The German 9 mm Rocket and it s Descendents

The German 9 mm Rocket and it’s Descendents or The Intro to Mel’s Gyrojet Book!!!

Rocket Theory High Pressure Supersonic flow Lower Pressure Mach 1 in nozzle throat Conservation of Momentum – Every action has an equal and opposite reaction Force = mass x velocity Mass is a function of size of nozzle throat in a rocket

Why a Rocket Normal Cased Cartridge Self Contained Cartridge - Propellant in Bullet Throat size & burn time Rocket Cartridge - Propellant in Bullet – Exhaust Nozzle

German 9 mm Rocket Cartridges • Col Jarrett found 11 Rocket rounds in Walther Factory in 1945 – Unloaded in white • Capt Pollard Report – To British D. of A. (S. A. ) 30/7/45 – 5000 rocket bullets made at Walther and loaded at DWM Wittenberg – Weapon was a modified blowback Schmeisser type, smooth bored and Walther pistol with a recessed blot head supporting the cap nipple – interview with Karl Walther and Schmeisser – Steel ball as primer anvil – Muzzle velocity increased from 1200 ft/sec to 1700 ft/sec – Enable powerful weapon with low recoil in a cheap blowback weapon capable of mass production – Based on Langweiler impulse propulsion concept ca 1939 • Apparently not simple a rocket • Subsequently other rounds turned up in Germany Mel Carpenter collection-ex Val Forgett (ex Jarrett)

~ 902 ft/sec ~ 30 mm overall length – 6 exhaust ports

Walther Rockets My 9 mm ex-Kaultmann – 30. 23 mm Mel Carpenter Photo Woodin Laboratory 9 mm ex-Jarrett – 30. 23 mm My 9 mm ex-Jarrett – 30. 23 mm

Walther Rockets Woodin Laboratory ex-Kaultmann– 34. 6 mm Mel Carpenter Photo Woodin Laboratory – 30 mm

DWM/Schurk Rockets CIOS Report – DWM Schultup nr Lubeck -2/7/46 • Rounds from A. Schurk of Munich marked “Langweiler Project” Courtesy of the Woodin Laboratory DWM denied involvement initially • Involved in aspects of Langweiler impulse propulsion • “Mr Strecke has been engaged in this effort” Courtesy of the Woodin Laboratory

Polte Rockets ? ? ? Courtesy of the Woodin Laboratory - Mel Carpenter Photo

Unknown German 9 mm Rocket • Reportedly German • Very blunt bullet • Rear nipple very short • Overall length ~30 mm • Legit? ? ? Mel Carpenter collection-ex Val Forgett Lew Curtis collection-ex Kaultmann

British 9 mm Rocket Cartridges • Chief Superintendent Armament Research – Ft Halstead 30/8/45 – Based on work published in 1939 by Langweiler on impulse-propulsion – Testing done with modified 7. 92 x 57 tracer increased MV by 150 ft/sec – Recommended British Conduct Experiments • Use Lab mockup weapon • Start with an exact copy of the German bullet • Recommended various types of propellants which could be tried • Sir Dennis Burney – (for B. T. Co. ? ? ? ) 14/9/45 – Describes the German rocket bullet – References test of “rocket projectiles” in the Hotchkiss 6 pdr. • Attached Minutes – Preliminary designs being manufactured at Radway Green – 23/1/46 – Trials of D 6(B) 341/56 and D 6(B) 338/56 with propellent P. 16454 – 5/3/47 • 341/56 fired satisfactorily • 338/56 blew out duralumin nose plug before complete pressure buildup – Worked with steel nose plug • Requested further tests of 250 rounds – order confirmed – Trial at ROF Swynnerton terminated 29/8/47

Design 341/56 • Appears to be open at rear • Self Contained cartridge design • Tested successfully

Design 338/56 • Based on German design • Top closed with nose plug • Used perforate disk • Initially unsuccessful • Later tested successfully • Steel nose plug • Disk removed

U S Navy 9 mm Rocket Cartridge • Built by China Lake Naval Armament Lab in 1954 • No evidence of a weapon ever being built – Used a test fixture like the British • Built for Don Stoehr – Based on a sample of Walther Rocket from Fred Datig – Less than a dozen made – Not a serious research program German 9 mm Rocket US Navy 9 mm Rocket Mel Carpenter collection

US Navy Rocket Mel Carpenter collection

French Rocket

Czech 9 mm Holecek Cartridges • Jaroslav Holecek worked for the firm Zbrojovka Brno Czech had data on German caseless work from WW I and WW II Round nose cartridge tested in a modified CZ vz 247 submachine gun Improved cartridge with flanges achieved 400 m/sec (1300 ft/sec) Primer residue exited barrel Aimed at conversion of 9 mm Para weapons Reportedly developed in early 1950 s

Czech 9 mm RZK Rocket Rifle Cartridge

Other 9 mm Rocket Cartridges • Russian – In 1957 Val Forgett was told by Karl Walther that the 9 mm Rockets found in his desk were not German but Russian but didn’t work – In 1994 at Artillery Museum in St Petersburg Val saw a drawer with these cartridges in two lengths and pistols. When he referred to them as “German” he was told “no they are Russian” – Karl Walther was a strong Nazi supporter and “uncooperative” – Pollard – Other German efforts applying Langweiler’s concept besides Walther’s – 7. 62 mm Self Contained round identified • Dates from early 1970 s Courtesy of Yuri Bushin and John Moss • German Post WWII – 9 mm Submitted to Meppen for testing in 1962 • MBA Gyrojets – Buy Mel Carpenter’s book when it is published Courtesy of the Woodin Laboratory

Summary • Germany had a fairly broad effort on 9 mm Rockets – Numerous variations of German 9 mm Rockets – Langweiler’s technical principles still unclear • • French and British efforts Immediately after war Czech effort may be based on German effort US effort kind of an afterthought Lots more research needed Warning!!! • Lots of replicas, copies and fakes (US, German & Swiss) • Some marked, but most are not marked • History of the cartridge is best insurance

Credits • • • Herb Woodend - British Material Mel Carpenter & Bill Woodin – Photos and German Ref Ted Koch Peter Petrusic Yuri Bushin John Moss Rolf Foerster John Schmitt IAA Journal 410 & 412 Buttweiler Archives

Backup Charts

Dutch Rocket Cartridges • Product of Artillerie - Inrichtingen • Apparently no work in 9 mm • Appears to be related to Gyrojet