July 1947

From The Space Library

USAF relinquished responsibility for Army's missile program and Army assigned primary responsibility for it to Ordnance.

Soviet MiG-15 first flew but engine performance was unsatisfactory, a problem solved with purchase of 55 British Derwent V and Nene (4,500-pound thrust) engines, first placed in series production, then improved with the RD-45 engine (5,000-pound thrust) and the VK1 (6,000-pound thrust) engine.

“Race to the Planets” by Willy Ley article in Mechanix Illustrated