Germany's Rocket Development in World War II by Martin Hodapp
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University of Hawai‘i at Hilo · Hawai‘i Community College HOHONU 2013 Vol. 11 at the time, Goddard had successfully launched a liquid Germany’s Rocket fueled rocket in 1926. By the late 1920s, space travel Development in World War II had ceased to be a crazy idea on the fringes of society. Martin Hodapp, [email protected] The rigorous theoretical work of Oberth together with History 395 Literature Review, UH Hilo the boisterous attention grabbing of Valier had made the concept acceptable to the German public.1 All of Many important technological innovations came the speculation and excitement about rocketry did not about during World War II as a consequence of each side remain merely a phenomenon of popular culture. trying to gain an advantage over the other. Examples of Lieutenant Colonel Karl Becker of the German this include radar, sonar, the atomic bomb, and ballistic Army Ordnance Offce had taken an interest in rockets. missiles. These missiles in the form of the German V2 In particular, he was interested in the possibility of using were frst deployed on September 7, 1944. This paper solid fuel rockets as a delivery method for chemical will explain the events that led up to the deployment weapons on the battlefeld.2 It is interesting to note that of this new weapon system. This paper will be largely a this idea had actually been discussed by Oberth in the literature review as my research has relied primarily on 1929 version of his book. However, his delivery system Michael Neufeld's The Rocket and the Reich; it covers in consisted of a large intercontinental ballistic missile detail many aspects of my research. In my assessment, powered by liquid fuel. For his part, he felt that it would rockets were originally conceived as a replacement be impractical, because of the diffculty of targeting for, and improvement on, long-range artillery. Their the missiles, for at least two decades.3 There is some proponents hoped that the sudden deployment of these debate among historians as to whether the omission of rockets could so demoralize the enemy as to bring about rockets in the Versailles Treaty made the German army a quick victory. In the end, however, the V2s were much particularly interested in their use as weapons. Walter too ineffcient a weapon to have any appreciable impact Dornberger, the head of the rocket development group on the war. from its inception, makes this argument in his article The During the few good years of the late 1920s, German V2.4 Neufeld argues that this was of secondary the Weimar Republic was in the midst of a spacefight importance to the Treaty's prohibition on heavy artillery. obsession. This fascination is described by Michael He points to Becker's idea of using rockets in chemical Neufeld in The Rocket and the Reich. In 1929, a movie warfare, which was prohibited by the Versailles treaty, about a voyage to the moon, Frau im Mond (The Woman as evidence that legality was not particularly important in the Moon), was playing in Berlin. Newspapers were to him. In addition, he notes that the German army announcing the imminent launch of a high-altitude rocket was conducting secret research into all sorts of banned that was planned as a publicity stunt for the movie. In the weapons in Germany and other countries like the Soviet preceding years, various somewhat bizarre and dangerous Union. It was thought that suffciently powerful rockets demonstrations with black powder rockets attached to could replace long-range and short-range artillery.5 bicycles, automobiles, and even a railroad car were According to Neufeld, Becker received permission performed. Particularly headline grabbing were racecar to start a small research project into solid fuel rockets stunts performed by the heir to the Opel car company in late 1929. Many of his assistants on the project came fortune, Fritz von Opel. The catalyst for this fad had been out of a program for training offcers in engineering that the publication, in 1923, of the book Die Rakete zu den Becker had founded. He had established the program Planetenräumen (The Rocket into Interplanetary Space) in response to what he felt was an anti-technology spirit by Hermann Oberth, a German living in Transylvania. in the German Imperial Army Offcer Corps. The new In this book, Oberth had described various methods for leadership of the Army after World War I helped make this achieving manned spacefight. Of particular signifcance program possible. Becker had received his doctorate from was his mathematical demonstration that a liquid fuel the applied physics institute at the Technical University rocket using liquid oxygen and alcohol would be much of Berlin. This institute had formerly been the artillery more powerful than the conventional black powder laboratory of the Prussian army, but had metamorphosed rockets. Only