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Leon Stanislaw Jablecki

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Leon Stanislaw Jablecki (June 26, 1916[1] – 17 March 1990[2]) was an American rocket scientist.

Early life

He was born June 26, 1916 in Central Falls, Rhode Island as the last son of a Polish immigrant. His parents died while he was very young so he was raised by his older brother Kasmir. Leon Jablecki graduated from Central Falls High School in 1934 then graduated from University of Rhode Island in 1938 with a degree in civil engineering.[3] He worked with various state public works departments as a highway bridge designer. In 1939 he joined the US Army as an officer to become an aircraft pilot. He did not complete the flight training program and elected to leave the service. He then attended Stanford University[4] earning master's degrees in mathematics and aeronautical engineering.

World War II

During World War II, he returned to the Army as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer. He was assigned to the Pacific Theater with the 22nd Bomb Group.[5][6] His unit, initially based at Muroc, California, deployed in 1942 to Ipswich, Australia. From there they self-deployed their B-26 Marauders to Dobodura, New Guinea,[7] where they remained until the Japanese surrender. Jablecki entered service with the Army as a second lieutenant and after just four years rose to the rank of major.

Post War

After the war, Jablecki was assigned to duty at Wright Field[8] in Dayton, Ohio. His initial assignment was Director of the Airborne Laboratory for the U. S. Air Material Command's “Around the World” Tropical Mission. He and the team conducted numerous experiments and tests on various military equipment under harsh environmental and deployment conditions. Upon his return to Wright Field, he was assigned as a member of the Project Blue Book. In 1947 the United States Air Force was established. He was given the opportunity to become an Air Force Officer or remain with the Army. He chose to change military service to the Air Force. In 1949 he was selected to attend the University of Zurich[9][10] for a Doctorate Degree in Aerospace Engineering.

Leon.Tropical.Science

In the Air Force

In the late 1940s, the United States was extremely interested in cultivating a strong cast of rocket scientist. The U.S. Air Force selected Jablecki to attain a doctorate degree in aerospace engineering. At the time, the University of Zurich (ETH Zurich) was the premier institution of higher learning in the field. Perhaps because Albert Einstein received his PhD there and, for a time, Wernher Von Braun[11] Ley, Willy. Rockets, Missiles, and Men in Space. New York: Viking, 1968.</ref> Williams, Beryl and Samuel Epstein. The Rocket Pioneers on the Road to Space. New York: Julian Messner, 1958.</ref> attended the Institute. Jablecki received his PhD in aerospace engineering in 1954 and traveled back to the Maryland. Dr. Jablecki had been assigned to lecture at Annapolis [12] on the potential of Submarine-launched ballistic missiles. After a short assignment at Annapolis, he was reassigned to the Redstone Arsenal [13][14] in Alabama where he worked with the Von Braun team on the development of the Saturn V.[15][16][17] As the project developed, Dr. Jablecki was again reassigned, because of his expertise in dynamic air flow, to the Arnold Engineering Development Complex[18][19][20] in Tennessee. There, he conducted crucial testing on the Saturn V design using the vast wind tunnel systems at Arnold. It was through this research, and subsequent design modification, that the Saturn V became such an extraordinary rocket. From 1962 to the 1980s the Saturn V (C-5) was not only the primary NASA platform, it was the sole booster platform used by NASA.

USAF ballistic systems

From Arnold Center, now Colonel Jablecki was reassigned to Norton Air Force Base in California. There he headed the U.S. Air Forces’ Ballistic Missile Office,[21][22] later renamed the Ballistic Systems Division. Colonel Jablecki replaced Brigadier General Bernard A. Schriever[23][24][25] as the Director. Projects developed during his tenure include Atlas, Titan, and Minuteman I missiles. His final project at the Ballistic Missile Office was the initiation of the multiple reentry vehicle (MRV) concept.

He retired from the Air Force after twenty-eight years of service then entered Civil Service with the U.S. Army at the Army Aviation Center.[26][27] He was assigned to the Combat Developments Division and headed the research project for Rotor-craft vulnerability under combat conditions. Dr. Jablecki and his team identified the five (5) key combat vulnerabilities associated with the helicopter under combat conditions using data accumulated during the Vietnam War.

Family

His brother Zygmond Jablecki[28][29][30] was an animator with Hanna-Barbera Productions.

