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Launching site of V-2 and Wac Corporal

View at base of V-2, showing liquid oxygen fueling

V-2 Rocket Tests Δ τ THE invitation of the Army Air Corps I was standing o n a sand

•™" dune in a rugged desert valley near Las Cruces, N. Mex., less than 1,000 feet from the launching site, o n May 10, for the inaugura­tion of a series of test firings of German V-2 rockets and American missiles. The V-2 shot fired that day bro&e all altitude records when a height of 7 2 miles was reached. Lauached at about 2 I>.M. on a brilliantly sunny day, the rocket lifted s lowly at first and then, as the fuel of liquid oxygen and alcohol was fully applied, took off in a cloud of dust, smoke, flame, and with a thunderous noise. Accelerat­ing at a tremendous rate and trailing a long tail of white flame and smoke, the rocket went almost straight u p to 19 miles in a matter of seconds at which point its fuel was cut off. At this point i t was traveling at a speed of about 4,200 feet per second or about 2,860 miles per hour. During part of its travel rt left a long white vapor trail which thinned out and disappeared as the rocket reached the thin air of the stratosphere. After fuel cutoff i t continued in its trajectory and about 3 minutes later, with an impact velocity of about 2,400 miles per hour, buried itself in the desert near the White Sands Monu­ment about 39 miles away. Upon questioning one of the officers in charge, I learned that the actual point of impact \yas within 300 yards of where they calculated it would land. This indicates the amazing accuracy which can be obtained.

Before the shot was fired the visiting group of high Army and INavy officials, civilian scientists, and reporters was taken through the shops and assembly areas for an explanat ion and first-hand examina­tion of the V-2 in all stages of assembly. The rocket's over-all length is 46 feet with a diameter of about 5L /2 feet . When empty it weighs about 10,000 pounds and with a full fuel load, about 28,000 pounds. The missile is propelled by the reaction or recoil from the expulsion of a jet of hot gases produced by alcohol and liquid oxygen burning under high pressure in a combustion chamber with a suitable venturi nozzle. In addition to the liquid oxygen and alcohol fuels, hydrogen peroxide, potassium permanganate, and compressed nitrogen are used in the engine. The operation is as follows: Nitrogen is admitted t o the peroxide and permanganate tanks to spray these compounds into

Loading alcohol Standing alone and. ready Taking off in. dust, smoke, and flame

1386 C H E M I C A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G N E W S

a. small steam generator at controlled rates. The reaction between the two results in the formation of high-pressure steam which drives a 580-h.orsepower turbine. This is geared to two pumps which drive the liquid oxygen and alcohol through the atomizer jets in the combus­t ion chamber, where hot gases are produced and escape through the venturi nozzle, giving a forward thrust to the rocket. During the burning period, direction of the rocket is controlled by a pair of graphite vanes in the jet of propellent gases and a pair of metal vanes in the air stream at the outer edges of the fins. One set is con­trolled by a gyroscope so as to maintain the axis of the rocket in the vertical plane through the launching and target points. The other set is controlled by another gyroscope to produce and maintain cor­rect inclination of the trajectory during the burning period. This second gyroscope is subject to the control of a third gyroscopic sys­tem, the real brains of the missile, which serves to maintain vertical travel to a height of about one mile, then to tilt the rocket slowly away from the vertical until it travels on the desired course, thereafter t o maintain this course until the velocity is correct for the range de­sired, and finally to cut off the fuel supply at that velocity. After propulsion has ceased, the rocket is a free projectile.

The White Sands Proving Ground was established last fail for test firing of all types of rockets to gain all possible scientific and opera­tional knowledge. The V-2 rockets being fired were captured in Germany and sent to this country. Certain parts that were missing were fabricated by the General Electric Co. Some of the captured German scientists and technicians involved in the project in Ger­many have been brought to New Mexico and are assisting in carry-ing out the tests and supplying information gained by them from several years' experience with Germany's intensive research on rockets.

I n addition to the V-2, a smaller American rocket, "Wac Cor­poral", developed by the California Institute of Technology, was fired. This missile, about 16 feet long and 1 foot in diameter, was launched vertically from a 100-foot steel tower. Unlike the V-2 it is boosted by a solid propellant to supersonic speed in less than one second. The solid fuel attachment then falls away and the liquid fuels of nitric acid and aniline furnish the power for the remainder of t he flight. In the recent test a height of 43 miles was obtained.

J. M. CROW

Wierw of tremendous crater, about 50 feet in diameter and, 35 feet deep, which teas blasted in desert of J\ew 3i'<exico ivhen unburned fuel of first test shot exploded

One test rocket fired a feu? weeks ago landed with a large portion of unburned fuel which exploded on impact

Technician views some remains of V-2. The large piece is part of the combustion chamber and venturi nozzle

View of the well-designed and ingenious engine showing fuel lines to combustion chamber and the venturi nozzle

Trajectory of the V-2 as fired by the Germans. In the New Mexican test the altitude reached was about 72 miles and the point of impact about 39 miles frown launching site

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