Alfred Maul (1864, - 1941) was a German engineer who could be thought of as the father of aerial reconnaissance. Maul, who owned a machine works, experimented from 1900 with small solid-propellant sounding rockets.[1]
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Background
Although people had long been experimenting with rockets, hardly anyone had used them in a practical application. It was Alfred Maul, an industrialist and engineer from the Kingdom of Saxony, that thought of, and implemented, the idea of taking photographs of the land with a rocket-attached camera. He was inspired by Ludwig Rahrmann, who in 1891 patented a means of attaching a camera to a large calibre artillery projectile or rocket.[1] Previously, aerial photographs had been taken from balloons and kites, and in 1896 or 1897 by Alfred Nobel's rocket, from a small rocket at 100 metres altitude.[2][3][4] In 1903 the Bavarian pigeon fleet was used to take aerial photos but found to be too unreliable.[5]
Camera rocket development
In 1903 Alfred Maul patented his Maul Camera Rocket.[6]
The camera would be launched into the air with a black powder rocket. When the rocket had reached an altitude of about 600 to 800 metres a few seconds later, its top would spring open and the camera would descend on a parachute. A timer would trigger the taking of the photograph.[1]
In 1904 Maul managed to image the local landscape from 600 metre altitude.[3]
From the beginning a military use for this technique was in mind. So, on 22 August 1906 a secret demonstration occurred before military observers at the Glauschnitz firing range.
Maul developed his camera rocket further for the purpose of military reconnaissance. He began attaching gyroscopic-stabilised roll film cameras in 1907.[1][6]
In 1912 his rocket cameras were using a 20 by 25 centimetre photographic plate and gyroscopic steering to ensure stable flight and sharper images.[7] The rocket massed 41 kilograms.[1][6]
Aeroplanes take over
Maul's rockets achieved no military significance because conventional aeroplanes during World War I succeeded in the role of aerial reconnaissance.[6] The Deutsches Museum in Munich displays a Maul-built rocket.[1]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Editors of German Wikipedia
- ^ "Cameras in Model Rockets: A Short History". 2007-01-08. http://rocketry.wordpress.com/2007/01/08/cameras-in-model-rockets-a-short-history/. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
- ^ a b Nicholas M. Short, Sr.. "History of Remote Sensing: In the Beginning; Launch Vehicles". http://www.fas.org/irp/imint/docs/rst/Intro/Part2_7.html. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
- ^ Nicholas M. Short, Sr.. "Remote Sensing Tutorial Overview". http://www.fas.org/irp/imint/docs/rst/Front/overview.html. Retrieved 2009-03-13. (photographs by Alfred Nobel and the Bavarian pigeon fleet)
- ^ "The History of Aerial Photography". http://northstargallery.com/aerialphotography/History%20Aerial%20Photography/history.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
- ^ a b c d Mark Wade. "Maul Camera Rocket". http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/mauocket.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-13. (summary and photo)
- ^ David Darling. "Maul, Alfred (1864-1941)". http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/M/Maul.html. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
References
- Editors of German Wikipedia. [1] Retrieved 2009-03-13
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