "glowered" since there was obviously still considerable ill-feeling in the part of Oberth over the disaster of his working association with Nebel in attempting to produce a workable rocket to publicize the film.) At any rate Riedel, who had studied machine construction at the Techniches Hochschule, or Technical Institute, in Berlin, had been persuaded to join the VfR after listening to a lecture on spaceflight by Nebel, as described immediately below, but had already been a believer in the possibility of spaceflight since childhood, after reading Lasswitz's Auf Zwei Planeten.
Günzel, Riedel's biographer, provides a more detailed account on Riedel's first meeting with Nebel. This occurred in 1929, he says, on the occasion of a lantern slide lecture by Nebel about the work he did on the Ufa film “Frau im Mond,” the lecture held in Pschorrbräu at the Berliner Gedächtniskirche (the Berlin Memorial Church.) After the lecture, Riedel offered Nebel his service to participate in the development of the rocket. Nebel, he continues, apparently realized immediately the importance of the potential employment of Riedel, since there was still a lack of specialists within the VfR with the experience of a mechanical engineer and master mechanic toward the safe and efficient design of rocket motors. Riedel had already worked in the machine tool factory of Ludwig Löwe und Co. in Berlin and had learned and operated precision work machines as a mechanic and had been “intensively trained” on a variety of machines. The decisive factor, however, was Riedel's unbridled enthusiasm for spaceflight and potential rocket construction towards this goal. Nebel thus responded that he would see what he could do and the two struck up a lifelong friendship.
Ley's continued description of the Nebel-Wurm meeting adds that Wurm “kept matters peaceful” and by the end of the meeting it was agreed “the VfR would try to obtain the (rocket) equipment that belonged to Ufa and was still on the movie (studio) lot (probably at Nuebabelsberg, Berlin). It would also obtain the Oberth rocket which existed in parts in various factories...The Oberth rocket was to be assembled.” It was also agreed (and apparently later shared by Oberth after the aforementioned Nebel-Wurm meeting) that the original Oberth rocket for the “Frau im Mond” publicity “would not work. Nonetheless, elsewhere, Ley in his “The End of the Rocket Society” article mentions that the VfR purchased “the remains of Oberth's work from the Ufa - at a bargain price...” Consequently, “the Oberth rocket just stood around for a few years.” This was not entirely true as it was used from time to time by the VfR for their own publicity purposes and even Ley in his article had admitted “it was at least a nice showpiece.”[1].
Nebel had another idea, or revision of an earlier notion, that may have been proposed later (after the meeting, since Ley does not make this point clear). This was for the Society to build its own basic functioning liquid-propellant rocket Nebel called a Minimumrakete, or abbreviated as Mirak, for basic tests. This was agreed upon and Nebel “was asked to draw up a preliminary design.” It is unknown whether he acted on this alone, or collaborated with Riedel and/or others. In the meantime, Ley continued, “After some hesitation Ufa also turned over Oberth's equipment to us, the biggest item being an iron launching rack that had been built for the rocket.” During this time, “Oberth and Nebel spent a good deal of time trying to raise funds from science foundations of various kinds. The financial results were nil...But the unsuccessful treasure hunt yielded an unexpected result.”[2].
Oberth and the 1st Kegeldüse
Dr. Franz Hermann Karl Ritter, a physicist and Director of the Chemische-Techische-Reichanstallt (the Reich Institute for Chemistry and Technology), the equivalent of the U.S. Bureau of Standards, made it known the Institute could not provide funds, but could test a VfR rocket motor, which would go far in promoting the Society. Thus, Oberth's Kegeldüse was reworked and before witnesses at the Institute, was officially certified to have “performed without mishap on 23 July 1930, for 90 seconds, consuming 6 kg (13.2 lb.) of liquid oxygen and 1 kg (2.2 lb.) of gasoline, and delivering a constant thrust of about 7 kg (15.4 lb.).” (Gartmann gives slightly different figures: powered phase, 96.5 sec.; thrust 7-7.7 kg (15.4-16.9 lb.); propellants consumed, 1 kg (2.2 lb.) gasoline, 6.6 kg (14.5 lb.) LOX; plus exhaust velocity, 756 m/sec (2,480.3 ft./sec.).
However, it is most curious that a small item in the Society's later Mitteilungen for 1 November 1930 summed up the test(s) and says this work was done on the premises of the Institute “in Berlin-Tegel...in the period from 1 June to 26 July...” (The original Institute certificate was afterward taken by Oberth when he returned to Rumania and may no longer exist. Nonetheless, according to Ley in his article “Eight Days,” additional, although “non-official” tests were indeed, made, even on 23 July. (Also, there is some indication in a later item in the Raketenflug Mitteilungsblatt des Raketenflugplatzes Berlin (Rocket Flight -- Bulletin of the Berlin Raketenflugplatz), Nr. 9, of May 1934, that Ritter's report of the 23 July 1930 test had actually been written on 4 November 1930.)
