Rocket Development with Liquid Propellants: From the Early Days with Max Valier to the A4 (V2) Long-range Rocket

A volume tracing the evolution of European rocket engine development between 1930 and 1942. Includes the Valier-Heylandt rocket car, the A2, and the A4. Lots of interesting pictures, diagrams, schematics, layouts, and testing facilities. Many historical pictures and diagrams not seen elsewhere. In 1939 the author of this book became Chief Designer at Germany’s Peenemünde V-2 rocket development center. Prior to that, in 1929, he was employed by the Heylandt Company in Berlin, specializing in liquid oxygen processing. While there, Riedel helped early German rocket designer Max Valier develop a series of CO2 and liquid oxygen-alcohol rocket engines and rocket-driven cars to promote Heylandt products. This book is Riedel’s personal remembrances of that time period and the development of the technologies that led to the modern rocket age. Translated from the original German by Dr. J.C. Kelly, this monograph is a first-person connection to the past that provides insight into Riedel’s personality, mindset, and approach to problem solving.