The rocket for the road

The name Max Valier is well known in the rocket scene, as the man born in Bolzano in 1895 is considered a driving force in rocket research, particularly in relation to research into liquid rocket engines. In January 1930, Max Valier, now 35 years old, moved into a workshop at the Heylandt company. As a test vehicle, he used a car that was not designed with visual and technical aspects in mind, but only for the fastest possible propulsion and high speed. On April 17, 1930, he launched a car with liquid rocket propulsion for the first time, but on May 17, 1930, the researcher was killed in an accident.Following the death of the pioneer, 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 nicknamed the “Hellhound.” In May 1931, a test driver undertook the first test drives at Tempelhof Airport. The entire drive system was encased in a wooden frame and covered with a sheet metal body, which also featured wind deflectors on all four wheels. Nothing is known about the success of the very loud rocket car, which was emblazoned with the Heylandt company logo on the front, and it is likely that the single test run in May 1931 was the only one ever conducted. No other automotive activities from the Berlin factory are known. Instead, the military approached the factory, recognized the great potential of rocket propulsion, and developed it further for their own (destructive) purposes.