Written by veteran aerospace journalist Bob Ward, who spent years investigating his subject, this biography presents a revealing but even-handed portrait of the father of modern rocketry. As he chronicles Werner von Braun's life, Ward explodes many myths and misconceptions about the controversial genius who was a hero to some, a villain to others. The picture of von Braun that emerges is of a brilliant scientist with limitless curiosity and a drive to achieve his goals at almost any price -- from developing the world's first ballistic missile used against the Allies in World War II to helping launch the first U.S. satellite that hurled Americans into space and the Saturn V super-booster that powered them to the moon. Along the way readers are introduced to the human side of this charismatic visionary who brought the United States into the Space Age.
V-1 Weapons...
Related Scanning WWII links...
- 12 Mar 44: Swedes investigate crashed V-1 from research station 40 miles away
- 13 Jun 44: First V-1 Flying Bomb attack on England, 4 of 11 hit targets
- 16 Jun 44: V-1 offensive on Britain begins in earnest as 244 flying bombs strike England
- 19 Jun 44: Air Ministry releases the first official V-1 details
- 04 Aug 44: First RAF pilot destroys a V-1 flying bomb by tipping its wing
- 02 Sep 44: Allied advance forces V-1 rocket bases in France to cease operations
- 06 Sep 44: Victory in the Battle of London is proclaimed after 80 days of V-1 rocket attacks
V-2 Weapons...
Related Scanning WWII links...
- 20 Aug 41: Adolf Hitler authorizes the development of the V-2 missile
- 18 Mar 42: First A-4 rocket explodes on test stand during combustion chamber test
- 23 Mar 42: Wernher von Braun's team launches its first successful test of an A-4 rocket
- 22 Apr 43: A British Mosquito photographs German rockets at Peenemunde
- 27 Jun 43: British Chiefs of Staff circulate V-2 rocket report
- 28 Jun 43: RAF reconnaissance plane conclusively identifies Peenemunde V-2 launch site
- 13 Aug 43: B-24s bomb factory making V-2 parts, unknowingly setting program back
- 20 May 44: Polish underground captures, dismantles V-2 rocket intact, sends to England
Related WWII Store items...
- The Doodlebugs:
Story of the Flying Bombs - Hitler's Rockets:
The Story of the V-2s - German V-Weapon Sites 1943-45
- Air Spy:
How Nazi Secrets Were Uncovered From The Air - Evidence in Camera:
The Story of Photographic Intelligence in the Second World War - The Nazi Rocketeers:
Dreams of Space and Crimes of War - Dr. Space:
The Life of Wernher von Braun
Loosely related WWII Store items...
- Rocket Man:
Robert H Goddard and the Birth of the Space Age