MILITARYSPRING2022US

ALSO AVAILABLE 2022 NEW RELEASES 13 Turbulent Journey The Jumo Engine, Operation Paperclip, and the American Dream Reiner Decher Siegfried Decher’s wartime experience provides insight into the German jet program and the Nazi military-industrial complex Decher was one of the German nationals selected for extraction during Operation Paperclip, a controversial American military program intended to secure potential assets for the looming Cold War This biography was constructed by the subject’s son, Reiner. Not only does Reiner have access to unpublished material from the family archive, he was actually present for many of the events discussed in the narrative. Germany built the first operational jet aircraft during World War II, the Messerschmitt Me 262. Siegfried Decher was part of the engineering team that designed the engines that powered the 262. At the end of the war, Decher was nearly stranded in the Soviet Occupation Zone, but the US military made contact and offered a way out. As the principal responsible for a control system in the Jumo engine, Decher was of value to the Allies. Plans to evacuate during Operation Paperclip fell through. After a detour in France, Decher reached American shores several years later, where he enjoyed a successful career in the civil aviation industry. This untold story of early jet development, surviving the collapse of the Reich, and starting over in America is recounted by Siegfried’s son, Reiner. Reiner, an accomplished engineer in his own right, constructs the story through a combination of his own memories along with original letters and documents from his family archive. Reiner Decher is an MIT graduate and retired aeronautical engineering professor (University of Washington). He authored two engineering textbooks and a history of aviation engines and their impact on the design of airliners. He also edited the memoir of a US Army intelligence officer in WW II. He lives in Washington and volunteers as a docent at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. Author Location: Seattle, Washington ISBN: 978-0-7643-6355-9 Size: 6" x 9" (152 x 228 mm) Pages: 192 Price: $29.99 Illustrations: 65 b/w photos Binding: hardcover BISAC: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Aviation & Nautical AVAILABLE JUNE SEE PAGES 59 & 51 FOR RELATED TITLES THE SOVIET SPACE PROGRAM 978-0-7643-5539-4 128 pp. | 6" x 9" (152 x 228 mm) | HC | $19.99 THE HORTEN BROTHERS AND THEIR ALL-WING AIRCRAFT 978-0-7643-0441-5 320 pp. | 9" x 12" (228 x 305 mm) | HC | $59.95