Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
(800) 937-3880
SELL

Lot #9025
Hans Hosenthien Handwritten Papers

Scarce German rocketry papers captured after WWII

This lot has closed

Estimate: $0+
Sell a Similar Item?
Share:  

Description

Scarce German rocketry papers captured after WWII

Collection of Hans Hosenthien’s handwritten notes, totaling ten pages on eight sheets, including five pages from WWII–era Germany and five pages from his later life in the United States. The first five pages of notes are on three sheets and were recovered as part of the cache of engineering papers taken during Operation Paperclip, when German rocket scientists including Wernher von Braun were taken into US custody. These pages of Hosenthien’s notes from Germany contain multiple diagrams, charts, and mathematical expressions. Also included are five pages of his notes after coming to the United States, which include several electrical schematics, a graph, and handwritten notes. In overall fine condition. The massive collection of German rocketry material taken by the US amounted to nearly fourteen tons and included drawings, test reports, technical schematics, and rocketry-related engineering and scientific studies. These papers represented a decade of intensive research and became the blueprint and primary foundation of America’s entry into the missile and rocket development programs that would put Americans in space. As an original member of von Braun’s team, Hosenthein proved invaluable as an engineer and worked his entire life with the rocket team at Fort Bliss, White Stands, and Huntsville, eventually being promoted to Head of Flight Dynamics Branch, Guidance and Control Division, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. A fantastic collection of early papers from this early rocket pioneer.

Auction Info

  • Auction Title: Space and Aviation Auction
  • Dates: #463 - Ended October 22, 2015