| Birth: | Aug. 5, 1912
Weissenfels, Germany | | Death: | Feb. 16, 2009
Huntsville
Madison County
Alabama, USA | 
Rocket Scientist. He helped Germany bomb London during World War II, then helped America put a man on the moon. Raised in Hanover from the age of two, he developed an interest in rockets after hearing a lecture, and seeing a test of a rocket-driven railroad car. He became part of a group of amateur scientists directed by Albert Pullenberg, then studied mechanical engineering at the University of Hanover, with a major in diesel fuel injection. Drafted into the German Army in 1939 (he was never a Nazi Party member), he was assigned to horse-artillery, and participated in the early part of the Battle of France. Apparently not a very good horseman, Dannenberg was discharged from the army in 1940 thru Pullenberg's influence, and assigned to Peenemunde as a propulsion specialist. Becoming Walter Riedel's deputy, he was present at the initial test of the V2 rocket on October 3, 1942; this was the first launch of a man-made object into outer space. The V2 inflicted much damage on England during the final year of the war. When the scientists at Peenemunde realized that the German cause was lost, they made a conscious decision to surrender to American troops, rather than be captured by the Soviets; thus, the Russians found the facility empty, the men, and rockets, in American hands. Dannenberg was part of "Operation Paperclip", the shipping of captured Nazi scientists to the United States. Initially, the group was at Fort Bliss, Texas, where Dannenberg used the captured V2s in propulsion research. Tranferred to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, at the start of the Korean War, he was a developer of the Redstone missile, and later worked on the Jupiter IRBM at the Army Ballistic Missile Agency in Detroit. In 1960, he moved to the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. As deputy manager of the Saturn program, he helped develop the propulsion system for the Saturn V, which carried the first men to the moon in 1969. Upon his retirement in 1973, Dannenberg received the NASA Exceptional Service Medal. Later, he was professor at the University of Tennessee; in 1990, he was awarded the Durand Lectureship, and in 1995 received the Herman Oberth Award. Throught his later years, he remained an advocate of continued American exploration of outer space. (bio by: Bob Hufford)
Search Amazon for Konrad Dannenberg | | | Burial:
Maple Hill Cemetery
Huntsville
Madison County
Alabama, USA |
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Originally Created by: Bob Hufford
Record added: Mar 01, 2009
Find A Grave Memorial# 34328921 |
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