What an interesting story. Thanks, Jim.
Chris
> On 1 Feb 2017, at 14:52, Jim Nichols <jhnichols@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Thanks for looking. AEDC was the brainchild of Gen. Hap Arnold as WWII ended
> and the allies got a good look at the advances that the Germans had made in
> aircraft, engines and rockets. Vast quantities of machinery from the German
> test facilities were packed up and shipped to the US and new facilities were
> designed from the ground up. German scientists were hurried out of the reach
> of the Russians and moved westward. Many made their way through England,
> others were provided passage directly, but all were part of Operation
> Paperclip which got them into the US.
>
> I first encountered these scientists when I was assigned to the Wind Tunnel
> Branch at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio, in 1951. They were living, with
> their families, in an enclave near the field, and were assigned to various
> labs where their talents best fitted the needs of the research being
> conducted.
>
> I was assigned to the 20-ft Massie Memorial Wind Tunnel, a subsonic facility
> that was the largest such facility that the Air Force owned. There was also
> a 10-ft transonic tunnel, and a vertical spin tunnel. The management
> structure of this facility was military, but the technical expertise was
> provided by Civil Service professionals and selected German scientists. Dr.
> Bernard Goethert was the senior advisor to the Colonel in charge, and Dr.
> Hans Doetsch was my supervisor.
>
> The Air Force selected the former Camp Forrest area at Tullahoma, TN as the
> site on which to build a new group of facilities, using the captured engine
> test facilities as a starting point, and with the foresight of Dr. Theodore
> von Karman, new subsonic, transonic, supersonic, and hypersonic facilities.
> Rocket test cells and a large space chamber were also built.
>
> About the time my USAF tour ended, in 1953, Dr. Goerthert moved to AEDC to
> take charge of the new transonic and supersonic facilities. He interviewed
> me and hired me, and that's how my history at AEDC began.
>
> Jim Nichols
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