Dr. Richard E. Thomas Collection
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MS-362 Dr. Richard E. Thomas Collection Special Collections and Archives Wright State University Processed by: Rachel DeHart December 2007 Introduction The Dr. Richard E. Thomas Collection was donated to Wright State University Special Collections and Archives by Richard Thomas in two installments during 2005 and December 2006. The collection is approximately 16 linear feet. The collection includes reports on Soviet military issues produced by the Center for Strategic Technology at Texas A&M University, as well as a variety of documents pertaining to the Cold War acquired from other sources; microfiche of translated reports and journals pertinent to the Cold War; and microfilm of a Soviet military journal. These materials were acquired by Dr. Thomas during his tenure as Head of the Center for Strategic Technology, and a number of the reports were written by him. The Dr. Richard E. Thomas Collection spans the dates 1921 to 2006. However, the vast majority of materials date between the 1970s and 1990s. This collection documents U.S. intelligence on the strategic and technological position of the Soviet Union and other important regions during the Cold War. There are no restrictions on the use of the Dr. Richard E. Thomas Collection. The Dr. Richard E. Thomas Collection is organized into 3 series: Series I: Reports Subseries A: Center for Strategic Technology Subseries B: Other Sources Series II: Microfiche Series III: Microfilm Biographical Sketch Richard Thomas is an expert in aerospace engineering, with knowledge and experience in the areas of aircraft aerodynamics, aerothermochemistry, advanced manufacturing systems, U.S. and foreign military technology, and foreign science and technology systems. He graduated from Ohio State University in 1951 with a Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering. In 1953, he earned a B.A. in Mathematics, also from Ohio State. He subsequently earned an M.S. in 1956 and a Ph.D. in 1964, both from Ohio State. Dr. Thomas’ career began at the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio in 1951. His first position was in the ATIC Guided Missile Group, where he studied developments in Soviet rocket engine technology. In 1964 he became a professor at Texas A&M University in the Department of Aerospace Engineering. In 1979, Dr. Thomas founded the Center for Strategic Technology at Texas A&M University. The Center was unique because of its exclusive focus on engineering, science and technology within the field of Soviet studies. As its first director, Thomas managed research contracts for U.S. agencies, such as the Foreign Technology Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. He authored a number of reports on Soviet military strategy, science and technology, and technical intelligence, among other subjects. In the mid-1980s, he participated in trilateral talks on technology issues between the United States, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom known as the Edinburgh Conversations, which were organized by Professor John Erickson of Edinburgh, Scotland. Dr. Thomas continued as Director of the Center for Strategic Technology until 1993. His other career achievements include helping to develop the first continuous flow hypersonic wind tunnel and testing Mach 8 weapons systems like the Nike Zeus and the X-20 DynaSoar, the forerunner of the Space Shuttle. Under President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), Thomas worked on Space Based Lasers and studied the Soviet military space program and Soviet responses to SDI. Dr. Thomas is currently Professor Emeritus of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University and the President of StraTech, Inc. in Centerville, Ohio, a science and technology research corporation that he founded. Scope and Content The Dr. Richard E. Thomas Collection contains reports on a number of issues concerning the Soviet military during the Cold War. Also included in the collection are microfiche of translated materials relevant to the Cold War and microfilm of a Soviet military journal. This material is useful for a researcher interested in the scope of U.S. intelligence on the Soviet Union during the Cold War, as well as specific scientific, technical and policy issues. Series I: Reports Series I spans 1969 to 2006 and is divided into two subseries. Subseries A contains reports produced by the Center for Strategic Technology at Texas A&M University. The reports are arranged by author in alphabetical order. When the author has more than one report, they are further arranged in chronological order. These reports cover a range of topics pertaining to the Soviet military, including organization, command structure, doctrine, strategy and technology, among others. The published reports with red and blue covers were peer reviewed; the reports with grey covers were not. A large number of the reports were written by Richard Woff and contain information on Soviet command changes