TOWARD NEW HORIZONS
A Report to General of the Army H. H. Arnold by the ARMY AIR FORCES Scientific Advisory Group

Listing Dr. Theodore von Kármán’s many accomplishments and awards is well beyond the scope of this brief note, but abundant resources are readily available online and elsewhere.

The noted European aerodynamicist emigrated to the United States and became director of the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology (GALCIT) in 1930.  In 1944 Von Kármán was appointed the first chairman of the United States Army Air Forces Scientific Advisory Group (SAG). It was this group which, assembled and directed by Dr. von Kármán, produced the report here reproduced.

During WWII, U.S. Army Air Forces Commanding General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, among others, saw that the future security of the United States - military supremacy - would depend upon scientific research and development.  in 1944 Gen. Arnold directed Dr. von Kármán to:

"investigate all the possibilities and desirabilities for postwar and future war's development as respect the AAF.  Upon completion or your studies. please then give me a report or guide for recommended future AAF research and development programs."  *

The resulting multi-volume report, collectively titled: "Toward New Horizons," was hugely influential, even having been credited with leading to America's postwar airpower dominance.  The report is widely cited, but references are largely to the introductory/summary volume, "Science, the Key to Air Supremacy," but are sometimes miscredited to "Toward New Horizons." 

Dr. Hsue-Shen Tsien Principal Author-Editor of the entire report series, later after returning to The People's Republic of China, was the founder of China's ballistic missile programs and became known as the "Father of Chinese Rocketry".

Despite the great historical significance of this report, it is difficult to locate a library with a complete set of the volumes.  The materials available here were painstakingly assembled through Interlibrary loan from a number of different libraries across the country.  Even though the originals vary in quality, we have tried to keep reproduction quality as high as possible.

* 7 November 1944 Memorandum For Dr. von Karman from General H.H. Arnold

 


Volume I - SCIENCE, THE KEY TO AIR SUPREMACY - Theodore von Kármán - [PDF 2.9 MB]

Volume II - WHERE WE STAND - Theodore von Kármán - [PDF 4 MB]

Volume III - TECHNICAL INTELLIGENCE SUPPLEMENT - [PDF 8.9 MB]

   Part I - RECENT DEVELOPMENTS OF SEVERAL SELECTED FIELDS OF AERONAUTICS IN GERMANY AND SWITZERLAND - Hsue-Shen Tsien
   Part II - HISTORICAL NOTES ON GERMAN GUIDED MISSILE DEVELOPMENT- Hugh L. Dryden
   Part III - REPORTS ON SELECTED TOPICS OF GERMAN AND SWISS AERONAUTICAL DEVELOPMENTS - Frank L. Wattendorf
   Part IV - JAPAN'S AERONAUTIC RESEARCH PROGRAM AND ACHIEVEMENTS - Frank W. Williams, Lt. Colonel, A. C.
   Part V - REMARKS ON THE JAPANESE WAR TECHNICAL EFFORT - DR. F. Zwicky
   Part VI - A BRIEF SURVEY OF GERMAN ELECTRONIC DEVELOPMENTS - W. H. Pickering

Volume IV - AERODYNAMICS AND AIRCRAFT DESIGN - [PDF 8.5 MB]

    Part I - HIGH SPEED AERODYNAMICS - Hsue-Shen Tsien
    Part II - THE AIRPLANE - PROSPECTS AND PROBLEMS - William R. Sears and Irving L. Ashkenas
    Part III - AIRCRAFT MATERiALS AND STRUCTURES - N. M. Newmark, Consultant

Volume V - FUTURE AIRBORNE ARMIES - N. M. Newmark, Consultant - T. F. Walkowicz Major, Air Corps - [PDF 4.3 MB]

   SUMMARY
   INTRODUCTION
   AIRBORNE OPERATIONS
   COMPOSITION, LIMITATIONS, AND GROWTH OF AIRBORNE UNITS
   DEVELOPMENT OF AIRCRAFT FOR TROOP CARRIER OPERATIONS
   COORDINATION OF AIRCRAFT CARRYING CAPABILITIES WITH EQUIPMENT TO BE CARRIED
   CONCLUSIONS
   RECOMMENDATIONS

Volume VI - AIRCRAFT POWER PLANTS - [PDF 8.9 MB]

