Walter HWK 109-509

HWK 109-509
HWK 109-509A on display at the Luftwaffenmuseum, Berlin-Gatow, Germany
Type Rocket engine
Manufacturer Hellmuth Walter Kommanditgesellschaft
First run 1943
Major applications Messerschmitt Me 163
Bachem Ba 349



The HWK 109-509 was a German liquid-fuel bipropellant rocket engine that powered the Messerschmitt Me 163 and Bachem Ba 349 aircraft. It was produced by Hellmuth Walter Kommanditgesellschaft (HWK) commencing in 1943.

Design and development

The HWK 109-509 used a two-component hypergolic fuel/oxidizer combination, controlled by a dual-flow turbopump, to regulate the rate of combustion and thereby the amount of thrust. The turbopump was driven by steam produced by a Walter steam generator which decomposed T-Stoff, which was a mixture of hydrogen peroxide (80% to 85% H2O2), remainder water, with traces (<0.1%) of stabilisers, in the presence of a solid catalyst.[1] The engine worked on the principle of the "hot" Walter drive, which used C-Stoff in place of Z-Stoff, the latter tending to clog the jets in the combustion chamber, causing fluctuations in power and potentially explosions.

The fuel was known as C-Stoff, a mix of 30% hydrazine hydrate + 57% methanol + 13% water with a small amount of potassium-copper-cyanide. The oxidizer, known as T-Stoff, consisted of a hydrogen peroxide-based formulation, which reacted violently on contact with the C-Stoff fuel, as a hypergolic propellant combination.[2] The violent combustion process resulted in the formation of water, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, and a huge amount of heat sending out a superheated stream of steam, nitrogen and air that was drawn in through the hole in the mantle of the engine, thus providing a forward thrust of approximately 17 kN (3,800 lbf).

The engine was an integral design with all components of the drive, with the exception of fuel tanks, locked in a cubical frame — this frame was discarded for the 109-509C dual-chamber design.

Variants

The HWK 109-509B dual-chamber version, on display at the NMUSAF

Applications

Engines on display

Specifications (109-509A)

Data from: Jane's [3]

General characteristics

Components

Performance

See also


Related lists

References

Notes

  1. Botho Stüwe, Peene Münde West, Weltbildverlag ISBN 3-8289-0294-4, 1998 Seite 221+222
  2. Botho Stüwe, Peene Münde West, Weltbildverlag ISBN 3-8289-0294-4, 1998 page 220, German
  3. Jane's 1989. p.285.

Bibliography

  • Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London. Studio Editions Ltd, 1989. ISBN 0-517-67964-7

External links

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