German Contributions to Soviet Rocketry: New Light on a Disputed Topic

Article

“German Contributions to Soviet Rocketry: New Light on a Disputed Topic” by Alfred Schmidt
Published in Quest Volume: 31 #4 (2024)

Abstract

This research provides an exhaustive analysis of contributions by the German collective on Gorodomlya Island to Soviet rocketry in the years following World War II. Beyond widely known sources, this article examines in particular CIA interrogations of German specialists repatriated from the USSR and original German publications, which have been out of print for a long time or ignored due to language barriers, including memoirs by contemporary witnesses. These documents help shed new light on a part of space history where original sources are unreliable or missing due to the secrecy and political taboos in the late Stalin era. It aims to enhance our understanding of how and to what extent German concepts fostered Soviet rocketry during its learning phase up into the early 1950s, before it was enabled to develop the first medium-range R-5 missile and the then innovative R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile used to launch the Sputnik satellites.

Citation

Schmidt, Alfred. “German Contributions to Soviet Rocketry: New Light on a Disputed Topic.” Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly 31, no. 4 (2024): 11-28.