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Wasserfall
Wasserfall
Wasserfall
Credit: © Mark Wade
Seminal German storable propellant surface-to-air missile, tested during World War II, but never operational. The rocket was copied in the USA as the Hermes surface-to-surface missile, in the USSR as the R-101, and in France as the R.04. In Russia it also became the starting point for the R-11/R-17 Scud surface-to-surface missile.

Status: Retired 1944. First Launch: 1944-02-29. Last Launch: 1944-10-30. Number: 3 . Payload: 300 kg (660 lb). Thrust: 78.00 kN (17,535 lbf). Gross mass: 3,500 kg (7,700 lb). Unfuelled mass: 1,700 kg (3,700 lb). Burn time: 40 s. Height: 7.70 m (25.20 ft). Diameter: 0.89 m (2.90 ft). Span: 2.34 m (7.67 ft). Apogee: 18 km (11 mi).

Work began on the Wasserfall missile in 1941, originally as an anti-aircraft version of the A4 surface-to-surface missile. On 25 September 1942 Goering authorized development of four types of surface to air missiles: unguided rockets (Taifun), target-seeking guided rockets (Enzian); operator optically-guided rockets (Rheintochter and Schmetterling); and radar-guided rockets (Wasserfall).

The final specifications of 2 November 1942 called for an interceptor missile with a top speed of Mach 2, able to hit airborne targets flying at up to 900 kph at 5 to 20 km altitude within a radius of 50 km. First versions were to use radio command guidance, to be followed by a self-guiding radar system in later models. The pressure-fed engines used Nitric acid/Tonka propellants. Orders were placed for 5,000 rockets, but production was never even begun due to protracted development. The name translates as 'Waterfall'.

Maximum range: 26 km (16 mi). Boost Propulsion: Storable liquid rocket, 1850 kg propellant. Maximum speed: 760 kph (470 mph).



Subtopics

Hermes A-3 American tactical ballistic missile. Prototype of a single-stage liquid propellant tactical Army missile. Two versions test flown but abandoned in favor of the Redstone in-house design.

Hermes A-3A American tactical ballistic missile.

Hermes A-3B American tactical ballistic missile.

Hermes A-1 The Army Hermes A-1 single stage test rocket was an American version of the German Wasserfall anti-aircraft rocket.

R.04 French post-war surface-to-air missile based on the German Wasserfall.

R-101 Post-war Russian version of German Wasserfall surface-to-air missile. Never put into production, but technology used for further surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missile developments in Russia.

R-108 All-Russian second generation version of the R-101, itself a derivative of the German Wasserfall. Development began in May 1949 but the missile did not reach flight test stage before its cancellation in 1951.

R-109 Russian derivative of the German Wasserfall, an interim design between the R-101 and R-108. The missile did not reach flight test stage before it was cancellation in 1951.

Hermes A-2 American tactical ballistic missile. The Army Hermes A-2 single stage test rocket proved the technology of large solid rocket motors as developed by H L Thackwell at Thiokol. But the Army preferred to have further development done in-house and JPL was selected to develop the Sergeant rocket. In addition to the flight tests, a total of 22 motors were static fired, including one after seven years of storage.

Family: Storable liquid, surface-to-air. Country: Germany. Propellants: Nitric acid/Amine. Launch Sites: Peenemuende, Peenemuende GWO. Agency: Wehrmacht. Bibliography: 2, 571, 8765.

1944 February 29 - . Launch Site: Peenemuende. Launch Complex: Peenemuende GWO. Launch Pad: GWO?. Launch Vehicle: Wasserfall. FAILURE: Failure.
1944 March 8 - . Launch Site: Peenemuende. Launch Complex: Peenemuende GWO. Launch Pad: GWO?. Launch Vehicle: Wasserfall.
1944 October 30 - . Launch Site: Peenemuende. Launch Complex: Peenemuende. Launch Vehicle: Wasserfall.
1944 October 30 - . Launch Site: Peenemuende. Launch Vehicle: Wasserfall.
1944 December 31 - . Launch Site: Peenemuende. Launch Complex: Peenemuende. LV Family: V-2. Launch Vehicle: A-4b, Taifun, Wasserfall.
1945 January 27 - . Launch Vehicle: Wasserfall.
1947 May 30 - . Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: White Sands LC33. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-2. FAILURE: Failure.
1949 January 13 - . 20:26 GMT - . Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: White Sands LC33. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-2. FAILURE: Failure.
1949 October 6 - . Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: White Sands LC33. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-2. FAILURE: Failure.
1950 May 19 - . Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: White Sands LC33. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-1. FAILURE: Failure.
1950 September 14 - . Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: White Sands LC33. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-1. FAILURE: Failure.
1950 November 9 - . Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: White Sands LC33. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-2.
1951 February 8 - . Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: White Sands LC33. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-1.
1951 March 15 - . Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: White Sands LC33. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-1.
1951 April 26 - . Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: White Sands LC33. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-1.
1953 February 11 - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-2.
1953 March 4 - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-2.
1953 March 13 - . Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: White Sands LC33. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-3A.
1953 March 25 - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-2.
1953 March 25 - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-2.
1953 June 18 - . Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: White Sands LC33. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-3A.
1953 August 13 - . Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: White Sands LC33. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-3A.
1953 October 5 - . Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: White Sands LC33. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-3A.
1953 October 21 - . Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: White Sands LC33. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-3A.
1953 November 20 - . Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: White Sands LC33. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-3A.
1954 January 15 - . Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: White Sands LC33. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-3A.
1954 May 11 - . Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: White Sands LC33. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-3B.
1954 July 20 - . Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: White Sands LC33. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-3B.
1954 August 26 - . Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: White Sands LC33. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-3B. FAILURE: Failure.
1954 September 21 - . Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: White Sands LC33. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-3B.
1954 October 19 - . Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: White Sands LC33. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-3B.
1954 November 16 - . Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: White Sands LC33. LV Family: Wasserfall. Launch Vehicle: Hermes A-3B.

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