Walter HWK 109-500

HWK 109-500
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HWK 109-500 on display at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford
Type	Liquid-propellant rocket (assist unit)
Manufacturer	Hellmuth Walter Kommanditgesellschaft
Number built	6,000

Walter 109-500 on display

The Walter HWK 109-500 was a liquid fuelled rocket motor developed by Walter in Germany during the Second World War.

The 109-500 is a Starthilfe (take-off assist) motor in a pod, able to produce 500 kg (1,100 lb) thrust for thirty seconds. After the fuel was expended, the pod was jettisoned and it returned to earth by parachute, with the parachute packed externally, onto the blunt forward end of the pod.

It entered service in 1942, and some 6,000 were built, by Heinkel. It was "used extensively on a wide range of aircraft", especially the potentially underpowered (when heavily laden with external ordnance) Jumo 004-engined Arado Ar 234B, with two of the units uniquely displayed as mounted operationally on the NASM's sole surviving, restored Ar 234B.

Applications

• Arado Ar 234
• Blohm & Voss Bv 138
• Dornier Do 18
• Heinkel He 111
• Messerschmitt Me 321

See also

Related lists

• List of aircraft engines
• List of aircraft engines of Germany during World War II

Specifications

Data from Christopher, John. The Race for Hitler's X-Planes. The Mill, Gloucestershire: History Press, 2013.

General characteristics

• Type: liquid propellant rocket
• Length:
• Diameter:
• Dry weight:

Components

• Compressor:

Performance

• Maximum thrust: 500 kg (1,100 lb)
• Power-to-weight ratio:

Sources

• Christopher, John. The Race for Hitler's X-Planes. The Mill, Gloucestershire: History Press, 2013.