With a thrust of 25 metric tons (56,000 lb), the V-2 motor was the world's first large, liquid-fuel rocket engine and powered the first ballistic missile, the German V-2 of World War II. The combustion chamber was the engine's heart and burned the propellants, water alcohol and liquid oxygen, at about 2,700 ºC (4,900 ºF). Water alcohol was injected through six pipes near the bottom of the chamber, moved up between the walls in order to cool the chamber, emerging through the sides of the 18 injectors on top. Small pipes also injected alcohol into the chamber through rings of tiny holes in order to provide a insulating film of fuel along the walls. Liquid oxygen was injected directly into the top of the injector heads. A pyrotechnic igniter started combustion, after which burning was self-sustaining.
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center gave this artifact to the Smithsonian in 1975.
Display Status
This object is on display in Rockets & Missiles at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.
Object Details
Country of Origin
Germany
Type
PROPULSION-Rocket Engines
Manufacturer
Linke-Hofmann Werke AG
Dimensions
Overall: 6 ft. 5 in. tall x 3 ft. 9 in. wide (195.58 x 114.3cm); diameter, each injector, 21 in.; diameter, outside, nozzle, 29 in.
Materials
Steel
Alternate Name
V-2 Rocket Engine Combustion Chamber cutaway
Inventory Number
A19790950000
Credit Line
Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
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