Walter Thiel
Encyclopedia
Dr Walter Thiel was a German rocket scientist.
He was the third civilian hired by Walter Dornberger
for German research at Kummersdorf
on November 1, 1932, (after Wernher von Braun
& Heinrich Grünow), and in 1936, transferred to Dornberger's new rocket section. After transferring from Kummersdorf to the Peenemünde
Army Research Center in the summer of 1940, Thiel became deputy director of the Peenemünde HVP Organization under von Braun. Before working at Kummersdorf, Thiel was a chemical engineer at the Heyland Works at Brietz near Berlin. Thiel also designed the motor for the Wasserfall
anti-aircraft missile.
Walter Thiel was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame
in 1976. The crater Thiel
on the Moon is named after him.
, Thiel designed annular rings of tiny perforations to inject unburnt fuel through the chamber walls at the throat for evaporative cooling to prevent V-2 rocket
nozzle erosion.
By September 15, 1941, Thiel officially declared the basic eighteen-pot design of the A-4 motor finished.
Earlier in the Spring of 1941, Thiel began investigating nitric acid and diesel oil to be used as the fuel for the 30-ton-thrust A-8 .
Then on December 18, 1941, Thiel documented the initial A-9/A-10 motor design of six combustion chambers into one common nozzle in Secret Command Document 1496/41.
By the middle of August 1943, Dr Thiel declared that the A-4 developmental problems preclude mass production, recommended the project be abandoned, and resigned with notification he intended to lecture thermodynamics at a technical college.
Thiel was killed days later in the Operation Hydra
bombing raid on Peenemünde - Martin Schilling replaced Thiel.
He was the third civilian hired by Walter Dornberger
Walter Dornberger
Major-General Dr Walter Robert Dornberger was a German Army artillery officer whose career spanned World Wars I and II. He was a leader of Germany's V-2 rocket program and other projects at the Peenemünde Army Research Center....
for German research at Kummersdorf
Kummersdorf
Kummersdorf is the name of an estate near Luckenwalde at , around 25km south of Berlin, in the Brandenburg region of Germany. Until 1945 Kummersdorf hosted the weapon office of the German Army which ran a development centre for future weapons as well as an artillery range.In 1929 the Army Weapons...
on November 1, 1932, (after Wernher von Braun
Wernher von Braun
Wernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun was a German rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, space architect, and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany during World War II and in the United States after that.A former member of the Nazi party,...
& Heinrich Grünow), and in 1936, transferred to Dornberger's new rocket section. After transferring from Kummersdorf to the Peenemünde
Peenemünde
The Peenemünde Army Research Center was founded in 1937 as one of five military proving grounds under the Army Weapons Office ....
Army Research Center in the summer of 1940, Thiel became deputy director of the Peenemünde HVP Organization under von Braun. Before working at Kummersdorf, Thiel was a chemical engineer at the Heyland Works at Brietz near Berlin. Thiel also designed the motor for the Wasserfall
Wasserfall
The Wasserfall Ferngelenkte Flakrakete , was a World War II guided surface-to-air missile developed at Peenemünde, Germany.-Technical characteristics:...
anti-aircraft missile.
Walter Thiel was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame
International Space Hall of Fame
The New Mexico Museum of Space History is a museum and planetarium complex in Alamogordo, New Mexico, dedicated to artifacts and displays related to space flight and the space age. It includes the International Space Hall of Fame. The Museum of Space History highlights the role that New Mexico has...
in 1976. The crater Thiel
Thiel (crater)
Thiel is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located to the south of the larger crater Quetelet, and to the north-northwest of Charlier. This is a sharp-edged, roughly circular crater with a small impact along the outer rim to the north-northeast. It is otherwise relatively...
on the Moon is named after him.
Aggregate series Development
Based on the film cooling ('veil cooling') solution identified by colleague Moritz Pöhlmann at PeenemündePeenemünde
The Peenemünde Army Research Center was founded in 1937 as one of five military proving grounds under the Army Weapons Office ....
, Thiel designed annular rings of tiny perforations to inject unburnt fuel through the chamber walls at the throat for evaporative cooling to prevent V-2 rocket
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
nozzle erosion.
By September 15, 1941, Thiel officially declared the basic eighteen-pot design of the A-4 motor finished.
Earlier in the Spring of 1941, Thiel began investigating nitric acid and diesel oil to be used as the fuel for the 30-ton-thrust A-8 .
Then on December 18, 1941, Thiel documented the initial A-9/A-10 motor design of six combustion chambers into one common nozzle in Secret Command Document 1496/41.
By the middle of August 1943, Dr Thiel declared that the A-4 developmental problems preclude mass production, recommended the project be abandoned, and resigned with notification he intended to lecture thermodynamics at a technical college.
Thiel was killed days later in the Operation Hydra
Bombing of Peenemünde in World War II
Operation Hydra was a Royal Air Force attack on the Peenemünde Army Research Center on the night of 17/18 August 1943. It began the Operation Crossbow strategic bombing campaign against Nazi Germany's V-weapon programme...
bombing raid on Peenemünde - Martin Schilling replaced Thiel.