Engel adds that Ritter was so impressed with the results that he recommended further work on the engine “as worthy of (financial) support by the Deutsches Notgemeinshaft” (the German Emergency Association), or Notgemeinshaft der Deustchen Wissenschaft (Emergency Association of German Science). In fact, there is evidence Ritter did follow this up and was in communication with Prof. Karl Stuchtay of the Notgemeinshaft der Deustchen Wissenschaft until a year later, in May 1932, as well as with other higher governmental authorities until later in the year although nothing came of these efforts.[3]
Hence, although originally to be used to power a rocket as publicity for a science fiction film, this was the Society's first test rocket motor. It is likewise significant that Riedel “did most of the actual handling of the equipment” and was assisted by a much younger member, von Braun. Nebel had hoped to have the Mirak tested as well but it was not ready. The press was available and produced, among other photos, the now classic (although not always properly identified) one of Nebel, Ritter, Oberth, Riedel, von Braun, Rolf Engel, and others, standing around the original Oberth rocket (serving as a prop), while Riedel looks at the Mirak that served as another “prop.” It is possible that von Braun holds in his hand, what might be the far smaller Kegeldüse motor.
Oberth Returns to Mediasch
Soon after, says Ley (i.e. probably by late summer, or certainly before the start of the academic year in September when children in many countries go back-to-school), Oberth left Germany to resume his position as a mathematics teacher at the high school in Medias (aka Mediasch), in the county of Sibiu, Romania, his home country, although von Braun remembered that he had returned in the spring of 1930. (Oberth was born in 1894 in the German enclave in the city of Sibiu, in German called Hermannstadt, in what was then Austria-Hungary but this area later became part of Romania. His work on “Frau im Mond” had been during a leave of absence. This was another reason why, for the remainder of the year, he could not fully handle VfR matters.) It was also from this time that Nebel and Riedel “left Berlin to begin tests with the Mirak,” discussed below.[4]
Three months earlier than the Kegeldüse test, on 11 April 1930, the Berlin branch of the VfR had already somewhat “introduced” itself “by way of a public lecture in the auditorium of the General Post Office.” (More precisely, this event was held at the Posthörsaal Post Office Auditorium at Postamt 24, Artilleriestrasse 10, beginning at 8.30 p.m., with 200 people in attendance.)
Here, Ley adds, “The completed (“Frau im Mond”) Oberth rocket was displayed for the first time, while a model of the Oberth rocket, complete with parachute, was suspended from the ceiling and according to Sharpe, the event was held in the Post Office since they “evinced some interest in a postal rocket, if such a thing could be built.”
Representatives of various firms were present. Patent attorney Wurm made the opening remarkes while "Winkler delivered the main lecture” with slides, titled "The Problem of Spaceflight," while Valier, Nebel, Ley, and possibly von Braun were likewise present. The VfR Mitteilungen No. 1 for April 1930 Reported that science fiction author Hans Dominik was there too. This was remarkable since he is considered to have been Germany's second leading author of this genre of literature at the time, after Kurd Lasswitz and he likewise authored novels and stories with space flight themes. But so far as is known, this was Dominik's only connection with the VfR and he never became a member nor even made a donation.
(Ley includes a photo of this event in his Rockets, Missiles, as Fig. IX, although the picture is incorrectly dated 1931.) (Elsewhere, Ley in the second part of his article “The End of the Rocket Society,” adds that he was induced by the Reich Post Ministry to write “a comprehensive report about the VfR...followed up by supplementary articles once every second month” in a bi-weekly magazine of the Ministry for postal employees.)
German Aviation Week
In the following month after the Post Office lecture, or May 1930, the VfR had also envisaged using the “propaganda” opportunity of the coming “Deutsche Luftwerbewoche” (“German Aviation Week”) for an eight-day exhibition of aircraft as well as their rocket material at Berlin's Leipziger Platz but police headquarters withdrew their authorization at the last minute. At least the Oberth rocket was on display on a Sunday and Monday, the 25-26th, at the huge Wertheim department store (“Berlin's equivalent of Macy's,” says Ley) in the Potsdamer Platz and they were effectively able to recruit new members for their spaceflight goals from a “myriad of passing visitors.”
But earlier in the same month, on 17 May, the spaceflight movement overall had suffered a severe shock with the news of Valier's death, at the plant of Paul Heylandt's company, A.G. für Industriegasverwertung (Industrial Gas Utilization Association) at Berlin-Britz, caused by the explosion of a liquid-propellant rocket motor using LOX and kerosene. (Valier had switched from solid-propellants to liquids in December 1929, with Heylandt supporting him in this work.) Among the consequences of this terrible accident were demands in the popular press to outlaw private rocket experiments and, according to Ley, Dr. Heylandt breaking off “negotiations toward collaboration with the VfR.” Wurm pointed out that he was “the first martyr of a new science.”[5].
