ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

The Route of V-2 Technology Transfer from Germany to the USSR, and on to China

• In Event: The Evolution of Science and Technology in China: Tradition and Modernity in a Global Perspective 3

English Abstract

V-2 technology was transferred from Germany to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and then on to China. The USSR imitated the captured German V-2 rocket, and independently developed the R-2. Later, China imitated the R-2 rocket provided by the USSR, and independently developed the Dong Feng-2 (DF-2). The imitation or localization of foreign products is a key stage prior to independent development. Independent development of new models, in turn, is not only indicative of an upgrading of the transferred technology and the mastering of foreign technology, but also an illustration of innovation. Talent is the crucial resource on which technology transfer relies. The administrative system and domestic collaboration network required to coordinate the necessary tasks, including research, experimentation, design, and manufacture were established both in the USSR and in China.

Author

• Fang Wang, Institute for the History of Natural Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences