Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
In 1943, on orders from the German Air Ministry, young physicist Peter P. Wegener left the Russian front and reported to the Baltic village of Peenemunde. His assignment was to work at the supersonic wind tunnels of the rocket laboratories of the German Army. Here Wernher von Braun led a team that developed the V2, the world's first large rocket-powered guided missile, and laid much of the groundwork for postwar rocket development. In this fascinating book, Wegener recounts his experiences during Hitler's time, World War II, and his years at Peenemunde. Shortly before the end of the war, Wegener visited Germany's underground V2 production plant to retrieve archival material on aerodynamics that had been stored in caves for safekeeping.Synopsis
In 1943, on orders from the German Air Ministry, young physicist Peter P. Wegener left the Russian front and reported to the Baltic village of Peenemunde. His assignment was to work at the supersonic wind tunnels of the rocket laboratories of the German Army. Here Wernher von Braun led a team that developed the V2, the world's first large rocket-powered guided missile, and laid much of the groundwork for postwar rocket development. In this fascinating book, Wegener recounts his experiences during Hitler's time, World War II, and his years at Peenemunde. Shortly before the end of the war, Wegener visited Germany's underground V2 production plant to retrieve archival material on aerodynamics that had been stored in caves for safekeeping.
Booknews
He's not Feynman (alas, no tales of safe cracking or other hijinks as in Los Alamos From Below); but Wegener's (emeritus, engineering, Yale) career offers some parallels: notable research & colleagues (von Braun, & al.), secret, military involvement. Wegener describes the super- and hyper-sonic research in lay terms, his experiences in war-time Germany, the slave labor work on the V-2, SS power grabs, his move to the U.S. and work in the Navy's research lab. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Editorials
Booknews
He's not Feynman (alas, no tales of safe cracking or other hijinks as in "Los Alamos From Below"); but Wegener's (emeritus, engineering, Yale) career offers some parallels: notable research & colleagues (von Braun, & al.), secret, military involvement. Wegener describes the super- and hyper-sonic research in lay terms, his experiences in war-time Germany, the slave labor work on the V-2, SS power grabs, his move to the U.S. and work in the Navy's research lab. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.Booknews
He's not Feynman (alas, no tales of safe cracking or other hijinks as in Los Alamos From Below); but Wegener's (emeritus, engineering, Yale) career offers some parallels: notable research & colleagues (von Braun, & al.), secret, military involvement. Wegener describes the super- and hyper-sonic research in lay terms, his experiences in war-time Germany, the slave labor work on the V-2, SS power grabs, his move to the U.S. and work in the Navy's research lab. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)Kirkus Reviews
The memoir of a young physicist, coming of age in Hitler's Germany, who was part of a secret experimental base that developed the V-2, the world's first large rocket-powered missile, under the direction of Wernher von Braun.Wegener, professor emeritus of engineering and applied science at Yale, whose specialty was wind-tunnel research, gives us valuable and candid insights into the pioneer German rocket program. Hitler hoped that the secret operation would provide wonder weapons to insure victory; instead, the technical information developed by the program helped the US to eventually put a man on the moon. Wegener is aware of his good fortune in being transferred from combat duty in Russia, in having had a technical education, and in having been trained by leading scientists whose recommendations paved the way for him to be part of this exotic program. The author believes that Allied spies discovered the secret base, since a heavy British bombing raid caused much destruction but missed the wind tunnels. The program was quickly moved to the quiet Bavarian mountains and installed in manmade caves. Wegener, a secret anti-Nazi, writes that few of these German scientists were Nazis; most had a passion for science and little interest in the practical outcome of their lethal work. He fails to dwell on the deadly effects of the V-2 rockets on the civilian population of London but does note the plight of the concentration camp prisoners forced to work on the assembly line. Wegener describes the last days of the war in Germany and the mad scramble to escape the Soviets, who were determined to capture scientists, precious equipment, and valuable documents. Eventually the von Braun team was invited to emigrate to the US, where it helped to develop the space program.
A rare, absorbing study of one man's experiences during a dark and tragic time.