For the above reasons says Ley, “we...decided to test the Mirak outside Berlin...to keep further (possible) casualties secret.” The testing area was a farm near the small town of Bernstadt (in Bernstadt/Oberlausitz), in Saxony, owned by Riedel's grandparents. (Riedel chose the site since his parents had died when he was a child and he had been raised on the farm by his grandmother, Meta Riedel.) Ley was not present for the experiments but received reports, albeit very brief ones, from Riedel that summer, and dutifully reported them, for example: “The Mirak now produces a recoil (thrust) of three or four pounds (1.3-1.8 kg),” although in September there was the note: “The Mirak has exploded, no harm done; we'll come back and build a new one.” Ley's report on this progress appeared in the mimeographed monthly bulletins for the VfR. These now, very scarce bulletins, called the Mitteilungsblatt ((VfR) Newsletter), of which only a few are extant, had supplanted the old Die Rakete as the organ for the VfR. (Ley remarks that he and Wurm produced the mimeographs.)
Mitteilungsblatt
The Mitteilungsblatt, also called the Mitteilungen des Verein für Raumschiffahrt (News Releases of the Society of Spaceship Travel), were published from April 1930 until April 1934. There was also Raketenflug (Rocket Flight), prepared by Nebel from January 1932 until May 1934. According to Nr. 1 of the Mitteilungen for April 1930, the cover of which features a still photo of the flying spaceship in the film “Frau im Mond” (still another use of the film by the VfR), the VfR “office” (headquarters) “recognized the need to create a new bond between the members” although they admitted it could not “have the property of a magazine.” Indeed, as seen below, closer examination of the available, so-called “Newsletters,” shows that they hardly provided “news” and were usually devoid of any useful historical technical data. As for Nebel's Raketenflug, closer examination shows that for most of its run of nine issues it did at least attempt to cover the subject in a more generally scientifically-oriented way, with such articles as “The Basics of Rocket Drive,” in issue Nr. 4 of April 1932. Also, the issues for September and December 1932 (No’s. 6 and 7, respectively), carried the two-part article “About the Efficiency of Rocket Propulsion” by Guido von Pirquet. The latter was the last scientific article published by the VfR. Remaining issues of Raketenflug degenerated into strictly propagandistic releases.[6]
Founding Of The Raketenflugplatz And First Mirak Tests
It was also during the latter half of 1930, according to Ley, that Nebel drove around the city of Berlin to scout for available land for a more permanent (and closer) testing area rather than an open field. He soon found an ideal site in the northern suburb of Reinickendorf, or Reinickendorf-West. The two square mile (five hectares) tract in a partly wooded and neglected area belonged to the city but was unused and during World War I it had served as a police garrison as well as for ammunition storage (an ammunition depot) by the Reich Defense Ministry and still had empty although (then) locked buildings on it. (There is a hint that Klaus Riedel may have been involved in finding this site but he is not given credit by Nebel as a “co-founder.”) With certain restrictions, Ley continues, Nebel was able to rent the premises for the “nominal sum” of $ 4 annually (presumably a 1930 dollar equivalent, that would have meant 16 Reichmarks; but in 2015 dollars, the equivalent of this sum would be $ 54.20). (The oft quoted $ 4 figure was from Ley's memory, however, and the likely actual rate is given below.) The property was made available to the VfR on 27 September 1930 - the keys were then turned over to Nebel - and is considered the founding date of the site. Nebel grandly dubbed the place the Raketenflugplatz (literally, “Rocket Flying Place” or “Rocket Flying Field,” but in the more modern context, it would be rendered into English as “Rocket launching site.”
At the time, English language newspapers such as the Chicago Daily Tribune for 2 November 1930 hailed it as “the World's First Rocket Airport.” But this was a wholly inaccurate definition and characterization, particularly since the Tribune added that the site's establishment was a step toward “the solution for air trips into space.” Similarly, the National Magazine of Commerce (New York City) for 24 March 1932 called it the “World's First Rocket Airdrome.” Ley himself, as late as 1943, likewise named it the “rocket airdrome.” If anything, this mischaracterization as well shows that rocket technology, or rather astronautics - as we now call it - was then so new and novel there simply was no properly or scientifically thought-out terminology that existed for such a facility in those far simpler times; indeed, the above terms suggests that rocketry as applied to spaceflight was then regarded as merely an extension of aviation.) At any rate, the Oberth rocket, would-be launcher, and all other rocket hardware, were quickly moved here.[7]
Ley was not an engineer and there is no indication he ever participated in any of the countless rocket tests conducted here during the lifetime of the Raketenflugplatz, but he contributed to the VfR in many other ways and did his share to help make the site as well as the VfR itself, world-famous. Already the September issue of the American “pulp” (high acid content but cheaply produced) science fiction magazine Wonder Stories, that mostly featured “interplanetary” tales, included his long letter that was all about the “German Interplanetary Society” in “The Reader Speaks” column.
