Hellmuth Walter facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hellmuth Walter
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Hellmuth Walter
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| Born | 26 August 1900 Wedel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
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| Died | 16 December 1980 (aged 80) |
| Nationality | German |
| Alma mater | Technical University of Berlin |
| Known for | Walter engine |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Engineering |
Hellmuth Walter (born August 26, 1900 – died December 16, 1980) was a clever German engineer. He was a pioneer in developing new types of engines. He worked on rocket engines and special gas turbines. His inventions helped power fast airplanes and even submarines.
His most famous contributions include rocket motors for the Messerschmitt Me 163 and Bachem Ba 349 fighter planes. He also created special rocket units called Starthilfe (start-help). These helped Luftwaffe aircraft take off during World War II. Walter also invented a new way to power submarines. This system, called air-independent propulsion (AIP), allowed submarines to stay underwater for much longer.
Contents
Early Life and Engine Ideas
Walter started learning to be a machinist in 1917 in Hamburg. This means he learned how to build and fix machines. In 1921, he began studying mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Berlin. He left his studies early to work at a big shipyard called Stettiner Maschinenbau AG Vulcan.
Working with marine engines made him think about how to make them better. He wanted to solve problems with regular engines. He realized that an engine could work without needing air if its fuel already contained oxygen. This would be very useful for powering submarines and torpedoes. They wouldn't need to get oxygen from the outside air or from tanks!
His research showed that hydrogen peroxide was a good fuel for this idea. When you add a special chemical called a catalyst, hydrogen peroxide breaks down. It turns into hot oxygen and steam at a very high temperature. The heat from this reaction would make the oxygen and steam expand. This expansion could create a lot of pressure. Walter also figured out that another fuel could be added to this hot gas mixture. This would make it burn and create even more power. He received a patent for this clever idea in 1925.
Starting His Own Company
After working at another shipyard called Germaniawerft in Kiel, Walter decided to start his own company. In 1934, he formed Hellmuth Walter Kommanditgesellschaft (HWK, or Walter-Werke). He wanted to continue developing his engine ideas.
That same year, he proposed his ideas to the German Navy. He suggested that a submarine powered by his new engine would be much faster. At the time, submarines used diesel engines on the surface and electric motors underwater. Many people were doubtful, but Walter kept trying.
The V-80 Submarine
In 1937, Walter showed his plans to Karl Dönitz, a high-ranking naval officer. Dönitz helped him get a contract to build a prototype. Construction began in 1939 on a small research submarine called the V-80.
When the V-80 was launched in 1940, it showed amazing speed. It could travel at 23 knots (about 26 miles per hour) underwater. This was twice as fast as any other submarine in the world at that time!
Despite these impressive results, there were problems. It was hard to produce, supply, and safely handle hydrogen peroxide. Because of these challenges, Walter's revolutionary engine was not widely used. Only a few German Type XVII submarines were built with this engine, and none of them saw combat.
Rocket Engines for Aircraft
While Walter was developing submarine engines, he also applied his ideas to rocketry. The hot, high-pressure gas mixture from hydrogen peroxide could be used in a turbine. But if it was simply pushed out of a nozzle, it could create a lot of thrust.
Wernher von Braun's rocket team, working at Peenemünde, became interested in Walter's ideas. In 1936, they started a program to install Walter rockets into aircraft. The successful tests by von Braun caught the attention of German aircraft makers like Heinkel and Messerschmitt.
First Rocket-Powered Flights
In 1939, the Heinkel He 176 became the first aircraft to fly using only liquid-fueled rocket power. This type of engine became very important for the Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket-powered fighter plane. It was combined with Alexander Lippisch's amazing airframe design.
During World War II, Walter's aircraft engines became more powerful and improved. The original design, which just broke down hydrogen peroxide, was soon changed. Hydrogen peroxide was then used as an oxidizer (like a chemical that helps things burn). It was combined with a true rocket fuel called C-Stoff (a mix of hydrazine and methanol). This created even hotter, high-pressure gases.
Later, there were plans for a second, smaller "cruising" combustion chamber. This chamber, nicknamed a Marschofen, would allow for more precise control of the engine. Versions of this engine were planned for many aircraft designs and missile projects. It was also built under license in Japan (see HWK 109-509).
JATO Rockets
Another Walter engine was used to help heavily loaded aircraft take off. These were called JATO (Jet Assisted Take-Off) or RATO (Rocket Assisted Take-Off) units. Once the rockets ran out of fuel, they would separate from the aircraft. They would then return to the ground by parachute to be refilled and used again (see Walther HWK 109-500).
In 1945, Walter received the Knight's Cross for his work during the war. After the war, he was captured by a British Army unit. This unit wanted to make sure his research didn't fall into the wrong hands.
Post-War Career
After the war, all of Walter's research materials were taken by the British military. Walter and his colleagues were taken to the UK to work for the Royal Navy. With Walter's help, one of the German submarines using his engine, the U-1407, was brought up from where it had been sunk. It was then put back into service as HMS Meteorite. The Royal Navy built two more submarines using AIP engines. However, they later stopped this research to focus on nuclear power for submarines.
Walter was allowed to return to Germany in 1948. He worked for the Paul Seifert Engine Works. In 1950, he moved to the United States. He joined the Worthington Pump Corporation in Harrison, New Jersey. He eventually became the vice president of research and development there. In 1956, he founded his own company again, Hellmuth Walter GmbH, in Kiel, Germany. In 1967, he built a civilian submarine called STINT, which used his special Walter propulsion system.
See also
Walter engine List of German inventors and discoverers 
In Spanish: Hellmuth Walter para niños
