Whoosh!

Until World War II, most Americans thought that rockets were useful only for Fourth of July celebrations and trips to the moon. But not Dr. Theodore von Karman, the cigar-smoking, eager boss of the famed Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory at CalTech. With Air Force and private funds, Dr. von Karman had been experimenting enough with rockets to know they could be an important weapon. And since he was well acquainted with the work of the top Axis aerodynamicists, he knew what fast progress they were making with rockets. But when Dr. von Karman tried to get U.S. corporations interested in going into the rocket business in 1941, he was turned down flat. So Scientist von Karman decided to make them himself.

The next year, with four associates, an $8,700 investment, and five employees, he set up the Aerojet Engineering Corp. of Azusa, Calif. Its product: Jato units, 10-in. thick, 3-ft. long rockets to give big planes an extra push to get them off short runways or aircraft carriers.

In no time at all, the Navy and Air Force began firing orders at Aerojet and the company took off with a whoosh itself. Within 18 months, it got six Government loans to expand, still needed more cash. It got it from General Tire & Rubber Co. (which liked Aerojet so much that it now owns 81% of its stock).

$185 a Bottle. During the war, Aerojet turned out some $10 million worth of Jato units, became one of the biggest U.S. rocket manufacturers. As Aerojet began to rise, Von Karman stepped down from the presidency, became the company's chief research consultant. CalTech's imaginative physicist Dr. Fritz Zwicky became active, research chief.

War's end put Aerojet into a brief downward glide. Commercial airlines shied away from Jato because of the cost (the $185 bottle can only be used once) and the fact that the take-off roar scared spectators. But military orders sent Aerojet soaring again--jet planes such as the B-47 use 18 Jato units for a quick takeoff.

Rocket Oil Drills. Last week, with a $25 million backlog bulging its pocket, Aerojet announced that its $10 million plant at Azusa (almost completely paid for) was not big enough. It bought 7,200 acres 16 miles east of Sacramento to build a new $6,000,000 plant. Much of Aerojet's experimental work is secret but, among other things, it is working on 1) rocket units for underwater propulsion, 2) rocket-propelled missiles, and 3) a rocket-powered oil drill.

Bright, 33-year-old General Manager William Zisch thought that Aerojet would now climb faster than ever. Said he: "We go into this emergency with more than 1,600 highly skilled personnel. We went into the last emergency with only five. As for our growth from here--well, five is to 1,600 as 1,600 is to X. You figure it out."

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