Goddard's Experimental Rocket Plane of 1930 and the US Pre-War Rocket Revolution

[Dynoman]

This is an alternative history of Goddard's historical liquid rocket launch of 1926 and the succeeding development of a fictional experimental rocket airplane based on Goddard's designs. The advent of the design and its governmental support ultimately leads to a change in the course of the US rocket industry.

Alternate History...

Like Charles Lindbergh, who read of Goddard's research and his latest launch of July 1929 in a New York Times article, experimenters at the US Navy's Engineering Experimental Station at Annapolis also read the article and saw the benefit of using rocket propulsion for new aircraft designs and long range weaponry. Goddard was contacted by both Lindbergh and the Navy to discuss the potential of the liquid rocket and its application to military systems.

The US Navy was operating the USS Langley, Lexington, and Saratoga aircraft carriers with squadrons of biplane fighters, which were growing in capability, but were relatively slow and whose armament was approximately 200 lbs of bombs. The Navy saw the rocket as a means of generating greater thrust, which would yield greater lift to carry more bombs. It would also result in the ability to close the vast distance between the carriers and their targets in minimal time. The promise of the rocket was great, but the development hurdles looked more like the walls of Jericho.

Their meeting of August 1929 planted the seed for the development of a rocket airplane. After having gathered magazine, newspaper, and journal articles of world-wide rocket developments, and having examined Pathe film of Fritz von Opel's rocket car and airplane in Germany, Goddard modifies his rocket patent of 1929 and designs a rocket system that could be fitted to an aircraft. (Goddard's rocket airplane patent can be found in the thread below).

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/goddard-rocket-powered-aircraft.17706/

Discussions over the type of aircraft that could carry Goddard's rocket, fuel, and it's associated equipment led to the group's compilation of a short list of available airframe manufacturers that had the engineering talent, advanced manufacturing technology, and willingness to try. Unfortunately, after talks with various Depression-era impacted companies only one said an emphatic yes to the concept.

C.M. Keys, president of Curtiss-Wright Aircraft Company, had brought Curtiss Aeroplane Company back from the brink of bankruptcy and firmly established it as one of the premiere aircraft manufacturers in the US, second only to Boeing in aircraft manufactured. The U.S. combat aircraft industry, 1909–2000 : structure, competition, innovation / Mark A. Lorell.

Keys recognized the importance of aviation to the future of the country and saw rocket development as a revolutionary technology that had significant repercussions throughout the industry. "Whoever could develop the rocket and successfully apply it to aviation could have a significant lead in motor, airframe, and systems development. All the others would spend years catching up." Keys agreed to build the rocket plane, however, he only would agree to the project if it were kept explicitly secret. The Curtiss company had a history that included severe bouts over patent rights, its most famous was its feuds with the Wrights. Curtiss built at least two patent-infringement aircraft to prove the Wrights wrong. According to Keys, Curtiss-Wright would have complete control of the aircraft and it's rockets development. The project would be a Secret.

Keys thought Lindbergh would be a great resource in promoting the project behind the scenes where his celebrity would be useful in conjuring support from bureaucrats. However, Keys needed a pilot who was an engineer, who had experience with military aircraft development, and who had a yearning to go fast. Almost immediately Keys thought of one man, Al Williams.

Alford 'Al' Williams, Jr., US Navy test pilot who had won the Pulitzer Trophy in 1923 in a Curtiss aircraft for setting a world speed-record also earned the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1929 for his fight test research efforts in aircraft systems development. He already had a very good relationship with the Curtiss company and he understood aviation technology and engineering principles well. He was also a military man who was sworn to secrecy and who would recognize the implications if foreign powers knew that the US was pursuing such a technology. Al was Keys first choice.

 

[Dynoman]

Conceptual design work began at the Curtiss Engineering Company, Garden City, Long Island, in late August 1929 where wind tunnels and engineering staff mulled over various configurations of the design. Goddard's rocket, which was still very elastic in its size and thrust, resulted in the group designing a light and a heavy variant of the aircraft. Goddard would have to freeze the motor design and provide details for its construction to the Curtiss engineers.

Curtiss chief engineer and designer, George A. Page, Jr. was briefed by C.M. Keys and the Navy on the project early in its conceptual design. Page was an experienced military aircraft designer and more specifically a naval aircraft man. He worked for the Aeromarine Plane and Motor Co., Heinrich Aeroplane Company, Inc, and Moisant. Besides a brief time in 1919-1921, when Page was a mechanic and pilot for American Trans Oceanic Co. -- an early airline operation between Miami and Cuba, Page began work for Curtiss Aeroplane Company in 1917, when Glenn Curtiss, now retired and providing engineering advice, hired him.

