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| Hellmuth Walter |
Hellmuth Walter (
26 August 1900 in Wedel near Hamburg –
16 December 1980 in Upper Montclair, New Jersey) was a German engineer who pioneered research into rocket engines and gas turbines. His most noteworthy contributions were rocket motors for the Messerschmitt Me 163, Bachem Ba 349,
Henschel Hs293,
Messerschmitt "Enzian",
Henschel Hs.117 "Schmetterling" and some early version of Messerschnmitt Me262, so-called Starthilfe jettison able rocket propulsion units used for a variety of Luftwaffe aircraft during World War II, and a revolutionary new propulsion system for submarines known as air-independent propulsion (AIP).
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| The HWK 109 507- the major components labelled. |
Walter was developing submarine engines, he was also applying his ideas to rocketry. The high pressure gas mixture created by the rapid decomposition of hydrogen peroxide could not only be used in a turbine, but if simply directed out of a nozzle, created considerable thrust.
