The Rocket for the Road
The name Max Valier is a
household name in the rocket community, as the man
born in Bolzano in 1895
is considered a driving force in
rocket research—particularly with regard to
research on liquid-fuel rocket engines.
In January 1930, the now 35-year-old
Max Valier moved into a workshop at the
Heylandt company. As a test vehicle, he used a
car that was not designed with aesthetic or
technical considerations in mind,
but solely for the fastest possible acceleration
and high speed. On April 17,
1930, he launched a car with
liquid-fuel rocket propulsion for the first time, but on May 17, 1930,
the researcher was killed in an accident.
Following the pioneer’s death, Walter Riedel,
together with Heylandt engineers Alfons
Pietsch and Arthur Rudolph, attempted to
further develop the liquid-gas engine, and the team created
another rocket car, which was given the nickname
`Höllenhund`. In May 1931, a
test driver undertook the first
test drives at Tempelhof Airport. The entire propulsion system was encased in a
wooden frame, over which a
sheet-metal body was fitted, complete with
wind deflectors on all
four wheels. Nothing is known about the
success of this very
loud rocket car, which was extensively branded with the
“Heylandt” logo on its front;
presumably, it remained at just that single
test run in May 1931.
No further automotive
activities at the Berlin plant are
known; instead, the military approached the
plant, recognized the great potential of
rocket propulsion, and further developed it for
their own (devastating) purposes.