and their policy implications. Reports by Richard E. Thomas are located between Box 9 File 6 and Box 11 File 5. Reports for which he was a secondary author are also found throughout the subseries. The date span for the reports in this subseries is 1981 to 2006, with the bulk from the 1980s. One report written by Dr. Thomas, dated 2006, was produced by StraTech, Inc., but was included in this subseries to keep Thomas’ work together. Subseries B contains reports, magazines, a Soviet military dictionary, and a book acquired from other publishing sources. Most of the reports deal with the Soviet military structure, but also included are early Communist writings by V.I. Lenin and information on the People’s Republic of China, and the Arab-Israeli War of 1967. In addition to the reprinted writings of Lenin, Boxes 17 A&B contain numerous translated volumes of the Soviet Military Encyclopedic Dictionary by Ogarkov. Located in Box 17C through 17E are several translated reports by other Soviet writers. The date span for this material is 1969 to 1988. Several reports are undated and some list no author. Series II: Microfiche The microfiche in this series are mainly of reports produced by the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) and the United States Joint Publications Research Service (JPRS), which monitor and translate foreign language materials such as books, news, journals and research reports. This material covers geographic regions throughout the world, not just the Soviet Union. In the microfiche series there are also documents produced by U.S. military organizations, such as the Foreign Technology Division at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, NASA, and the Soviet Army Studies Office. The material covers a broad range of subjects, including science and technology, military, policy, arms issues, and economics, among others. Also included are translations of the Soviet military journal, Voyennaya Msl (“Military Thought”). The series is arranged in alphabetical order. The date span for this series is 1925-1993. In the container list the date generally refers to the creation or publication of the report, but when this was not supplied, it refers to the date the microfilm was created. Series III: Microfilm The six rolls of microfilm in this series contain multiple volumes of the Soviet journal Voennaia Mysl’l Revoiiotsia. They are in Russian and date between 1921 and 1966. Container Listing SERIES I: REPORTS Subseries A: The Center for Strategic Technology Box File Description Date 1 1 Bibliography [2006] 1 2 Robert Bathurst and Michael Burger Apr. 1981 “Controlling the Soviet Soldier: Some Eyewitness Accounts” 1 3 Roger Beaumont May 1982 “Soviet Fronts and the Military Districts at War in the Ukraine, 1943-44” 1 4 Roger Beaumont Nov. 1982 “Maskirovka: Soviet Camouflage, Concealment and Deception” 1 5 Roger Beaumont Apr. 1983 “Horizontal Escalation: Patterns and Paradoxes” 1 6 Christopher Bellamy 1990 “Budushchaya Voyna; The Russian and Soviet View of the Military-Technical Character of Future War, Part Two” 1 7 Christopher Bellamy 1990 “Budushchaya Voyna; The Russian and Soviet View of the Military-Technical Character of Future War, Part Two” (duplicate) 1 8 Stephen Blank, John H. Lobingier, Kevin D. Stubbs, Richard Jul. 1990 E. Thomas “The Soviet Space Theater of War (TV)” 2 1 L.A. Carlson Undated “Compressible Boundary Lines and Aerodynamic Heating” 2 2 Jack L. Cross May 1981 “Current Soviet Military Commanders’ Articles on Soviet Military Affairs, 1964-1979” 2 3 Jack L. Cross Feb. 1982 “The Soviet Higher Military Educational System” Box File Description Date 2 4 Jack L. Cross, editor May 1982 “Significant Portions of Kulikov’s Study of the Soviet General Staff Academy” 2 5 Jack L. Cross Undated “The Academies of Science in the Soviet Union: An Overview of Soviet Research and Development” 2 6 Jack L. Cross Undated “The Academies of Sciences in the Soviet Union: An Overview of Soviet Research and Development” (duplicate) 3 1 General Russell Dougherty, John Erickson Jul. 1985 “Proceedings of a Conference on: The Soviet Military and the Future” 3 2 John Erickson Apr. 1981 “The Russian Imperial/ Soviet General Staff” 3 3 John Erickson, Lynn M. Hansen 1981 “Soviet Combined Arms Past and Present” 3 4 John Erickson, Lynn Hansen, Amnon Sella, Ivan Volgyes, Sept. 1983 James Westwood, Richard Woff “Organizing for War: The Soviet Military Establishment Viewed through the Prism of the Military District” 3 5 John Erickson, Lynn Hansen, Amnon Sella, Ivan Volgyes, Sept. 1983 James Westwood, Richard Woff “Organizing for War: The Soviet Military Establishment Viewed through the Prism of the Military District” (duplicate) 3 6 William C. Fuller, Jr. Oct. 1983 “The Internal Troops of the MVD SSSR” 3 7 Mark Gamache and Richard E. Thomas ca. Jun. “Cobalt: Strategic Alternatives for Supply” 1981 4 1 Gordon A. Grant, John H. Lobingier, Kevin D. Stubbs, Jan. 1989 Richard E. Thomas, Steve R. Waddell “Soviet Technological Priorities” Box File Description Date 4 2 Lynn M.