By this time, the “rocket and space fad” in Germany and elsewhere in Europe had started to take hold in the U.S. and led to the formation of an American counterpart to the VfR, at first called the American Interplanetary Society, or AIS, formed in New York City on 4 April 1930 by eleven men and one woman, almost exactly duplicating the number of nine men and one woman who had formed the VfR. Probably through the same American science fiction magazine, Ley became well aware of this, plus the fact the AIS, made up mostly of science fiction fans, had already made their presence known in “The Reader Speaks” column and so he now decided to follow suit on the German side.[8]
Ley thus presented a rather complete description, for the time, of the German counterpart of the AIS including its address at Berlin SW 11, Bernburgerstr. 24. This was actually the Berlin office of patent attorney Erich Wurm, since the letter was written just prior to the opening of the Raketenflugplatz. Interestingly, among the prominent members he listed were: Rynin, Tsiolkovsky, and Perelman of “Russia”; Esnault-Pelterie of France; and Gerda Maurus, the actress who had played the leading role in “Frau im Mond,” the film now being shown in the U.S. under the title “By Rocket to the Moon” and in England as “Woman in the Moon.” “The greater part of our members that then consisted of about 1,000,” he continued, “are engineers, physicians, teachers of science, writers, leaders of the great newspapers, scientists, and technical men.”
The Mitteilungen continued, at the beginning, to run names of donors. According to Ley this was very beneficial since one of these benefactors turned out to be a wealthy and most generous engineer named Dipl. Ing. Wilhelm Dilthey of Rheydt, North Rhine - Westphalia. He “donated approximately $1,000 (i.e. the equivalent in Reichmarks) in two installments.” Furthermore, Engineer Dilthey was so supportive of the spaceflight movement that he even established in this year (1931) his own local group in Rheydt which he called the “Verein für Raumschiffahrt,” or Society of Spaceflight, although it was certainly not meant to be a competitor to the VfR; but we know no details about it. The Mitteilungen for February 1931 also shows that by this time, the VfR was still attracting donations even from out of the country, including those from: Prof. N.A. Rynin in Leningrad, 4 Rubles; J. Allinson in Pennsylvania, USA, 6 $ U.S.; A. Ritter and Ing. Kroon, both of Zürich; Dipl. Ing. Neubaer in Nové Mesto nad Vàhom, Czechoslovakia (now in Slovakia); F. Hoffmann, Kladnow, also in Czechoslovakia (now, in Czech Republic); R. Rohr of Constanz, Switzerland; (Guido) von Pirquet, F. Thomanek, and F. Egger, from Vienna; and W. Förster from Havran, Turkey.
Gernsback Joins the VfR
In 1931, Hugo Gernsback, the Luxembourg-born American science fiction publisher, and Frank B. Eason, President of the Science Correspondence Club, were both made honorary VfR members; other American members were Pendray, David Lasser, and C.P. Mason - all of the American Interplanetary Society; and the noted science fiction writer Roman F. Starzl, besides Frank B. Eason, the President of the science fiction “fan club” group, the Science Correspondence Club. These memberships were due strictly to Ley writing about German rocketry in American science fiction magazines. He also briefly described the talks held in the last meeting of the Society and that at the next meeting he would speak about “Science Fiction” (then, a generally new term). Thus, the science fiction connections of the VfR were still very evident. [9]
Just four months later, “The Reader Speaks” column of Gernsback's Wonder Stories ran another of Ley's letters, this one covering the formation and expansion of the Raketenflugplatz. He thus happily reported, “There are likewise several buildings, which are now being equipped with machinery, so that next year we can work on a very large scale.” “Our work,” he concluded, “has brought the world another step nearer the final goal. This goal is the space ship (sic.), as our president, Prof. H. Oberth has shown in the film for which he was advisor, The Girl in the Moon” (sic.).” It is also of note that Ley signed himself not as the Vice-President of the VfR but as “Secretary.” However, Pendray in his article of May 1931 clears up this minor mystery in explaining that Ley was then serving as the VfR's “vice-president and secretary.” It is likewise noted that Ley gave his home address of Berlin NW 40, Scharnhorstr, Germany, as the contact address for the Society. [10]
Publicity for the Raketenflugplatz
As for coverage in Germany, newspapers like the Berliner Tageblatt (Berlin Daily) of 2 November 1930, less than a week after the Raketenflugplatz opened, provided a few closer details on the new facility. The Raketenflugplatz, the paper reported, comprised four square km (1.5 sq. mi.), “including five concrete buildings, and is situated on Tegler Weg in Reinickendorf-West. The rocket (static) test stand is already under construction, the workshop machines are being assembled, and the launching frame for the rockets has also just recently been assembled. At present, there is considerable disorder at the site, as so much conversion work is being carried out. The Society's offices are also being moved from Bernburger Strasse to the rocket launching site. As far as the experimental devices are concerned, the Mirak (minimal rocket) has been finalized.”
