Research undertaken by the ACS uncovered the fact that much pressure was exerted in an attempt to ensure that Operation Paperclip succeeded.
Area 51 The Revealing Truth of Ufos, Secret Aircraft, Cover-Ups & Conspiracies
Major development projects under von Braun’s technical direction included the Redstone rocket, the Jupiter Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile, and the Pershing missile. He and his team of German scientists and engineers were also responsible for developing the Jupiter C Reentry Test Missile and launching the free world’s first scientific Earth satellite, Explorer
On July 1, 1960, von Braun and his team were transferred to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and became the nucleus of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center at Redstone Arsenal.
He served as director of the Marshall Center until February 1970, when he moved to NASA headquarters to serve as deputy associate administrator. On July 1, 1972, von Braun left NASA to become vice president of engineering and development for Fairchild Industries in Germantown, Maryland, and was inducted into the Ordnance Corps Hall of Fame in 1973. Von Braun retired in January 1977 due to ill health and died on June 16, 1977. It was not a bad life for the “former” Nazi, and it was a life that never would have existed had it not been for the creation of Operation Paperclip, the ultimate Faustian pact.
The final word on this matter goes to the ACS, who noted in its final report on Operation Paperclip and its investigations of its activities: “The staff believes that this trail should be followed with more research before conclusions can be drawn about the Paperclip scientists and human radiation experiments. That the standard for immigration was ‘not an ardent Nazi’ is troubling; in Strughold’s case, investigators had specifically questioned his credentials for ‘denazification.’ It is possible that still classified intelligence documents could shed further light on these connections.” In light of that final sentence from the committee, it seems that the story is not yet over.
Without doubt, one of the most important official documents in the saga of the story told to Annie Jacobsen by Alfred O’Donnell is a December 1947 document that addresses U.S. intelligence’s deep interest in the Horten brothers —as well as the U.S. government’s determination to confirm or deny that the brothers had created a flying saucer-style craft. The document is so important that I have presented it below in full. The author of the document was Lt. Col. Harry H. Pretty, and the title of the document was “Horten Brothers (Flying
Saucers).” Prepared by the HQ Berlin command, Office of Military Government for Germany (U.S.), it was sent to the deputy director of intelligence, European command, Frankfurt, U.S. Army. It reads as follows: “The Horten brothers, Reimar and Walter, are residing in Goettingen at present.
However, both of them are travelling a great deal throughout the Bi-Zone. Walter at present is travelling in Bavaria in search of a suitable place of employment. It is believed that he may have contacted USAFE Headquarters in Wiesbaden for possible evacuation to the United States under ‘Paper Clip.’ Reimar is presently studying advanced mathematics at the university of Bonn, and is about to obtain his doctor’s degree.
It is believed that when his studies are completed he intends to accept a teaching position at the Institute for Technology (Technische Hochschule) in Braunshweig sometime in February or March 1948. “Both brothers are exceedingly peculiar and can be easily classified as eccentric and individualistic. Especially is this so of Reimar. He is the one who developed the theory of the flying wing and subsequently of all the models and aircrafts built by the brothers. Walter, on the other hand is the engineer who tried to put into practice the several somewhat fantastic ideas of his brother.
The clash of personalities resulted in a continuous quarrel and friction between the two brothers. Reimar was always developing new ideas which would increase the speed of the aircraft or improve its maneuverability; Walter on the other hand was tearing down the fantastic ideas of his brother by practical calculations and considerations. “The two men worked together up to and including the ‘Horten VIII’ a flying wing intended to be a fighter plane powered with two Hirt engines (HM- 60-R) with a performance of approximately 650 horsepower each.
After the ‘Horten VIII’ was finished, one of the usual and frequent quarrels separated the two brothers temporarily. Walter went to work alone on the ‘Horten IX,’ which is a fighter plane of the flying wing design, with practically no changes from the model VIII except for the engines. Walter substituted the Hirt engines with BMW Jets of the type TL-004. The plane was made completely of plywood and was furnished with a Messerschmitt ME-109 landing gear. “The model of this aircraft (Horten IX) was tested extensively in the supersonic wind tunnel (Mach No. 1.0) of the aerodynamic testing institute (Aerodynamische Versuchsanstalt), located in Goettingen.
The tests were conducted in the late summer of 1944 under the personal supervision of Professor Betz, chief of the institute. Betz at that time was approximately sixty years old and next to Prandtel (then seventy-eight years old), was considered to be the best man on aerodynamics in Germany. Betz’s attitude toward the flying wing is very conservative to say the least. Basically he is against the design of any flying wing. According to the official reports about the tests, air disturbances were created on the wing tips, resulting in air vacuums, which in turn would prevent the steering mechanism from functioning properly.
This seems logical as, of course, neither the ailerons nor the rudders could properly accomplish their function in a partial vacuum created by air disturbances and whirls. “In spite of that, two Horten IX’s were built and tried out by a test pilot, Eugen (now living in Goettingen) at Rechlin in the fall of 1944. One of the two planes, piloted by another test pilot, developed trouble with one of the jet engines while the pilot was trying to ascertain the maximum rate of climb. The right jet stopped suddenly, causing the aircraft to go into an immediate spin and subsequent crash in which the pilot was killed. Eugen, however, was more fortunate in putting the other ship through all the necessary paces without the least trouble. He maintains that the maximum speed attained was around 950 km per hour, and that there were no steering difficulties whatsoever, and that the danger of both head and tail spins was no greater than any other conventional aircraft.
“After extensive tests, the Horten IX was accepted by the German Air Force as represented by Goering, who ordered immediate mass production. The first order went to Gothaer Waggon Fabrik, located in Gotha (Thuringia) in January 1945. Goering requested that ten planes be built immediately and that the entire factory was to concentrate and be converted to the production of the Horten IX. The firm in question received all the plans and designs of the ship. In spite of this explicit order, production of the Horten IX was never started. The technical manager of the firm, Berthold, immediately upon receipt of the plans, submitted a number of suggestions to improve the aircraft. It is believed that his
“Tintention was to eliminate the Horten brothers as inventors and to modify the ship to such an extent that it would be more his brain child than anybody else’s.
Numerous letters were exchanged from High Command of the German Air Force and Dr. Berthold, which finally were interrupted by the armistice in May 1945. When US troops occupied the town of Gotha, the designs of the Horten IX were kept in hiding and not handed over to American Military authorities. The original designs in possession of the Horten brothers were hidden in a salt mine in Salzdettfurt, but the model tested by Eugen was destroyed in April 1945. The original designs were recovered from Salzdettfurt by British authorities in the summer of 1945.