Archives: Gmedia Albums

Photo showing Werk Süd with IW on the left and F1 on the right taken on 19th August 1943. The photo shows only light damage to the main halls, although F1 was actually hit at least 11 times, and hits to the separate single storey workshops to the right of the IW hall. The long storage (oil and paint?) shed above IW and the woodworking shop at the top of the picture appear undamaged. Anti-aircraft platforms (at least 3) can be seen on the roof of IW but that seem to be empty of guns. F1 shows two AAA platforms (there was at least 3 at this stage and maybe more) and they may have guns installed. General W. Dornberger mentions defensive AA artillery fire from the from the roof of F1 in his 1952 book V2 (1954 in English).

RAF reconnaissance photo showing the Werk Süd region with the F1 pre-production hall and to the north the IW repair and maintenance hall, centre right, and road rail links to Prüfstand XI (Test Stand 11, circular rampart centre left) heading directly left from F1. P-XI was conceived to provide engine test facilities for the nearby pre-production hall. Scroll down to see GPS map, the marker index is set to the centre of P-XI, click map and switch to satellite view and you will see that only a small section of the circular rampart remains visible. You can easily zoom out to cover the coast area where F1 and the equally large Repair & Maintenance Workshops are located. The area immediately surrounding P-XI is now contained within a commercial farming operation with sheep appearing to be the staple – or was anyway, at the time of our first visit to the vicinity in 2010 and our last in 2017 – none of the sheep seemed to recognise us though so they may have changed. (for access to restricted areas click here)

This video still shows Robert in front of a bomb crater on the West or opposite side of the rail lines and road that pass the Repair & Maintenance Hall (R&MH). The crater like so many others, created in a fraction of a second, in August 1944 during a US air raid, has developed in to a thriving eco-system that now teems with all kinds of life. After the passage of more than 70 years the crater is still deep and well defined. There are hundreds of craters like this in the area.

This video still shows the same bomb crater from a slightly different angle. The crater like so many others, created in a fraction of a second in August 1944 during a US air raid, has developed in to a thriving eco-system that now teems with all kinds of life. After the passage of more than 70 years the crater is still deep and well defined. There are hundreds of craters like this in the area.

This video screen grab shows Robert about to climb the steps up onto the rail and road loading station 9 (also called Die Verladerampen or in English, The loading ramps). This storage and loading facility was never finished during the war and was intended to be a more elaborate with large storage buildings – but the pressure of war and constant use of the area prevented further development. The area is still surprisingly intact today with a strong correspondence between modern ground detail and historical reconnaissance photography.

Photo shows the cut stump of an heavy upright support girder. The ragged profile of the cut shows that it has been cut down with an oxygen and gas torch or possibly a larger fuel and oxygen device like a thermal lance. The steel support still has the bottom support pin for a large door. Note that although the girders have been gas-cut there is a great deal of mechanical damage to the steel work that was not caused by the cutting work. Considerable force would be required to bend the middle girder in the way shown, even if it was much longer at the time the bend was created. The upper superstructure of the storage shed may have been part demolished using a bulldozer. Or perhaps the East German Army may have used the site for explosives training – signs of demolition explosive use are in evidence nearby. The map under the album presentation of this picture shows the exact location of the girders.

Image shows a correctly formed nebular cone attended by a fine mist. the four injector cooling jets are well shown, and although fluid beading can be seen on the face of the injector, there is insufficient liquid to cause dripping.

3305D injector insert showing comparison nebular and jet stream pattern with high and low pressure. Top image shows correct hollow cone-shaped aerosol effect, from central 6mm orifice, that is also creating a fine mist around and within the cone, and steady steams emanating from cooling pores. Bottom image shows the effect of reduced pressure: a dropping poorly formed cone, composed of larger slower moving droplets, and a tendency for the thicker spray to combine and cause ‘dribbeling’ with much fluid failing to clear the injector face – unlike the image above, where the injector face is clear of drips.

3305D fuel njector insert showing comparison nebular and jet stream pattern with high and low pressure. Left image shows correct hollow cone-shaped aerosol effect from central 6mm orifice, that is also creating a fine mist around and within the cone, and 4 steady steams emanating from cooling pores. Right image shows the effect of reduced pressure: a dropping poorly formed cone, composed of larger slower moving droplets, and a tendency for the thicker spray to combine and cause ‘dribbeling’ with much fluid failing to clear the injector face.

