Colonel Turner with personnel at the base of a V-2
RG93_102_038.pdf
Information
Collection name
Rio Grande Historical Collections Photographs, 1885-1950s
Date
1946
Decade
1940s
Subject (LCSH)
V-2 rocket
Turner, Harold R.
Rockets (Aeronautics)
White Sands Proving Ground (N.M.)
Historical context
The White Sands Proving Ground (WSPG) was established in July 9, 1945 and renamed White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) in 1958. The world's first atomic bomb was detonated at Trinity Site, at the north end of WSPG, July 16, 1945. The military range served as a principal location for testing rocket technology following World War II, including V-2 rockets brought from Germany at the end of the war. WSMR is known as the birthplace of missile and space activity in the United States. The images in the collection depict WSMR views, V-2 rocket tests, Trinity Site, the old mining site of Estey City (located on the range), and personnel affiliated with operations at WSPG during the mid-1940s. The photographs were donated by the WSMR Public Affairs Office
Provenance
White Sands Missile Range, Public Affairs Office
Extent
Size original: 8.5 x 11 in.
Notes
From left to right, John Addison and Louis Padderson both of the New Mexico School of Mines, the first Proving Grounds commander Lieutenant Colonel Harold R. Turner, Dr. James Van Allen and Arthur Coyne from John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory - all stand at the base of a V-2 examining M-7 grenade rounds
In this experiment, M-7 rifle grenade rounds were fired from the side of a V-2 in hopes to create manmade meteorites
The launch took place on December 17, 1946 at 10:12 p.m., and the rocket reached an altitude of 116 miles
No grenades or meteorites we observed
Digital publisher
New Mexico State University Library
Source
NMSU Library Archives and Special Collections
Source collection name: White Sands Missile Range Photographs, 1905-1950s