To this we can add Ley's later remarks that under the renting conditions with the city of Berlin, the VfR were to make no changes to the existing buildings but to clean them out. (“The cleaning job was enormous...” and was carried out from the middle of October.) Also, he says, “It was easy to see why nobody had ever rented the fairly inaccessible place. It had only one poor road, and was hilly and wooded in places.” (Ley goes into a far more detailed description of the site, including the various buildings and their later uses by the VfR, in the second part of his “The End of the Rocket Society” article on pp. 59-60.)[11]
It is noted that the move of the (previously Berlin branch) VfR office on Bernburger Strasse seems to imply that by this time the legal transfer of the Society's headquarters from Breslau to Berlin had already been accomplished and that the headquarters was now being moved again, this time to a new address as stated in the VfR Mitteilungen for 1 November 1930, and other issues as: Raketenflugplatz Berlin, Berlin Reinickendorf-West, Tegeler Weg. Ironically, it was close to the Chemisch-Technische Reichanstalt where Oberth's little Kegeldüse had been tested. (Currently, the Raketenflugplatz site is directly adjacent to the Airport Berlin-Tegel, Berlin's main international airport.) However, Wurm's office was still retained since it now served as the Society's “Foreign Office” (i.e. a more direct mailing address for overseas members or inquiries and avoided confusion as there were several buildings at the Raketenflugplatz).[12]
Winkler, Valier and von Hoefft leave the Board
The 1 November 1930 Mitteilungen likewise reported “Changes on the Board for the Society. “Through the departures of Messrs. Johannes Winkler, Dr. Franz (von) Hoefft, (and) Max Valier from the Board,” the report says, “the composition of the board of management has changed. The First Chairman (President) is now Hermann Oberth (although, as seen, this change was made some time earlier but perhaps the Society took much longer to make the legal change or registration than previously believed).” The “second chairman (or Vice President)” is given as Willy Ley, while the “Manager” (i.e. of the Raketenflugplatz) was Dipl. Ing. Rudolf Nebel. (The latter appointment may or may not have been related to the special “agreement” with Nebel mentioned in the letter from Wurm to Oberth of 22 September 1930 cited above, but in any case, it does seem to relate to special privileges afforded to Nebel from the beginning.)
It is also possible the above “news” on the changes of the VfR Board was published or otherwise conveyed earlier but was now repeated. (Incidentally, Pendray, in his May 1931 article, says Nebel was “now director of the experiments at the Raketenflugplatz,” although this is very doubtful; on the other hand, nothing is really known about how the experiments were selected and organized. There may or may not have been the counterpart of an “Experimental Committee” as existed in the American Interplanetary Society once their experiments got underway.
But Ley did make it clear that for sure, “we (the VfR) would not touch solid fuels in any form. We also were not going to stick a rocket motor for liquid fuels on a car, railroad car, or glider (i.e. use rockets for stunts).” Furthermore, he added, since the name of the Society was the Society for Space Travel, they had to be mindful to “look upon a rocket as an embryonic spaceship.” As for von Hoefft leaving the Board, it may be assumed that since internal disputes fragmented the Austrian rocketry community that caused the Austrian Scientific Society for High Altitude Research to dissolve in 1930, von Hoefft could have similarly decided to relinquish his connection with the VfR. In fact, Ley in his “The End of the Rocket Society” article, candidly confirms that the Austrian “branch (i.e. fellow spaceflight group) had split into two parts. One was (under) von Hoefft, the other was (with) Baron Guido von Pirquet.”[13]
The 1 November 1930 Mitteilungen (i.e. Willy Ley) also welcomed the members to the new facility: “Your VfR invites you to share a tour with demonstrations and experiments in the new and first Rocket Flight Place (Rocket Test Site) in Berlin in Reinickendorf-West, on Tegeler Weg (Tegeler Way).” “A Marvel is not it?,” Ley emphasized, “Yes, the Society management and the active members have done a lot and the foundation for that work has been laid...But it is lacking in every nook and corner of the necessities, money is needed - a lot of money! What now remains for us is no other choice than to approach you and ask for a donation and we want it to use now. Any amount is welcome...” The lack of adequate funding for the VfR (as with their American counterpart, the American Interplanetary Society, from April 1934 called the American Rocket Society, or ARS) remained endemic, particularly since these were the years of the Great Depression although the VfR actually fared much better as will be evident.
