Chicago Breakdown

Date: 3 October 1942
Place: Peenemunde Rocket Testing site, Northern Germany

It was noon and the arch of a clear cloudless sky extended over Northern Germany, standing on the roof of the measurement house overlooking the rocket test stand General Dornberger looked out over the protective parapet standing next to him was Engineer-Colonel Zanssen it was an ideal observation post.

The A4 rocket (later renamed V2) stood ready on its firing table; it was still connected by two stout cables to the measuring instruments in the shelter.

On that October noon the General had but a single thought, would the launch be successful this time, had they really discovered the reason for the failure of the last two attempts.

A great deal depended on this launching. The senior propulsion and guidance engineers stood at their indirectly lit switchboards in the shelter. In a seperate corner engineers from the firm of Siemens were busy with the precision focusing of television apparatus*.

They little knew that other eyes were watching. The silver disc was 20 meters across; it lay on the seabed 100 meters offshore of Peenemunde. Its occupants tasked with observing the launch of what would be the first man-made object to enter the realms of space.

Other eyes were also watching the developments of Atomic scientists across the world but especially here in Germany the only country developing rocket technology capable of entering space.

*(Electronic television was invented in the early 1930’s by American Philo T Farnsworth. John Logie Baird invented mechanical television in the 1920’s).

Being a man of a certain age I used to go to the Cinema on Saturday mornings with a large group of mates. In those days the programme consisted of cartoons and movie shorts mostly comedy 3 stooges that sort of thing but the highlight was a movie serial. Our favourites were the Science Fiction Serials, such as The Phantom Empire, a Futuristic City 20,000 feet beneath the Earth and Action Adventure Mystery Science. We would leave the Cinema each Saturday full of the excitement of the whole experience and it has never left me even to this day when I have the whole 12 part serial on DVD. At the age of 65 it appears foolish to watch this now but when you are ten you watch that sort of thing with the eye of youth.

Chicago Breakdown written by Steve Covelle Took
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