Cosmosphere, Kansas
This motor has been on display at the Cosmosphere, in Hutchinson, Kansas USA for a number of years. It is a Walter 109-509.A-1, the data plate is plainly visible for scrutiny.
As you can see from the illustration, this is another motor which carries a surprise. Unusually, it is mounted vertically on its back, with the combustion chamber in the air. A frame holds the motor firm, leaving the pipework at low level making it ideally suited for study.
In correspondence with Jim Remar, the Curator of the Museum, it seems that this is a composite motor, the combustion chamber coming from White Sands, New Mexico, the rest of the motor courtesy of the NASM.
White Sands AFB was where rocket equipment was taken for evaluation following capture by the allies from Germany. After the war, several hundred railroad cars of rocket motors and parts were shipped to White Sands, mainly being A4 ("V2") rockets and parts which were used by the Americans to build and test launch rockets to evaluate that technology.
According to the limited store of records now available, no Walter motors were test fired at White Sands, and there are currently no records which show Walter motors during that period on muster for study. However, the historical archivist at White Sands Museum could envisage how a variety of rocket systems and parts could have been amongst the tons of material shipped there. But there is currently no evidence for this.
Details and photographs on this page have been kindly supplied through the hard work of rocket and Komet enthusiast, Leroy Stockemer, to whom I am very grateful.
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All photographs © Leroy Stockemer
As you can see from this picture, the motor appears well preserved, and very largely complete. It is quite common to see the electrical equipment missing; the leads and plugs which ought to be present are here no longer attached. This is a "classic" view showing the large blanking plate which covers the entire starboard side of the motor. Compare this with the example at Cosford (with electrics intact), and Shuttleworth, which has a small side plate.
The picture on the right has been turned on its side for clarity - the motor itself is standing on end on the ground, affording a unique view of a Walter motor. The next illustration, shows a good view of the fuel system.
From this vantage point you can clearly see the C-Stoff fuel control valve on the left, with the black pipes carrying the fuel to the combustion chamber. The fuel flow and pressure regulator is to the right of this, with the silver T-Stoff pipes tucking under, on their way down to the combustion chamber. The fuel filter is shown well.
Unusually, the steam generator is painted a bright red, but I suspect this may be a preservative measure, as it is common for this mild steel component to attract rust. The standard wartime treatment was to polish it with graphite in oil, but anti-oxidising paint is good enough. It looks to have been sensibly applied, while the steam generator was disassambled.
The combustion chamber shown here, is reported to have come from White Sands AFB. This may explain the damage to the thrust tube, shown as the two dents in the lower part of the picture.
The thrust tube is strong in compression, able to carry the force of the motor's thrust during flight, but being only thin steel, susceptible to lateral damage. If this part of the motor had been in store, separated from the motor frame, one can see how it might have sustained a knock or bang.
The silver tube hanging down on the right of the picture, is the fuel dump valve which is used for unloading the C-Stoff coolant from the combustion chamber cooling space, in the event of there being a motor failure. It should lie along the bottom of the combustion chamber - 180o away from the position it lies in now. It could be that the support bracket is loose or missing.