Hellmuth Walter

Hellmuth Walter (26 August 1900 in Wedel near Hamburg – 16 December 1980 in Upper Montclair, New Jersey) was a German engineer who pioneered research into rocket engines and gas turbines. His most noteworthy contributions were rocket motors for the Messerschmitt Me 163 and Bachem Ba 349 interceptor aircraft, so-called Starthilfe jettisonable rocket propulsion units used for a variety of Luftwaffe aircraft during World War II, and a revolutionary new propulsion system for submarines known as air-independent propulsion (AIP).

Walter began training as a machinist in 1917 in Hamburg and in 1921 commenced studies in mechanical engineering at the Hamburg Technical Institute. He left before completing these studies, however, in order to take up a position at the Stettiner Maschinenbau AG Vulcan, a major shipyard. Walter’s experience with marine engines here led him to become interested in overcoming some of the limitations of the internal combustion engine. He reasoned that an engine powered by a fuel source already rich with oxygen would not require an external supply of oxygen (from the atmosphere or from tanks). This would have obvious advantages for powering submarines and torpedoes.