 

[Dynoman]

Goddard moves his operation to Camp Devens, Massachusetts and continues governmental support with great great secrecy.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlZVzIQYIIA


In the interim the US Office of Naval Intelligence sought to understand the works and experiments of Max Valier. The office sent several US agents clandestinely to approach the Heylandt Company inquiring about their liquid fuel rocket motors. These rockets had come into existence from experiments by Max Valier who attached liquid fuel rockets to race cars. Valier had actually died (May 17, 1930) in one of these failed experiments.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr9t1fwD46A

 

[Dynoman]

With additional staff and funds Goddard is able to scale up his engine design over sequential launches, from his earlier 1926 rocket to the April 1931 (fictional) rocket, Goddard has increased thrust up to 500 lbs. Also, he begins to experiment with alternative fuels, including the dangerous hydrazine hydrate in methanol and concentrated hydrogen peroxide. Goddard informs the group, now operating under the project codename Fire Hawk (paying homage to his successful P-6 Hawk line), that the design engine will produce approximately 800-1,000 lbs thrust by 1932 and weigh approximately 400 lbs using the fuel hydrazine hydrate in methanol and oxidizer, concentrated hydrogen peroxide.

 

[Dilandu]

While the rocket could generate more thrust, it also have a big problem of rather low fuel efficiency. So I really doubt that Navy - that was interested in range - would consider rocket-powered planes. More likely that Army could get interested - and even squeeze money from Congress for "ultimate defense fighter".

 

[Dynoman]

Dilandu, you are correct in you assessment. I was looking at the Navy's immediate interest in RATO (JATO) or a sea launched long range artillery rocket (similar to a ship launched V-2). There maybe other concepts, such as Fleet Defense using a rocket powered aircraft similar to the Natter or a Zero Length Launch (ZELL) system. The increase in range for the existing aircraft would come from the JATO concept, i.e. launching a fuel laden aircraft that could otherwise not leave the water or the deck under its own power.

 

[archipeppe]

Anyway a good alternative U.S. space history could be found in the short novel "Goddard's people" by Allen Steele published long ago on Asimov's Science Fiction where Goddard and his team built an advanced rocketplane which is instrumental to intercept the famous Sanger Silbervogel before bombing American soil.

 

[Dynoman]

That's an awesome premise! I was reading how Goddard was receiving letters from Nazi officials looking for information on his rockets during the 1930s, but did not respond to them. His concerns over what the Germans intended to do with the technology was well established before the Vengence weapons became known in the West.

 

[Dynoman]

Alternate history...

George Paige, Jr., sketches the two concepts for the rocket demonstrator. A lightweight (1,200 lbs gross) and a heavyweight (3,700 lbs gross) design. The designs are sized with a 500 lbs and 1,000 lbs thrust engine, respectively. To hide the development of the aircraft he chooses the model number 54, which was used once for the Curtiss Tanager. The Tanager was Curtiss' entry into the Guggenheim Safe Aircraft Competition, but unfortunately caught fire and was destroyed July 1930. Anyone that saw documentation circulate through the company would assume that Curtiss was rebuilding the one-of-a-kind aircraft.

 

[Dynoman]

Al Williams, whose role as the projects chief pilot, as suggested by C.M. Keys, was to work with the engineers at Curtiss and with Goddard to develop the aircraft, rocket engine, systems, and operational procedures to effectively test the new design. He provided insights into the operation of high speed aircraft from his unique perspective as a race pilot and naval test pilot. He was also tasked with identifying a suitable testing ground and began scouting locations to test the new design in August 1930. The Fire Hawk team determined that the location should be relatively isolated and possess an existing military presence for the purpose of security; it should be close to an aviation manufacturing and industrial base for assistance if needed; and have plenty of space for extended takeoff and landing rollout in the event of an emergency.

Williams would fly to various Naval test facilities on the eastern seaboard, including Norfolk (Hampton Roads) and the Naval Aircraft Factory in Pennsylvania. However, after landing at the Naval Air Station Anacostia outside of Washington, DC, and meeting his old friend, Test Section Commander Archibald H. Douglas, Williams realized that Anacostia would be the best location for the tests. Williams did not divulge the nature of the project, except that he needed space for a high speed aircraft that needed utmost secrecy. Douglas would offer Williams a hangar in the most secure area of the station. Williams thought that Anacostia offered the best technical support for the sophisticated rocket tests that could be found in the country. Anacosta was already testing nearly 40 different aircraft types annually. The airfield's acreage provided adequate room for the aircraft's field performance and the station's remote position between Bolling Field and the Anacostia River allowed station security sufficient visibility to monitor movement around the station and the ability to react to any threat. Also, its position relative to Washington may also garner some political support for the program when needed.

 

[Dilandu]

I was looking at the Navy's immediate interest in RATO (JATO)

But Navy have catapults for that - and they are much safer, than liquid rocket boosters to store onboard.

or a sea launched long range artillery rocket (similar to a ship launched V-2).

Well, this more likely (Korolev experimented with similar ideas in late 1930s, a cruise missile with liquid-fuel rocket, to serve as cheap mobile analogue of long-range artillery). Maybe some kind of "flying torpedo idea", to attack enemy battleline from long distance.

There maybe other concepts, such as Fleet Defense using a rocket powered aircraft similar to the Natter or a Zero Length Launch (ZELL) system.