Hückel becomes a benefactor
Fortunately for the German Society, their membership included the wealthy and most generous benefactor, the Austrian engineer and famous men's hat manufacturer as well as an industrialist in aluminum, Hugo A. Hückel, who had been keenly involved in aviation from pre-World War I times then by the 1920s became an enthusiast in the development of the rocket. He thus regularly donated large sums to the Society besides later financing Winkler's private experimentation. In addition, according to the VfR Mitteilungen for 1 November 1930, Hückel announced he would donate RM 500 monthly toward the completion of the Mirak since, as Ley noted, he insisted his money was to be used solely for experimentation, including machinery, tools, and propellants, not for ordinary expenses like postage and stationary. Besides donations, another early way of raising money was the sale of postcards with scenes of the launch rocket in “Frau im Mond” and the “first Oberth rocket” in its launcher, detached, or with parachute. Photos too, were available, of the Mirak. Besides these, they intended to manufacture a Society circular badge in white or silver, with a diameter of about 20 mm (0.78 in) on a black ground with flying spaceship. [14]
By the word “necessities” in his plea, Ley meant that the Society was also in need of basic office equipment and furniture; later, as the experimentation progressed, there arose a constant requirement for materials for this work, as noted below. In the former category, Ley and Nebel ran an additional and more specific plea. “Our first appeal to the members in Berlin (for material) has already met with success,” they wrote, “in that Mr. Fritz Wolf of Charlottenburg has graciously made his microscope available. Our appeal has also brought us a typist. We would furthermore like to continue...(and) we provide below a list of what we want.” This list included: 3 used tables, 10 used chairs, 5 used mirrors; 3 used wardrobes, 3 used bookshelves; used wicker furniture, used office equipment; used tablecloths, curtains, wall coverings and carpets; used tarpaulins, 1 typewriter table; 1 kitchen range, 1 bath, 1 bathwater heater, 2 bedsteads with mattress and bedding, 1 blueprint maker, possible loan of a vacuum cleaner, possible loan of a projector for transparencies, possible loan of a motorcycle, and so forth. (Incidentally we never do learn the purpose of the microscope.)[15]
On the other hand, the few available copies of the Society's Mitteilungen are disappointing in lacking genuine technical details about the VfR's experimentation (compared with the ARS's mimeographed then later printed Bulletin of the American Interplanetary Society, afterward titled Astronautics). Almost buried on the bottom of page 2 in the Mitteilungen for 1 November 1930, for instance, below the item on Hückel is a single, terse paragraph summing up the Mirak experiments in Bernstadt - the Society's first actual experiments.
Reports on the Mirak tests
“The work (on the Mirak),” the statement begins, “was supported and executed by Messrs. Nebel and Riedel in Bernstadt/Saxony. It was difficult because of the numerous new problems that arose, but so far has ended with success, when, after numerous repairs and new constructions around 20 firing tests with this rocket were carried out. The burning time of the rocket, 15 seconds, was measured...In a combustion experiment there was an explosion of gasoline tanks, (but) the damage was repaired in no time. In the last firing attempt was an explosion of the oxygen tank (because) the pressure generation was too strong...” Kurt Heinisch, a boyhood friend of Riedel who had worked as an auto mechanic at his (Riedel's) uncle's automobile repair shop in Bernstadt, had assisted in the tests. Still another name that should be included is Alfred Buttig, a local master electrician who helped them out working out the ignition system. (There are now plaques in Bernstadt honoring these individuals involved in the Mirak experiments.)[16]
From Nebel's Die Narren von Tegel, published in 1972, we obtain the only known eyewitness account, although this is more than 40 years after the events. Moreover, since Nebel's book is unfortunately not altogether trustworthy we need only cite a few additional details here. He noted, for instance, that the first small Mirak did not need much propellant and each LOX container they acquired (from the town of Gerlitz) lasted a week. The propellants were fed by nitrogen dioxide gas pressure and their protection area during static tests was only a great straw pile. Thrusts were read from a barograph, as observed using a nearby mirror, from behind haystacks. In the first test, a thrust of only 400 grams (14 oz.) was reached, later, it was raised to 2 kg (4.4 lb.), then after that to 3.5 kg (7 lb.). Nebel adds that on 7 September, the experimenters prepared to launch the Mirak and the mayor of Bernstadt was invited, but the rocket exploded instead. But again, there is no confirmation of Nebel's account. Günzel says that altogether, 140 burn experiments (i.e. static tests) were conducted here during this period.[17] Continue to Part Six
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4
Footnotes
- ^ Ley, Rockets, Missiles, p. 132; Ley, “The End of the Rocket Society ( -- Part 1), ” p. 76; Günzel, pp. 23, 27; “Höhere Beiträge und Spenden,” Die Rakete, November/December 1929, p. 128. Note that in the “Higher Contributions and Donations” list in Die Rakete for November-December 1929 is a contribution of 10 RM by a Mr. Riedel of Berlin that may well have been Klaus. As for the later use of the Oberth rockets, there is an occasional mention of a small “museum” at the Raketenflugplatz in accounts of the VfR that must have been a modest showcase which included the Oberth hardware. A photo also exists, in the G. Edward Pendray papers of the Seeley Mudd Library, Princeton University (Smithsonian photo No. 93-16010), of an Oberth type rocket mounted on top of a road sign for the Raketenflugplatz, to serve as a kind of advertisement for the facility. (Since it is in the Pendray papers, it is very likely this photo was taken by Pendray during his visit to the site in April 1931.)
