PROJECT BLOSSOM I

the Nazi claimed that Germany had Rockets which could bombard the United States was not far removed from actual achievement missiles capable of ranges up to 3,000 Mi were in the design stage when Allied troops moved into Germany the Vero tungo are retaliation rocket commonly known as the V2 had more than 12,000 persons engaged in the project in Germany including 1500 scientists engineers and technicians and 8,000 special workers many technical difficulties peculiar to the field of ballistics and aerodynamics were encountered in the early stages of V2 development but in designing producing and using it the Germans Pro themselves to be well in advance of any other Nation no discussion on guided missiles can fail to note the economic aspects of this type of warfare and points emphatically to the nature of the next aerial conflict a large number of V2 Rockets complete and unassembled were recovered by the Allies at the close of the war and a goodly percentage of these were brought to our own research centers these were rebuilt and modified at White s lands where weather conditions for scientific research are ideal and where rocket launchings for meteorological and Engineering observations are now being obtained and analyzed with the speed of this rocket the nearest approach to the speed of a meteor and its vertical range invading the spaces where Northern Lights waver and play their Celestial game of tag our research with data recording instruments and cameras will contribute much toward future developments deemed possible for Mankind's penetration of the ionosphere at the White Sands Proving Grounds in New Mexico operated by the United States Army Ordinance Department in cooperation with the Army Air Force the Navy and many of our foremost technical institutions the V2 in recent tests has reached an altitude of well over 100 miles the purpose of these modifications and tests at White Sands is to determine range control and relative data on this 12ton guided missile the engineering division Laboratories at rightfield are playing an important part in this research recently their equipment laboratory developed a container installed with instruments and to be ejected from the Warhead of a V2 at the peak altitude and safely lowered To The Ground by means of parachutes in one end of the container two parachutes are packed first an 18t ribbon cargo shoot enclosed in a sleeve then a partition to which is fastened a small brake shoot this partition when locked is released by a timer 165 seconds after the smaller Chute opens the small Chute is 8 ft in diameter and also of ribbon [Applause] design in the pressurized compartment end of the container a spring wound tensiometer records parachute shock forces other data is procured a potentiometer recording the shock forces in terms of electrical energy a radar Beacon to record potentiometer readings and track the trajectory of the container and a movie camera powered by dry cells the container one half of which is packed with two shoots and a camera to photograph the functioning of the parachutes and the other half a pressurized compartment housing data recording and Signal instruments for tracking is in inserted in a tunnel in the Warhead an explosive charge in the tunnel's breach plate is set to eject the container 145 seconds after fuel shut off this rocket already declared obsolete as a weapon with our modifications now provides a new vehicle with which our scientists can explore the unknown and affording our upper air meteorologists a feast of research for placing the missile in its launching attitude one of the original German Mueller vagin is used but for servicing the added research instruments and equipment at several stations in the body of the missile Army Ordinance Engineers developed the Gantry Tower approximating the framework of a five-story building on tracks this device permits easy access for fueling installation adjustment and checking of all control equipment and data recording instruments fuel in the German V2 consists of calcium permanganate hydrogen peroxide alcohol and liquid oxygen 8 tons of it this develops a maximum thrust of 68,000 lb for 65 seconds giving the rocket a maximum speed of 5,000 ft per second with all servicing complete the massive steel Tower rolls back and the rocket is ready for firing from inside the massive concrete block house test Engineers count off the seconds before the big lift radio controls and radar tracking devices function clearly and the Flight of the missile is charted almost straight up into the osphere at a speed of 3500 mph then 145 seconds after fuel shut off the container is launched from the Warhead the movie camera and the parachute end of the container records the functioning of first the small brake shoot and 165 seconds later the cargo shoot the container is safely lowered and recovered by contrast note the condition of not only the Warhead after it was recovered but the Tangled mess that once was controlled devices of the rocket upon inspection the container sustained only minor damage the parachute none at all the data recording and tracking instruments are found intact [Music]