Again, fleet have catapults for that.

 

[Archibald]

Putting a rocket into the tail of a P-40 would be a reasonable early move. Can't do any bad to that fighter performance. For the USN, I would pick the F4F Wildcat.

The rocket could use the same fuel as the piston engine (whatever you call that in english: AvGas ? gasoline ?) , it would vastly simplifies logistics and help safety.

The huge PITA with rockets is oxidizer: LOX is a deep cryogen, H202 back then had a lot of impurities that made it unstable and explosive. My pick would be N2O: laughing gas (!) A mild cryogen but otherwise pretty easy to handle. For an orbital launcher the combo of gasoline / N2O would probably suck, but to accelerate a piston-engine fighter to 450 mph or more, it should be good enough.

 

[hesham]

For Goddard airplanes;

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/goddard-rocket-powered-aircraft.17706/

 

[archipeppe]

Anyway a good alternative U.S. space history could be found in the short novel "Goddard's people" by Allen Steele published long ago on Asimov's Science Fiction where Goddard and his team built an advanced rocketplane which is instrumental to intercept the famous Sanger Silbervogel before bombing American soil.

Here it is, Asimov's Science Fiction, July 1991:

Asimov's v15n08 (1991 07) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Asimov's v15n08 (1991 07)

archive.org

 

[jstar]

Anyway a good alternative U.S. space history could be found in the short novel "Goddard's people" by Allen Steele published long ago on Asimov's Science Fiction where Goddard and his team built an advanced rocketplane which is instrumental to intercept the famous Sanger Silbervogel before bombing American soil.

Here it is, Asimov's Science Fiction, July 1991:

Asimov's v15n08 (1991 07) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Asimov's v15n08 (1991 07)

archive.org

He subsequently expanded it, and in 2014 released a full novel-length version, 'V-S Day'

 

[Dynoman]

Here it is, Asimov's Science Fiction, July 1991:

That's awesome! Thank you for providing the story. This is the first time I've seen or read this short story. So far this alternate history would be considered almost a prequel to Steel's "Goddard's People." This alternate history starts in the late 1920s and into the 1930s with the US having 'V-2' and rocket aircraft capabilities by the start of WWII.

My thought was that if the US had obtained these weapons early that it would have started the Cold War and Space Race earlier with different competitors, namely the US versus Nazi Germany.

 

[Dynoman]

Putting a rocket into the tail of a P-40 would be a reasonable early move. Can't do any bad to that fighter performance. For the USN, I would pick the F4F Wildcat.

This is a good idea, however due to the time frame I was looking at a rocket in a 1932 Curtiss F6C Hawk, which was similar to tests conducted by Germany in the Focke Wulf Fw56. Also, the gasoline powered rocket is also very good. Goddard used gasoline in his early experiments and would have streamlined the redundant fuel system requirements for the aircraft.

 

[Archibald]

Yep, as long as you have a piston engine in the front, better using gasoline / AvGas in the rocket. The rocket really don't care: RP-1 or the Soviet Syntyn were invented for orbital rockets or missiles, and that's still 25 years in the future. Gasoline is good enough. And nitrous oxide : in passing, you could go full symbiotic and use some of the N2O NASCAR or Dragster style - or Focke Wulf 190 style - to boost the piston engine performance. Ain't that cool ? gasoline fuel for the two engines, N2O oxidizer for both, too. Should make your biplane fighters true hot rods.

 

[Dynoman]

Goddard, with government funding, has accelerated the number of rockets built and tested resulting in a design that produces 800 lbs thrust by September 1930. The Fire Hawk team, excited by Goddard's progress, decides to integrate Goddard's latest rocket into an existing aircraft for flight testing.
The rocket is moved at night from Camp Devens to the Anacostia Naval Test Station and installed into the rear fuselage of a Navy Curtiss F6C, designated the F6C-R. Goddard follows the rocket and assists with its installation. Secrecy is maintained and the only people in attendance are the five Fire Hawk team managers and ten cleared technicians.
At 0600, on Sunday, October 16th 1930, while many in the area were still asleep, the team assembled and rolled the aircraft out of its Marine guarded hangar and into the dim light of the morning sun. The aircraft was positioned on the apron immediately facing the runway area. A fuel truck arrived to top off the aircraft's fuel tanks with 100 octane fuel. Once the aircraft was fueled the Goddard technicians wheeled out a 50 gallon barrel of nitrous oxide (N2O). They opened a small patch that had been retrofitted into the side of the fuselage to expose the fill neck for the N2O container. The only other visible signs that the F6C had been modified were the patch, which covered the 'Y' in NAVY, the shortened rudder for the rockets exhaust nozzle, and the rocket nozzle itself.

 

[publiusr]

Ain't that cool ? gasoline fuel for the two engines, N2O oxidizer for both, too. Should make your biplane fighters true hot rods.

It would take a longer nose or asbestos-canvas-but imagine a tractor rocket biplane' turning radius with an articulating frame. Pusher prop for cruise-rocket for snap turns.