Hellmuth Walter Kommanditgesellschaft
Encyclopedia
Hellmuth Walter Kommanditgesellschaft (HWK), commonly known as the Walter-Werke, was a German company founded by Professor Hellmuth Walter
to pursue his interest in engines using hydrogen peroxide as a fuel.
Having experimented with torpedoes and submarines, Walter began to design rocket engines for aircraft and founded the HWK in Kiel
in 1935.
During World War II
the HWK developed and built a variety of rocket engines for assisted take-off (RATO
), and guided missiles, before developing engines for rocket-powered interceptor aircraft, notably the Messerschmitt Me 163
Komet and the Bachem Ba 349
Natter.
The company was wound up in 1945 and Walter subsequently continued his work in the United States.
Hellmuth Walter
Hellmuth Walter was a German engineer who pioneered research into rocket engines and gas turbines...
to pursue his interest in engines using hydrogen peroxide as a fuel.
Having experimented with torpedoes and submarines, Walter began to design rocket engines for aircraft and founded the HWK in Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
in 1935.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the HWK developed and built a variety of rocket engines for assisted take-off (RATO
JATO
JATO is an acronym for jet-fuel assisted take off. It is a system for helping overloaded aircraft into the air by providing additional thrust in the form of small rockets....
), and guided missiles, before developing engines for rocket-powered interceptor aircraft, notably the Messerschmitt Me 163
Messerschmitt Me 163
The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, designed by Alexander Lippisch, was a German rocket-powered fighter aircraft. It is the only rocket-powered fighter aircraft ever to have been operational. Its design was revolutionary, and the Me 163 was capable of performance unrivaled at the time. Messerschmitt...
Komet and the Bachem Ba 349
Bachem Ba 349
The Bachem Ba 349 Natter was a World War II German point-defence rocket powered interceptor, which was to be used in a very similar way to a manned surface-to-air missile. After vertical take-off, which eliminated the need for airfields, the majority of the flight to the Allied bombers was to be...
Natter.
The company was wound up in 1945 and Walter subsequently continued his work in the United States.
See also
- T-StoffT-StoffT-Stoff was the oxidizer part of a bipropellant rocket fuel combination used in Germany during World War II. It is a stabilized high test peroxide...
, C-StoffC-StoffC-Stoff was a reductant used in bipropellant rocket fuels developed by Hellmuth Walter Kommanditgesellschaft in Germany during World War 2...
& Z-StoffZ-StoffZ-Stoff was a name for calcium permanganate or potassium permanganate mixed in water. It was normally used as a catalyst for T-Stoff in military rocket programs by Nazi Germany during World War II....
– chemical fuels developed by HWK - Walter HWK 109-509Walter HWK 109-509-See also:-Bibliography:*Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London. Studio Editions Ltd, 1989. ISBN 0-517-67964-7-External links:*...
– rocket engine - Fritz XFritz XFritz X was the most common name for a German guided anti-ship glide bomb used during World War II. Fritz X was a nickname used both by Allied and Luftwaffe personnel. Alternate names include Ruhrstahl SD 1400 X, Kramer X-1, PC 1400X or FX 1400...
– rocket-powered guided bomb - Gotha Go 242Gotha Go 242-External Links:* FLIGHT, 12th February 1942, p. 130, early intelligence photo of Go 242, bottom of page....
– rocket-assisted glider - Heinkel He 176 – rocket aircraft
- DFS 228DFS 228-See also:-Bibliography:* Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970 . ISBN 0-356-02382-6.* Myhra, David. DFS 228. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-76431-203-0....
– rocket aircraft - DFS 346DFS 346The DFS 346 was a German rocket-powered swept-wing vehicle subsequently completed and flown in the Soviet Union after the World War II. It was designed by Felix Kracht at the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug , the "German Institute for Sailplane Flight"...
– rocket aircraft - HMS MeteoriteHMS MeteoriteHMS Meteorite was an experimental U-boat developed in Germany, scuttled at the end of World War II, subsequently raised and commissioned into the Royal Navy. The submarine was originally commissioned into the Kriegsmarine in March 1945 as U-1407...
– HTP-powered submarine