- ^ Ley, Rockets, Missiles, p. 133; Ley, “The End of the Rocket Society (-- Part 1),” p. 76.
- ^ Ley, Rockets, Missiles, pp. 133-134; “Düsenbrennversuche bei der Chemisch-technischen Reichsanstalt in Berlin-Tegel,” VfR, (Mitteingungen), 1 November 1930, p. 2; Irene Sänger-Bredt and Rolf Engel, “The Development of Regeneratively Cooled Liquid Rocket Engines in Austria and Germany, 1926-42,” in Durant and James, eds., First Steps, p. 220.; Ley, “Eight Days,” pp. 61-62; Letter, (Franz) Ritter to Prof. (Karl) Stuchtay, Notgemeinshaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft, 11 May 1932, copy, and Letter, (Franz) Ritter to Regierungspräsidenten, Magdeburg, 23 November 1932, copy, in “Germany, 1930-1935” file, NASM; “Gutachen,” Raketenflug Mitteilungsblatt des Raketenflugplatzes Berlin, Nr. 9, of May 1934, p. 4.
- ^ Ley, Rockets, Missiles, p. 135; Wernher von Braun, “Reminiscences of German Rocketry,” Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, Vol. 15, May-June 1956, p. 135; Heinz Gartmann, Traümer, Forscher, Konstrukteure: das Abenteuer der Weltraumfahrt (Econ-Verlag: Düsseldorf, 1955), p. 127; Willy Ley, Grundriß einer Geschichte der Rakete (Hachmeister & Thal: Leipzig, 1932), p. 16.
- ^ Ley, Rockets, Missiles, pp. 135-136; Mitchell R. Sharpe, “Johannes Winkler: Early Investigator in Liquid Propellants (1897-1947),” in Ernst A. Steinhoff, ed., The Eagle Has Returned - Second Part, Vol. 45, Science and Technology - A Supplement to Advances in the Astronautical Sciences (Univelt, Inc.: San Diego, 1976), p. 256; Essers, pp. i209-211; “Bericht über den Vortragsabend in Berlin am 11.4. 1930,” Miteilungen (of the ) Veren für Raumschdffahrt E.V.,” Nr. 1, April 1930, pp. 2-3; “Deutsche Luftwerbewoche 1930!” Miteilungen (of the ) Verein für Raumschdffahrt E.V.,” Nr. 3, June 1930, p. 2; “Beisetzung von Max Valier,” Miteilungen (of the ) Verein für Raumschdffahrt E.V.,” Nr. 3, June 1930, pp. 2-3; Ley, “The End of the Rocket Society (– Part 2),” p. 58; e-mail, Robert Godwin to Frank H. Winter, 11 July 2015; e-mail, Jared Buss to Frank H. Winter, 12 July 2015; e-mail, Karlheinz Rohrwild to Frank H. Winter, 22 July 2015. As to the question of why Ley, in his later histories of rocketry and spaceflight never mentioned the name of Hans Dominik, even though he (Dominik) failed to support the VIR, there are several possibilities. One, offered by Jared Buss, an authority on Willy Ley, is that Dominik's later stories “contributed to the nationalistic scene of revenge fantasies (i.e. revenge against the Treaty of Versaille treatment of Germany) and the revival of a German Empire” and that, “These associations may have led Ley to selectively exclude Dominik...” particularly since Ley was more liberal and an anti-Nazi. The anti-Nazi theory was consistent with one proferred by Robert Godwin of Apogee Books. However, Karlheinz Rohrwild of the Hermann Oberth Museum speculates that it may have been due to a “rivalry,” since Ley's own lengthy science fiction story, “Starflight Company,” only appeared in a newspaper and was not published as a book at that time, although many years later, did appear as a book. Nonethless, for those readers who wish to know more about the history of science fiction in Germany, especially during the late 19th and early 20th century and the roles of both Lasswitz and Dominik, consult William B. Fisher, The Empire Strikes Out: Kurd Lasswitz, Hans Dominik, and the Development of German Science Fiction (Bowling Green State University Popular Press: Bowling Green, Ohio, 1984), even though Fisher mistakenly says that Dominik had no connections at all with the VfR, he was simply unaware of the small item in the VfR's Miteilungen. See also, Robert Godwin, “Hans Dominik and Herman Oberth, ” The Space Library, July 2014.
