5.4 KiB
| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aggregat | 4/5 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggregat | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T13:25:58.892208+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== Projekt Schwimmweste === In late 1943 German Labour Front (Deutsche Arbeitsfront/DAF) Director, Otto Lafferenz, proposed the idea of a towable watertight container which could hold an A4 rocket. This suggestion progressed to the design of a container of 500 tons displacement to be towed behind a U-boat. Once in firing position, the containers would be trimmed to drop their aft end to a vertical position for launch. The project was dubbed Projekt Schwimmweste (German for "Project Life Jacket") and the containers themselves referred to by the codename Prüfstand XII (German for "Test Rig XII"). Work on the containers was carried out by the Vulkanwerft, and a single example was completed by the end of the war, but never tested with a rocket launch.
=== A4b/A9 === In anticipation of the possibility that launch sites might be forced back into the Reich itself, von Braun and his colleagues were pressured to develop a longer-range version of the A4 known alternatively as A9 and A4b, the reason for the dual designation being that the A4 series had received "national priority"; the A4b designation ensured the availability of scarce resources. In June 1939, Kurt Patt of the Peenemünde Design Office, proposed wings for converting rocket speed and altitude into aerodynamic lift and range. As the rocket encountered thicker atmosphere on its descent phase, it would execute a pullout and enter a shallow glide, trading speed for distance. Patt also proposed the Flossengeschoss (fin projectile). Both concepts were used by Walter Dornberger when he drafted a memo for presentation to Hitler regarding the "America rocket" on 31 July 1940. Design studies on the A9 began in 1940. In addition to its wings, the A9 would have been somewhat larger than the A4 and its engine would have produced about 30% more thrust. Following wind tunnel testing of models, the design was subsequently modified to replace the wings with fuselage strakes, as the tests showed that these provided better lift at supersonic speeds and also solved the problem of transonic shift of the center of lift. Development was suspended in 1941, but in 1944 several V-2s were modified to an approximation of the A9 configuration under the designation A4b. It was calculated that by fitting wings, the A4's range would be extended to 800 km (500 mi) , allowing targets in Britain to be attacked from launch sites within Germany. It was intended that following launch the curve of the A4b's trajectory would become shallower and the rocket would glide toward its target. It was anticipated that interception by enemy aircraft at the end of the glide phase would be almost impossible, as over the target the A4b was intended to enter a near vertical dive, leaving little time for interception. The A4b concept was tested by fitting swept back wings to two A4s launched from Blizna. Little development work had been carried out, and the first launch on 27 December 1944 was a complete failure. The second launch attempt, on 24 January 1945, was partially successful, in that the wing broke off, but the A4b still managed to become the first winged guided missile to break the sound barrier and attain Mach 4.
== Variations – Planned, not built ==
=== A6 === A6 was a designation applied to a variant of the A5 test rocket which used different propellants. Some sources indicate that it was also applied to a speculative proposal for a piloted aerial reconnaissance version of the A4b winged variant of the A4. This A6 was initially proposed to the German Air Ministry as an uninterceptable reconnaissance craft. It would be launched vertically by rocket, taking it to an apogee of 95 km (59 mi); after re-entering the atmosphere it would enter a supersonic glide phase, when its single ramjet would be ignited. It was hoped that this would provide 15 to 20 minutes of cruise at 2,900 km/h (1,800 mph) and would allow the aircraft to return to its base and make a conventional runway landing assisted by a drag chute. However, the Air Ministry had no requirement for such an aircraft and the proposal was rejected. Similar concepts (though uncrewed) were produced after the war in the form of the US SM-64 Navaho missile and the USSR's Burya, both intercontinental cruise missiles with ramjet propulsion.
=== A7 === The A7 was a winged design that was never fully constructed. It was worked on between 1940 and 1943 at Peenemünde for the Kriegsmarine. The A7 was similar in structure to the A5, but had larger tail unit fins (1.621 m2) in order to obtain greater range in gliding flight. Two unpowered models of the A7 were dropped from aeroplanes in order to test flight stability; no powered test was ever performed. The finished rocket should have produced a takeoff thrust of 15 kN (3,400 lb) and a takeoff weight of 1,000 kg (2,200 lb). The design had a diameter of 0.38 m (1.2 ft) and a length of 5.91 m (19.4 ft).
=== A8 === The A8 was a proposed "stretched" variant of the A4, to use storable rocket propellants (most likely nitric acid and kerosene). The design never reached the prototype stage, but further design work was carried out after the war by a German rocket team in France as the "Super V-2". The project was eventually cancelled, but led to the French Véronique and Diamant rocket projects.
=== A9/A10 ===