Hermes-A1 (American Copy of the Wasserfall-missile)

Wasserfall (German for waterfall) was a German surface-to-air missile developed during World War II. It never reached operational status although it was well developed and likely ready for operation, and the project was cancelled in February 1945. After World War II, the Wasserfall design was used as a basis for the American Project Nike surface-to-air missile system and it was also the focus of a Soviet research programme under the codename R-101. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1299x1500, 390 KB) Hermes A1 (US copy of german Wasserfall missile) Source: http://grin. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1299x1500, 390 KB) Hermes A1 (US copy of german Wasserfall missile) Source: http://grin. ... Hopetoun Falls near Otway National Park, Victoria, Australia A waterfall is usually a geological formation resulting from water, often in the form of a stream, flowing over an erosion-resistant rock formation that forms a sudden break in elevation. ... A surface-to-air missile (SAM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II... Launch of a Nike Zeus missile Project Nike was a US Army project, proposed in May 1945 by Bell Labs, to develop a line-of-sight anti-aircraft missile system. ... Soviet redirects here. ...

History

Wasserfall was essentially an anti-aircraft development of the V2 rocket, sharing the same general layout and shaping. Since the missile had to fly only to the altitudes of the attacking bombers, it could be much smaller than the V2, about 1/4 the size. The Wasserfall design also included an additional set of fins located at the middle of the fuselage to provide extra maneuvering capability. American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft, or air defense, is any method of combating military aircraft from the ground. ... German test launch. ...

Unlike the V2, Wasserfall was designed to stand ready for periods of up to a month and fire on command, therefore the volatile liquid oxygen used in the V2 was inappropriate. A new engine design, developed by Dr. Walter Thiel, was based on Visol (vinyl isobutyl ether) and SV-Stoff, or Salbei, (90% nitric acid, 10% sulfuric acid). This hypergolic mixture was forced into the combustion chamber by pressurizing the fuel tanks with nitrogen gas released from another tank. Liquid oxygen (also LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace industry) is the liquid form of oxygen. ... Walter Thiel (March 2, 1910 - August 17, 1943) was a German engineer who largely designed the rocket engine that powered the V-2 missile. ... Hypergolic rocket fuels spontaneously ignite when their two components come into contact with each other. ... General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 14. ...

Guidance was to be a simple radio control MCLOS system for use against daytime targets, but night-time use was considerably more complex because neither the target nor the missile would be easily visible. For this role a new system known as Rheinland was under development. Rheinland used a transponder in the missile for locating it in flight (as read by a radio direction finder (RDF) on the ground) and a radar unit for tracking the target. A simple mechanical computer guided the missile into the tracking radar beam as soon as possible after launch, using the transponder and RDF to locate it, at which point the operator could see both "blips" on a single display, and guide the missile onto the target as during the day. This remote control airplane is carrying a scale model of X-33 and is taking part in actual NASA research. ... MCLOS (short for Manual Command to Line of Sight) is a first-generation method for guiding guided missiles. ... In telecommunication, the term transponder (sometimes abbreviated to XPDR or TPDR) has the following meanings: An automatic device that receives, amplifies, and retransmits a signal on a different frequency (see also broadcast translator). ... A radio direction finder, or RDF, is a device for finding the direction to a radio source. ... This long range radar antenna, known as ALTAIR, is used to detect and track space objects in conjunction with ABM testing at the Ronald Reagan Test Site on the Kwajalein atoll[1]. Radar is a system that uses radio waves to detect, determine the distance of, and map, objects such... An analog(ue) computer are shit as a form of computer that uses electrical or mechanical phenomena to model the problem being solved by using one kind of physical quantity to represent another. ...

A second development was underway that used only a single cross-shaped radar beam that was rotated while pointing at the target. Like the Rheinland system the missile was first directed into the beam via the transponder, and from there would keep itself centered in the beam. It did this by listening to the radar signal, if it was off course it would hear pulses instead of a steady signal, and automatically place itself back in the middle of the beam. However the high supersonic speed of the Wasserfall meant that the accuracy of the system would have to be very high in order to get the missile close to its target, and it was generally accepted that some sort of terminal guidance system would have to be added. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Sound barrier. ...

The original design called for a 100 kg warhead, but the accuracy concerns led to the design of a much larger 306 kg one including a liquid explosive. For daytime use the operator would detonate the warhead by remote control, while night-time use was to be by some sort of proximity fuze. Look up Proximity fuze in Wiktionary, the free dictionary A proximity fuze (also called a VT fuze) is a fuze that is designed to detonate an explosive automatically when close enough to the target to destroy it. ...

The first models were being tested in March 1943, but a major setback occurred in August 1943 when Dr. Walter Thiel was killed in the massive RAF bombing raids on Peenemünde. The first launch took place on 8 January 1944 and was a failure, with the engine "fizzling" and launching the missile to only 7 km of altitude at subsonic speeds. The following February saw a successful launch which reached a speed of 770 m/s (2,800 km/h) in vertical flight. When the program was canceled on 6 February 1945 nearly 40 flights had been made. Walter Thiel (March 2, 1910 - August 17, 1943) was a German engineer who largely designed the rocket engine that powered the V-2 missile. ... The Royal Air Force (often abbreviated to RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Peenemündes position in Germany Peenemünde is a village in the northeast of the German island of Usedom on the Peene river, on the easternmost part of the German Baltic coast. ... January 8 is the 8th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... Subsonic has two possible meanings: A speed lower than the speed of sound is called subsonic. ... February 6 is the 37th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ...

Characteristics

• Primary Function: surface-to-air missile
• Contractor: Flak- Versuchskommando Nord, EMW Peenemuende
• Power Plant: liquid-fueled rocket motor

• Length: 7.85 m
• Diameter: 2.51 m
• Wing Span: cm
• Launch Weight: kg

• Speed: 770 m/s
• Warhead: 235 kg
• Range: km
• Fuzes: proximity
• Guidance system: MCLOS; operator used input from radars tracking the missile and target to guide it, using a radio command link and a joystick

• Unit Cost: 7,000–10,000 RM (Reichsmark)
• Date Deployed: never
• Users: Germany

MCLOS (short for Manual Command to Line of Sight) is a first-generation method for guiding guided missiles. ... For other uses, see Joystick (disambiguation). ... A 100 Reichsmark banknote from Germany of 1935 (http://www. ...

In Media

The Wasserfall was featured in the "Secret Weapons Of WWII" expansion pack for the hit online First Person Shooter Battlefield 1942, appearing in 3 of the Official maps in the game (notably "Mimoycques"), as well as in some of the fan-made maps. A first-person shooter (FPS) is a computer or video game where the players on-screen view of the game world simulates that of the character, and there is some element of shooting involved. ... Battlefield 1942 is an expansive first-person shooter (FPS) set in World War II developed by Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows (2002) and Apple Macintosh (2004). ...

To use the missile, the player must enter a silo- at which point the view switches to that of a nose-cam on the missile, allowing the player to guide the Wasserfall in-flight. With a limited flight time, the player tries to guide the missile into enemy aircraft, tanks, or other vehicles. Silo may mean: Storage silo, structure used for storing bulk materials Upright concrete silos are the primary source of storing forage for dairy cattle. ...

Primarily intended as an Anti-Aircraft Missile, a skilled player can use the Wasserfall as an Anti-Armour or Anti-Vehicle missle, which creates some interesting tactical possibilites during the game.

See also

• List of missiles
• German missiles of WW2

Below is a list of (links to pages on) missiles, sorted alphabetically by name. ... During World War II, Germany developed many missile systems, some of which were extremely advanced. ...