Woodsy
Managed to scan a couple of the images from that space ship book mentioned on the blog [in December]. The picture of the space ship taking off on a rocket-powered sled is interesting I think. Was this a common idea in the fifties and is this the origin of the way Firball XL5 was launched?
Andy B.
I love this book just for the pictures. Never actually read it ... must do that someday ... but have gazed at the pictures many a time.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious about the rocket-sled take-off too. Did that happen at the end of WWII and only begin to be revealed in the 1950s, perhaps?
ReplyDeleteIIRC the V1 buzz bomb sat on a tiny sled while taking off (on what is usually described as a ski ramp rail). And the Me 163 rocket-powered fighter took off from the ground on a pair of wheels that would be jettisoned as soon as it became airborne.
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Paul
(nods) I thought I'd seen that in a documentary about the V1.
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