Bidspirit auction | WW2 Von Braun Rocket Scientist

WW2 Von Braun Rocket Scientist Oscar Holderer signed page Op Paperclip. Approx 5 x 3 inch piece hand signed. During World War II, Holderer worked for the German military as a low-level engineer under Wernher von Braun. When the war ended, the United States selected 100 of von Braun's men to help improve the United States' rocket technology as part of Operation Paperclip. Shortly thereafter, another 20 were selected.[4] Holderer was part of the second 20, arriving in 1945 as part of the second group. After a few years in White Sands, New Mexico, the Paperclip team moved to Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, in 1950. Holderer's area of expertise was aerodynamics. According to Space Historian and former NASA publicist Ed Buckbee, Holderer personally brought America's first rocket wind tunnel from Germany and set it up for early testing. At Redstone Arsenal, he worked as a mechanical engineer, designer, and fabricator. He designed the wind tunnel used for Saturn V testing and oversaw the tunnel's construction at the Marshall Space Flight Center. The Saturn V later powered Apollo 11 on its successful Moon landing. Describing the project many years later, Holderer said the historical significance of the project was not felt at the time, but that he ”was amazed when [he] heard what they had in mind. ”The same wind tunnel is still used by NASA for testing as of 2015. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99