Friedrich Sander
Encyclopedia
Friedrich Wilhelm Sander (August 25, 1885, Kłodzko – September 15, 1938) was a German
pyrotechnics
engineer and manufacturer remembered for his contributions to rocket-powered flight.
In 1923, Sander purchased the H. G. Cordes company in Bremerhaven
, which had been manufacturing black powder charges to power whaling
harpoon
s since the mid nineteenth century. Sander soon expanded the factory's products to include signal rockets. In 1928, he was approached by Max Valier
, on behalf of Fritz von Opel
to provide rockets to propel car
s and aircraft
as a means of promoting the Opel
company. Their joint projects involved the creation of the world's first rocket car, the Opel RAK.1 and the first rocket plane, the Ente.
From 1930, Sander (with other pyrotechnics factories) began secretly manufacturing rockets for military purposes, at the direction of Walter Dornberger
. In 1936 he signed a contract for the sale of some of these weapons to Italy
but was denounced as a traitor by the Nazis
and imprisoned. During this time, the company was bankrupted, but upon his release later the same year, Sander founded a new company, Comet GmbH with the assistance of some of his previous suppliers. In 1938, the firm was nationalised and Sander, again imprisoned, was forced to sell his interests in it to the Nazi Party. He died while in custody.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics is the science of using materials capable of undergoing self-contained and self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions for the production of heat, light, gas, smoke and/or sound...
engineer and manufacturer remembered for his contributions to rocket-powered flight.
In 1923, Sander purchased the H. G. Cordes company in Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
, which had been manufacturing black powder charges to power whaling
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
harpoon
Harpoon
A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument used in fishing to catch fish or large marine mammals such as whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal, allowing the fishermen to use a rope or chain attached to the butt of the projectile to catch the animal...
s since the mid nineteenth century. Sander soon expanded the factory's products to include signal rockets. In 1928, he was approached by Max Valier
Max Valier
Max Valier was an Austrian rocketry pioneer. He helped found the German Verein für Raumschiffahrt that would bring together many of the minds that would later make spaceflight a reality in the 20th century.-Biography:Valier was born in Bozen , South Tyrol and in 1913 enrolled to study Physics at...
, on behalf of Fritz von Opel
Fritz von Opel
Fritz Adam Hermann Opel, since 1918 von Opel , was the only child of Wilhelm von Opel, and a grandson of Adam Opel, founder of the Opel Company...
to provide rockets to propel car
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s and aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
as a means of promoting the Opel
Opel
Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...
company. Their joint projects involved the creation of the world's first rocket car, the Opel RAK.1 and the first rocket plane, the Ente.
From 1930, Sander (with other pyrotechnics factories) began secretly manufacturing rockets for military purposes, at the direction of Walter Dornberger
Walter Dornberger
Major-General Dr Walter Robert Dornberger was a German Army artillery officer whose career spanned World Wars I and II. He was a leader of Germany's V-2 rocket program and other projects at the Peenemünde Army Research Center....
. In 1936 he signed a contract for the sale of some of these weapons to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
but was denounced as a traitor by the Nazis
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
and imprisoned. During this time, the company was bankrupted, but upon his release later the same year, Sander founded a new company, Comet GmbH with the assistance of some of his previous suppliers. In 1938, the firm was nationalised and Sander, again imprisoned, was forced to sell his interests in it to the Nazi Party. He died while in custody.
Further reading
- Projekt RAK – Das Raketenzeitalter begann in Rüsselsheim, a documentation from Klaus F. Filthaut, München 1999, 244 S.