Editing Hellmuth Walter (section)

== Rocket engines ==

At the same time that Walter was developing submarine engines, he was also applying his ideas to rocketry. The high-pressure gas mixture created by the rapid decomposition of hydrogen peroxide could not only be used in a [[turbine]], but if simply directed out of a [[nozzle]], created considerable [[thrust]]. [[Wernher von Braun]]'s rocketry team working at [[Peenemünde]] expressed interest in Walter's ideas, and in 1936 began a programme of installing Walter rockets into [[aircraft]]. The experimental results obtained by von Braun created interest among Germany's aircraft manufacturers, including [[Heinkel]] and [[Messerschmitt]], and in 1939, the [[Heinkel He 176]] became the first aircraft to fly on liquid-fuelled rocket power alone. This type of engine went on to become the cornerstone of the Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket-powered fighter, when married to [[Alexander Lippisch]]'s revolutionary [[airframe]] design. Throughout the course of [[World War II]], Walter's aircraft engines became increasingly powerful and refined. The original design of simply decomposing hydrogen peroxide was soon changed to its use as an oxidizer (much like [[dinitrogen tetroxide]] would be used later) when combined with a hydrazine/methanol true rocket fuel designated [[C-Stoff]], into the hot, high-pressure gases, and in later, never-deployed developments, a second, 400&nbsp;kg (880 lb) thrust "cruising" combustion chamber, nicknamed a ''Marschofen'', was added below the main chamber to allow for more precise control of the engine. Versions of this engine were intended to power a variety of aircraft design proposals and [[missile]] projects and was also licence-built in [[Japan]] (see [[HWK 109-509]]).

Another Walter engine was used to assist heavily laden aircraft to take off ([[JATO]] or RATO). When the rockets' fuel had run out, they would separate from the aircraft and return to the ground by [[parachute]] for refurbishment and re-use (see [[Walther HWK 109-500]]).

In 1945, Walter was awarded the [[Iron Cross|Knight's Cross]] for his wartime service. Walter was captured by a British Army unit named [[T-Force]] following a 60-mile advance behind German lines to prevent his research falling into the hands of the advancing Russians.<ref>{{cite book |title=T-Force: The Forgotten Heroes of 1945 |first=Sean |last=Longden |location=London |publisher=Constable & Robinson |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-84901-297-3 }}</ref> His factory was then investigated by [[30 Assault Unit]], a unit of Royal Marines which had been established by ''[[James Bond]]'' author [[Ian Fleming]].