   Part I - GAS TURBINE PROPULSION - Frank L. Wattendorf
   Part II - EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL PERFORMANCE OF AERO PULSE ENGINES - Hsue-Shen Tsien
   Part III - PERFORMANCE OF RAMJETS AND THEIR DESIGN PROBLEMS - Hsue-Shen Tsien
   Part IV - FUTURE TRENDS IN THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF SOLID AND LIQUID FUEL ROCKETS - Hsue-Shen Tsien
   Part V - HIGH TEMPERATURE MATERIALS FOR AIRCRAFT PROPULSION - Pol Duwez

Volume VII - AIRCRAFT FUELS AND PROPELLANTS - [PDF 7 MB]

   Part I - RESEARCH ON HYDROCARBON FUELS FOR AIRCRAFT PROPULSION - W. J. Sweeney
   Part II - PETROLEUM: ITS USE FOR MOTIVE POWER - w. J. Sweeney
   Part III - SOLID PROPELLANTS FOR ROCKETS AND OTHER JET.PROPELLED DEVICES - Louis P. Hammett
   Part IV - LIQUID PROPELLANTS FOR ROCKET·TYPE MOTORS - A. J. Stosick
   Part V - POSSIBILITIES OF ATOMIC FUELS FOR AIRCRAFT PROPULSION POWER PLANTS - Hsue-Shen Tsien

Volume VIII - GUIDED MISSILES AND PILOTLESS AIRCRAFT - [PDF 4.4 MB]

Part I – PRESENT STATE OF THE GUIDED MISSILE ART - H. L. Dryden
Part II – AUTOMATIC CONTROL OF FLIGHT - W. H. Pickering
Part III – THE LAUNCHING OF A WINGED MISSILE FOR SUPERSONIC FLIGHT - H. S. Tsien
Part IV – PROERTIES OF LONG RANGE ROCKET TRAJECTORIES IN VACUO - G. B. Schubauer

Volume IX - GUIDANCE AND HOMING OF MISSILES AND PILOTLESS AIRCRAFT - [PDF 8.6 MB]

   Part I - Selected Guided Missiles Now Developed or Under Development - Hugh L. Dryden
   Part II - Heat and Television Guided Missiles - G. A. Morton
   Part III - Radar Aids for the Guidance of Missiles - I. A. Getting
   Part IV - Radar Homing Missiles - Hugh L. Dryden

Volume X - EXPLOSIVES AND TERMINAL BALLISTICS - [PDF 2.5 MB]

   Part I -  GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ON EXPLOSIVES AND EXPLOSIONS - G. Gamow (issued as separate volume - originally TOP SECRET) - [PDF 3.7 MB]
   Part II - PROPERTIES OF HIGH EXPLOSIVES - D. P. MacDougall
   Part III - TERMINAL BALLISTICS AND DESTRUCTIVE EFFECTS - N. M. Newmark

Volume XI - RADAR AND COMMUNICATIONS - [PDF 13 MB]

   Part I - THE USE OF RADAR IN AIR FORCE OPERATIONS - L. A. DuBridge, E. M. Purcell, G. E. Valley
   Part II - RADAR, A Discussion of Future Trends of Interest to the Army Air Forces - L. A. DuBridge, G. E. Valley, E. M. Purcell
   Part III - AIRCRAFT RADIO COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT - G. A. Morton

Volume XII - WAR AND WEATHER - I. P. Krick  [PDF 2.2 MB]

Summary and Conclusions
Recommendations
Part I - Historical- Development of Military Weather Services
Part II - Comparison of GAF and AAF Weather Services in World War II
Part III - Future Trends in Military Weather Services

Volume XIII - AVIATION MEDICINE AND PSYCHOLOGY [PDF 24 MB]

Part I - Future Trends of Research in Aviation Medicine - (Col) Dr. W. R. Lovelace, A. P. Gagge, Colonel, A.C.
Part II - Psychological Research in the Army Air Forces - C. W. Bray

 

  

The US Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA) has generously made their copies of this historically significant report available:

 


Aviation Medicine and Psychology - Volume 1
 Guidance and Homing of Missiles and Pilotless Aircraft – Volume 2
 Aerodynamics and Aircraft Design - Volume 3
 Aircraft Fuels and Propellants - Volume 4
 Aircraft Fuels and Propellants - Volume 5
 Radar and Communications - Volume 6 Part 1
 Radar and Communications - Volume 6 Part 2
 Explosives and Terminal Ballistics - Volume 7
 Guided Missiles and Pilotless Aircraft - Volume 8
 Where We Stand - Volume 9
 War and Weather - Volume 10
 Technical Intelligence Supplement - Volume 11
 German Guided Missile Development - Volume 12
 Solid Propellants for Rockets and Other Jet Propelled Devices - Volume 13
 Toward New Horizons - Volume 14

  

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