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Thiel, Dr. Walter (A-4/V-2)

    Date of birth:
    March 2nd, 1910 (Breslau/Schleswig, Germany)
    Date of death:
    August 18th, 1943 (Karlshagen/Mecklenburg-Vorpommerania, Germany)
    Buried on:
    German War Cemetery Karlshagen
    Grave: UNK.
    Nationality:
    German (1933-1945, Third Reich)

    Biography

    Walter Erich Oskar Thiel provided the decisive ideas for the A4 (V-2) rocket engine and his research enabled rockets to head towards space

    00.00.1937: the first scientists moved from Schießplatz Kummersdorf to Peenemünde, his team stayed in Kummersdorf
    00.00.1940: moved to Peenemünde
    00.07.1940: deputy director of the Peenemünde HVP Organization
    03.10.1942: first successful launch occurred from test station VII for A4 project
    17.08.1943-18.08.1943: the Royal Air Force launched a bombing raid of Peenemünde, Operation Hydra - the Thiel family died in a slight trench in front of their home in Karlshagen
    00.00.1970: a moon crater is named after him
    00.00.1976: inducted in the "International Space Hall of Fame" in Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA

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    Period:
    Second World War (1939-1945)
    Unit:
    Leitender Ingenieur Heerestechnische Verschuhsanstalt Peenemunde HVP
    Awarded on:
    October 29th, 1944

    Awarded Posthumous

    Deutsches Kreuz in Silber
    Period:
    Second World War (1939-1945)
    Unit:
    Heerestechnische Versuchsanstalt Peenemünde
    Awarded on:
    October 29th, 1944

    Awarded Posthumous
    Ritterkreuz des Kriegsverdienstkreuzes mit Schwertern

    Sources

    Photo