ScienceDirect - Technol Rep Tohoku Univ ... - Garryck Osborne

NICK COOK 167
given Kammler's ruthless nature; besides which, von Braun had made
provisions of his own.
Before leaving Nordhausen, he had had his men stash ten tons of
blueprints relating to the A-4 and its successor, the intercontinental
A-9/A-10 rocket, in a deserted iron-ore mine several kilometers from the
complex. Had Kammler any inkling of this, von Braun had no doubt as
to the fate that awaited them all.
But with the A-4 team settled in Bavaria, the general didn't appear
overly concerned about the scientists anymore. He had other matters to
attend to, he told von Braun, matters relating to his duties as Hitler's
special plenipotentiary for jet aircraft production. He would shortly be
leaving Oberammergau for an indeterminate period. SS Major Kummer
would assume command in his absence. Kammler got to his feet. The
meeting was over.
They said their good-byes and von Braun left.
It was the last time anyone of any standing could corroborate seeing
Kammler.
Yet there are traces of his movements in the days, even weeks, that
followed; and some of his subsequent actions are decipherable—to a
point.
Kammler told von Braun that he had to leave Oberammergau to
oversee production of the Me 262 jet fighter according to Hitler's wishes.
Yet, five days later, on April 16, the general appointed Degenkolb to the
job, thereby delegating his responsibility; to someone eminently capable,
as it turned out. Kammler communicated this decision from his office in
Munich, dispatching it to Speer, Goering, Himmler, Hitler's Luftwaffe
liaison officer Colonel Nikolaus von Below and SS General Hermann
Fegelein, Himmler's liaison officer in the Führerbunker. Describing this
communiqué years later as a bafflingly "unimportant message," even
Speer signals his bewilderment at Kammler's determination to spread
the word to all and sundry about Degenkolb's appointment.
It seemed obvious with the benefit of hindsight that Kammler wanted
as many people as possible to see that he was on top of his assignment—
that he was in Munich doing what he had been told to do.
With Degenkolb in charge of Me 262 production, a job that required
constant supervision, it left him free to pursue other matters.
When Kammler told Speer that he would offer the Americans "jet
planes and the A-4 rocket," he must have known that their currency was
devalued by the sheer numbers of people associated with them. The
Me 262, Arado Ar 234 and the Heinkel He 162 jets were in widespread