after this work was discovered by Max to remain legal under the Versailles Treaty. The institute Valier, an Austrian writer and supposed astronomer, did it basically functioned as a master's degree program in receive any widespread attention. Valier began what can mechanical engineering, not surprisingly with a focus only be described as an aggressive public relations tour. on artillery. Three products of this program; Walter He wrote numerous articles and delivered speeches in Dornberger, Leo Zanssen, and Erich Schneider, were which he touted the ideas of Oberth. It should be noted important fgures in the beginning of this research.6 The that Oberth's ideas were not unique to him. The American eventual outcome of this solid rocket research was the Robert Goddard and the Russian Konstantin Tsiolkovsky introduction of the so-called Nebelwerfer. It was basically had also come to many of the same conclusions. a system that launched multiple rockets to bombard an However, their work was hard to get access to; either area, similar to the Russian Katyusha. It would appear being hidden in obscure publications or else written in that the name Nebelwerfer (fog thrower) was intended rather ambiguous fashion. Unbeknownst to most people to disguise the true nature of the weapon to circumvent 38 University of Hawai‘i at Hilo · Hawai‘i Community College HOHONU 2013 Vol. 11 Versailles' restrictions. Becker and others had, by this point, developed a While the army was conducting early research longer term plan for liquid fueled rockets. According to into solid fuel rockets, amateur rocket groups were doing Walter Dornberger the idea was to improve upon the Paris their own research into the liquid fueled variety. Neufeld Gun. This extremely large artillery piece was the pinnacle describes their activities. Oberth and Valier had attempted of artillery technology. It was capable of launching quite early to fnd a source of funding for research to an approximately 100 kg shell roughly 80 miles.11 convert the theoretical knowledge into practical use. However, it was very inaccurate and was extremely hard They expected to be able to fnd a corporation or a to maneuver due to its immense weight.12 Neufeld adds wealthy benefactor who would be interested in furthering that this gun only launched 320 shells before its specially spacefight. Neufeld argues that these men had the built barrels wore out. Rockets would be better because romantic image of the independent inventors of the late they did not require barrels and all the other support nineteenth and early twentieth century in mind. They equipment. Becker, as Neufeld relates, hoped that the really had not comprehended the enormous costs that surprise deployment of these weapons could potentially came with research into such revolutionary technology. lead to a collapse of enemy morale and, consequently, The author makes an important observation that only a a quick victory. The fact that the planned rockets would government-backed military industrial complex has the be more powerful and based on a previously unseen resources to fnance such an undertaking. Despite these technology would increase that shock value. However, miscalculations, however, amateur groups did play a they would have to be developed in absolute secrecy.13 role in early developments.7 The Army Ordnance Offce had left liquid fueled In the early 1930s, the most noteworthy of these rocketry on the back burner after their short-lived groups was the Raketenfugplatz (rocket launch site) relationship with the Raketenfugplatz. On October Berlin, whose origins lie with the rocket launch planned 16, 1931, Karl Becker wrote to the Heylandt Company to coincide with the premier of Frau im Mond. Oberth, inquiring about their liquid fuel rocket motors. These who was acting as science advisor for the flm, came rockets had come into existence from experiments by up with the idea which was to be fnanced by the Max Valier who attached liquid fuel rockets to race cars. movie studio. In attempting to make up for his lack of Valier had actually died in one of these failed experiments. engineering experience, Oberth joined up with Rudolph Despite this deadly accident, Arthur Rudolph, the future Nebel. Neufeld describes Nebel as a con artist rather than chief engineer of the factory at the Peenemünde research a proper engineer. The effort was a failure, which ended facility, continued these experiments despite the wishes with Oberth returning home to Romania after a nervous of his superiors. They eventually produced a rocket with breakdown. Nebel, together with the remaining members 160 kg of thrust. Instead of purchasing this rocket car of another group, the Verein für Raumschiffahrt (Society combination for research by the Ordnance Department, for Space Travel), decided to start a group for liquid as he originally intended, he decided on a study contract fueled rocketry as a way to continue Oberth's work.