Andrew Yee
July 13th 05, 02:40 AM
Air Force News Service
6/21/2005
Architect of Air Force space and missile programs dies
SAN ANTONIO -- Retired Gen. Bernard Adolph Schriever, widely regarded as
the father and architect of the Air Force space and ballistic missile
programs, died of natural causes at home in Washington on June 20.
Under General Schriever's leadership, the Air Force developed programs
such as the Thor, Atlas, Titan and Minuteman missiles, and all aerospace
systems that have been launched into orbit, including those supporting
NASA in its Mercury man-in-space program.
General Schriever was born in 1910 in Bremen, Germany, and immigrated to
the United States in 1917 with his parents. He began his military career
in the Army field artillery, but later earned his wings and a commission
in the Army Air Corps in 1933 at Kelly Field, Texas.
During World War II, then-Major Schriever served in the Pacific with the
19th Bomb Group, taking part in the Bismarck Archipelago, Leyte, Luzon,
Papua, North Solomon, South Philippine and Ryukyu campaigns. By the end of
the war he was commanding officer of advanced headquarters for Far East
Air Service Command which supported theater operations from bases in
Hollandia, New Guinea, the Philippines and Okinawa.
After the war, General Schriever was assigned to the Pentagon where he
later recounted the interest by military and civilian leaders concerning
the feasibility of reconnaissance satellites, especially as the nuclear
age began.
"Pearl Harbor had really given us a shock, especially because of the
amount of damage inflicted by that surprise attack," General Schriever
said during a 1998 interview. "President Eisenhower wanted us to determine
how we could best get strategic intelligence to avoid a nuclear Pearl
Harbor. That was the deciding issue in putting the Air Force into the
space business."
Space took center stage Oct. 4, 1957, when the former Soviet Union
launched the Sputnik satellite. The Air Force responded by sending
Discovery One into orbit Feb. 28, 1959.
The race to space included many successes and failures for both the ICBM
and satellite programs. But General Schriever said he and his group
accepted that they were taking risks because they knew if they did not
develop an ICBM long-range capability and satellite reconnaissance system,
there would be a major instability in the strategic balance between the
U.S. and Soviet Union.
"We never lost confidence, even when we had failures, which we had plenty
of in the early days," General Schriever said. "Not a single program
missed its target date of reaching operational capability. Of course there
were concerns, but we met them every time."
In 1959, General Schriever assumed command of Air Research and Development
Command, which later became Air Force Systems Command on April 1, 1961,
under a reorganization initiated by him. He was promoted to full general
in 1961 and retired in 1966.
6/21/2005
Architect of Air Force space and missile programs dies
SAN ANTONIO -- Retired Gen. Bernard Adolph Schriever, widely regarded as
the father and architect of the Air Force space and ballistic missile
programs, died of natural causes at home in Washington on June 20.
Under General Schriever's leadership, the Air Force developed programs
such as the Thor, Atlas, Titan and Minuteman missiles, and all aerospace
systems that have been launched into orbit, including those supporting
NASA in its Mercury man-in-space program.
General Schriever was born in 1910 in Bremen, Germany, and immigrated to
the United States in 1917 with his parents. He began his military career
in the Army field artillery, but later earned his wings and a commission
in the Army Air Corps in 1933 at Kelly Field, Texas.
During World War II, then-Major Schriever served in the Pacific with the
19th Bomb Group, taking part in the Bismarck Archipelago, Leyte, Luzon,
Papua, North Solomon, South Philippine and Ryukyu campaigns. By the end of
the war he was commanding officer of advanced headquarters for Far East
Air Service Command which supported theater operations from bases in
Hollandia, New Guinea, the Philippines and Okinawa.
After the war, General Schriever was assigned to the Pentagon where he
later recounted the interest by military and civilian leaders concerning
the feasibility of reconnaissance satellites, especially as the nuclear
age began.
"Pearl Harbor had really given us a shock, especially because of the
amount of damage inflicted by that surprise attack," General Schriever
said during a 1998 interview. "President Eisenhower wanted us to determine
how we could best get strategic intelligence to avoid a nuclear Pearl
Harbor. That was the deciding issue in putting the Air Force into the
space business."
Space took center stage Oct. 4, 1957, when the former Soviet Union
launched the Sputnik satellite. The Air Force responded by sending
Discovery One into orbit Feb. 28, 1959.
The race to space included many successes and failures for both the ICBM
and satellite programs. But General Schriever said he and his group
accepted that they were taking risks because they knew if they did not
develop an ICBM long-range capability and satellite reconnaissance system,
there would be a major instability in the strategic balance between the
U.S. and Soviet Union.
"We never lost confidence, even when we had failures, which we had plenty
of in the early days," General Schriever said. "Not a single program
missed its target date of reaching operational capability. Of course there
were concerns, but we met them every time."
In 1959, General Schriever assumed command of Air Research and Development
Command, which later became Air Force Systems Command on April 1, 1961,
under a reorganization initiated by him. He was promoted to full general
in 1961 and retired in 1966.