References

  1. ^ Mitteilungen aus dem Institut fur Flugzeugstatik und Flugzeugbau an der E.T.H., pg. 102
  2. ^ My Heritage: Leon S. Jablecki in the U.S. Social Security Death Index (SSDI)
  3. ^ ASCE, The civil engineer: his origins. American Society of Civil Engineers. Committee on the History and Heritage of American Civil Engineering, New York, 1970.
  4. ^ SUP, Stanford University : a description, Stanford University bulletin, 7th series, no. 91, July 31, 1944.
  5. ^ Evans, Don L., Revenge of the Red Raiders : the illustrated history of the 22nd Bombardment Group during World War II, Boulder, Colo. : International Research and Pub. Corp., 2006.
  6. ^ Gaylor, Walter, The 22nd Bombardment Group in World War II, Huntsville, Ala. : 22nd Bombardment Group Association, 1986.
  7. ^ Dorr, Robert F., B-24 Liberator Units of the Pacific War., Osprey Publishing, 1999.
  8. ^ Walker, Lois F. & Wickam, Shelby Z., From Huffman Prairie to the Moon: A History of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Office of History, 2750th Air Base Wing, 1986.
  9. ^ Bliggenstorfer, Susanna, The University of Zurich, Zurich : University of Zurich, 2001.
  10. ^ ETH History, ETH: 1911-1968: The Flagship of National Science., 2005 ETH Zurich, March 31, 2005.
  11. ^ "Making Missiles, He Dreams of Free Space," The New Scientist, Vol. 2, No. 41, Aug. 29, 1957.
  12. ^ Sweetman, Jack, U.S. Naval Academy : an illustrated history, Naval Institute Press, 1995.
  13. ^ Baker, Michael E., "Redstone Arsenal: Yesterday and Today", U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993..
  14. ^ Bullard, John W., "History of the Redstone Missile System," Historical Monograph Project No. AMC23M, Historical Division, Army Missile Command, 1965.
  15. ^ Lawrie, Alan, et al., Saturn V rocket, Charleston, South Carolina : Arcadia Publishing, 2016.
  16. ^ Bylinsky, G. "Dr. von Braun's All-Purpose Space Machine," Fortune, Vol. 75, No. 5, May 1967.
  17. ^ Means, Paul. "von Braun Team from V-2 to Saturn, Group Taking on a New Role," Missiles and Rockets, Vol. 6, No. 13, Mar 14, 1960.
  18. ^ Aerospace, Excelled: The USA's Arnold Engineering Development Center, Defense Industry Daily, Jun 11, 2014.
  19. ^ Pike, John, Arnold AFB, Tennessee, Arnold Engineering Development Center Global Security, May 7, 2011.
  20. ^ Beyond the Speed of Sound, Arnold Engineering Development Center's contributions to America's Air and Space Superiority, AEDC, 2011.
  21. ^ Morrow, Charles T., et al., Ballistic missile and aerospace technology; proceedings of the sixth Symposium on Ballistic Missile and Aerospace Technology, held in Los Angeles, California, in August 1961, New York, Academic Press, 1961.
  22. ^ GPO, Transactions : of the ninth Symposium on Ballistic Missile and Space Technology held at the United States Naval Training Center, San Diego, California, The Corporation, Alexandria, Va. : Defense Documentation Center, 1964.
  23. ^ IRE, Lt. General Bernard A. Schriever, a Biography, in Transactions on Military Electronics, 1959.
  24. ^ Neufeld, Jacob, Bernard A. Schriever : challenging the unknown, Washington, D.C. : Office of Air Force History, 2005.
  25. ^ Boyne, Walter J., The Man Who Built the Missiles, Walter J. Boyne's World Aviation History, 2009.
  26. ^ GPO, Southeast Alabama, home of Army aviation, National Military Publications, 1983.
  27. ^ GPO, Aircrew performance in Army aviation : proceedings of a conference that convened November 27–29, 1973 at the U.S. Army Aviation Center, Fort Rucker, Alabama, Department of the Army. Office of the Chief of Research, Development and Acquisition, 1974.
  28. ^ Fuqua, Craig, Classic Jonny Quest - Jonny's Credit Problems, 2004.
  29. ^ Harris P., Stoker A., Return to the Planet of the Apes - The Complete Animated Series, October 3, 2006
  30. ^ Becattini, Alberto, American Animators active until 1970, 2009.
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