3305D fuel injector insert showing swirl cone nebular, and 4 steady steams emanating from cooling pores.

3304D higher volume injector insert (with central jet) showing comparison nebular and jet stream pattern with high and low pressure. Top image shows correct hollow cone-shaped aerosol effect from central 6mm orifice, that is also creating a fine mist around and within the cone, and strong single central (non-swirl) jet can be seen as well as 4 steady steams emanating from cooling pores. Bottom image shows the effect of reduced pressure: a dropping poorly formed cone, composed of larger slower moving droplets, and a tendency for the thicker spray to combine and cause ‘dribbeling’ with much fluid failing to clear the injector face. The appearance of central jet however seem largely unchanged.

3304D higher volume fuel injector insert (with three inlet apertures: 2 swirl, 1 jet) showing swirl cone nebular, steady central jet, and 4 steady steams emanating from cooling pores.

Each burner cup of the V2 rocket engine injector system has forty-four brass inserts, but each cup also has twenty-four 2mm diameter plain holes, 30 deg apart, drilled into the cup’s central wall. To mimic this for testing purposes, we created a brass insert that has a base with just a 2mm central hole. The base is sized to be consistent with the 4 to 5mm cup wall. V2RH image

3305D injector insert showing larger low-velocity droplets and ‘dribbly’ performance due to insufficient pressure. The cone shaped aerosol is not functioning. Broken streams can be seem emanating from the four cooling pores.

Single fuel injector water test rig showing a 3305D bress insert about to be tightened home using a pin-wrench. V2RH image

Single nozzle insert test rig used by V2 Rocket History to test spray shape and volume at supply pressures consistent with fuel pressures specified for the injector head of summer 1944. The test system features an adjustable pressure regulator and fluid pressure gauge. For test purposes the device was simply connected to a relatively high pressure mains water supply. And although water does not have the same viscosity of the 75% Ethenol to 25% water mix of the V2’s fuel it was considered close enough by the German technicians, who regularly used plain water as a substitute when testing issues related to furl flow rather than combustion. A 2131E fuel injector insert is shown installed in the holder at the front of the rig, but as the thread was the same on all inserts the nozzle can be changed for other models easily with aid of a pin spanner. See video for a demonstration of this simple test system.

Single nozzle insert test rig used by V2 Rocket History to test spray shape and volume at fluid supply pressures consistent with fuel pressures specified for the injector head of summer 1944. A 2131E fuel injector insert is installed in the holder at the front of the test rig, but as the thread was the same on all inserts the nozzle can be changed for other models easily with aid of a pin spanner. See video for a demonstration of this simple test system.

The chart shows water delivery in litres per minute per injector

V2 rocket engine fuel injector inserts – a part of our collection used for the water tests with various types shown. The tool shown is a pin-wrench used to fit the inserts into the test apparatus. V2RH collection image

Standard fuel injector inserts for production series 18-pot injector head. Insert 1 (3304D/3305D) shows four thin wires demonstrating the angles of all four ‘cooling’ pores. Insert 2 (3305D/2131E) has two 1.3mm twist drill showing the edge bores for the gyroscopic swirl inlets. Insert 3 (3305D) shows another view of the cooling pore angle and origin. V2RH image

V2 Fuel Injector insert: part code 2131E from injector pot echelon A (nearest to LOX spray head). The push-together two part construction of the insert is shown here. The two parts were pushed together in a specially shaped tool set that compressed the thin skirt on the female part into a recess cut into the male part. The failure test for this component required that the mated parts resist a separating force of 300kg. The two part design was dictated by the small size of the 2mm exit orifice and the funnel shaped introduction to the exit orifice. In the case of the other three standard inserts, the large 6mm exit orifice allowed a sub 6mm milling cutter, with a thin support shaft and a top chamfer, to be used in such a way that the area below the exit orifice could be undercut to create an injector cavity with a diameter larger than the 6mm entry point.

Fuel injector inserts for production series 18-pot injector head showing general shape and thread position. For further details see associated image. The lowermost insert have been halved to reveal the cavity shape, orifice edge, inlet and cooling apertures. V2RH image