- ^ Ley, Rockets, Missiles, p. 136; Günzel, pp. 37-38; Letter, Willy Ley, “The Reader Speaks” column, Wonder Stories, Vol. II, September 1930, p. 370; Tanja Jelnina and Karlheinz Rohrwild, “Reflections of the Technical Developments of the Group `Raketenflugplatz Berlin-Reinickendorf' in the Literature and Historical Resources,” in Otfrid G. Liepack, ed., History of Rocketry and Astronautics - Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Symposium of the International Academy of Astronautics - Bremen, Germany, 2003, AAS History Series, Vol. 34 (Univelt, Inc.: San Diego, 2011), p. 35; “Zur Einführung,” Mittleingen, VfR, Nr. 1, April 1930, p. 1; “Die Grundlagen des Raketenantriebes,” Raketeflug, Nr. 4, April 1932, pp. 1-4; “Die Guido von Pirquet, “Über d. Wirkungsgrad d. Raketenantriebs (Part I),” Raketeflug, Nr. 6, September 1932, pp. 3-4; “Über d. Wirkungsgrad d. Raketenantriebs (Part II),” Raketeflug, Nr. 7, pp. 5-7.
- ^ Ley, Rockets, Missiles, p. 136-138; Winter, Prelude, p. 41; “Germany Builds World’s First Rocket Airport,” Chicago Daily Tribune, 2 November 1930, p. 16; “World's First Rocket Airdrome,” National Magazine of Commerce, 24 March 1932, p. unknown, copy in “Ernest Loebell” file, NASM. The New York Times simply labeled it the “Rocket Flying Field,” issue of 8 March 1931, Pt. III, p. 6; Ley, “The End of the Rocket Society (– Part 2),” p. 59.
- ^ Letter, Ley.
- ^ Letter, Ley; Sam Moskowitz, “The Willy Ley Story,” World of Tomorrow, Vol. 3, May 1966, p. 33; “Abt. Ausland,” VfR Mittleilungen, 1 December 1930, p. 4; Willy Ley, “Kleine Umschau – IV and V, VfR Mittleilungen, 1 February 1931, p. 2; VfR Mittleilungen, March 1931, p. 4; “Spendliste,” VfR Mittleilungen, 1 February 1931, p. 4; Ley, Rockets, Missiles, p. 136; “Dipl. Ing. Wilhelm Dilthey, Rheydt, tödl. Verunglückt,” (VfR), Raketenflug, No. 7, December 1932, p. 7; The Mittleilungen, Nr. 3 of June 1930, p. 4, includes a donation from a Mr. Nanzer of Giurgiu, Rumania.
- ^ “(American) Interplanetary Society New Formed,” “The Reader Speaks” column, Wonder Stories, Vol. 2, June 1930, p. 78; Letter, Willy Ley, “The Reader Speaks” column, Wonder Stories, Vol. II, January 1931, p. 900; Pendray, “The German Rockets,” p. 5.
- ^ “Raketenflugplatz Berlin! In Reinickednorf-West,” Berliner Tagblatt, 2 November 1930, p. 4; Ley, “The End of the Rocket Society (– Part 1),” p. 78 and Part 2, p. 59.
- ^ Verein für Raumschiffahrt e.V. (stationary head), (Mitteilungen, but without this title on top), 1 November 1930, p. 1
- ^ “Aenderungen im Vorstand des Vereins,” VfR, (Mitteilungen, 1 November 1930, p. 3; Pendray, “The German Rockets,” p. 5; Ley, Rockets, Missiles, p. 139; Ley, “The End of the Rocket Society (– Part 1),” p. 75.
- ^ “Eine freudige Mitteilungen für Sie,” VfR, (Mitteilungen), 1 November 1930, p. 1; “Hugo Hückel Stiftung,” 1 November 1930, p. 2; Ley, Rockets, Missiles, p. 136; “Postkarten,” VfR, (Mitteilungen, 1 November 1930, p. 4; “Vereiensabzeichen,” VfR, (Mitteilungen, 1 November 1930, p. 4.
- ^ “An unsere Berliner Mitglieder,” VfR, (Mitteilungen), 1 May 1931, p. (4).
- ^ “Hugo Hückel Stiftung,” p. 2; Günzel, pp. 35-36, 42, 44.
- ^ Nebel, Die Narren, pp. 86-87; Günzel, pp. 40-41. For another description of the testing undertaken at Bernstadt, consult, Günzel, Die fliegenden Flüssiggskeit raketen, pp. 40-42. Günzel, just cited, the biographer of Klaus Riedel, had also been an eye-witness to the tests at Bernstadt; however, he was then a child but he does recall that the tests were a “sensation” among all the local children who saw the testing.
