(von Braun, Wernher) “A Biography”. In: Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, March 1950, vol 9 no. 2, this article being pp 57-58 in the issue of pp 49-92. Original wrappers. Very fine, fresh copy. $75
Interesting two-page read on von Braun, if not whitewashed for the war years.
Also there's a great review of a German film on rocket development and the history of rocketry that spreads out over 8pp and which was evidently released sometime during WWII. The film is reviewed by members of the Society, and the comments on it are incisive and useful. It would be great to see the film, though to know that it exists is a step forward.
Of a side interest to interplanetary flight is a short reference to "Spaceship I" (pictured above)--it is all very intriguing, though outside of two images of models for the proposed dirigible-like behemoth almost no other information is presented.
von Braun, Wernher. “Survey of Development of Liquid Rockets in Germany and their Future Prospects”, in Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, March 1951, vol 10 no. 2, the paper occupying pp 75-80 in the issue of pp 49-99. Original wrappers. There is an older notation in ink at the top of the front wrapper, otherwise this is a very fine copy. $95
"Survey of Development of Liquid Rockets in Germany and their Future Prospects" is a six-page effort that appeared in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society on March, 1951. It is a reprint of a reprint of a report that he wrote for his Anglo-American interrogators in the summer of 1945, when he and the Allies were scurrying around and trying to figure out what to make of the post-war world with all of that valuable German technology-ops out there in the wind.
In any event, von Braun wrote out this history and prognostication (as there is a big chunk of the paper devoted to future space travel and such) for them in 1945 which then found itself in print by at least 1946. There are many glosses. For example, his use of the A.-prefix determination throughout the course of the document to refer to the V-weapons though it is noted in the first sentence of the report (and no doubt by an editor), that the A.4 "is known to the public as the V.2". (Perhaps that has the scent of freshness to it, to rid the report of a small part of its scrubbiness...or not.)
He writes occasionally in the third person, and also makes the case that the development of the rocket complex at Peenenemunde was for research in high-flight/super-fast travel, when the place had always been intended for military applications. He does mention that the A.4 had severe problems with the guidance system, but that was acceptable since they were given large-target areas to bomb--such as "London".
Also in this issue: D.J. Cashmore, “Some Problems of Interplanetary Navigation”, pp 71-74; AND G.V.E. Thompson, “The Lunar Base”, pp 49-70.
von Braun, Wernher. “The Early Steps in the Realization of the Space Station”, in Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, January 1953, vol 12 no. 1, the article occupying pp 23-25 in the issue of pp 1-54. Original wrappers. There's a small notation in ink at the top of the front wrapper by the original owner, otherwise this is a fine copy. $95
- Other articles in the issue include F.L. Whipple, “Astronomy from the Space Station”; M.W. Rosen, “A Down to Earth View of the Space Station”, and Percy Wilkins, “The Other Side of the Moon”.
von Braun, Wernher. “Reminiscences of German Rocketry”, in Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, May-June 1956, vol 15 no. 3, with the article occupying pp 125-145 in the issue of pp 125-175. Original wrappers, lovely copy. Fine. $125
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