Object Details
Manufacturer
Unknown
Summary
Two Rheinmetall-Borsig RI 502 solid-fuel Jet-Assisted Take-Off (JATO) rockets were shipped to German Luftwaffe units in this original German Air Ministry shipping crate. The RI 502 was specifically designed as a JATO for large troop-carrying gliders, notably the Gotha Go 242, and was manufactured in large quantities at the end of the war. Similar or identical motors were used as boosters for test missiles, and as aircraft JATOs in place of the standard liquid-fuel hydrogen-peroxide models. As it was standard to mount two JATOs on most non-glider aircraft, these rockets were shipped in pairs.
This case containing two rockets was captured at the end of the war and shipped to Freeman and Wright Fields in the Midwest U.S. before being transferred to the Smithsonian by the U.S. Air Force in 1949.
Credit Line
Transferred from the U.S. Air Force
Inventory Number
A19602002002
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
EQUIPMENT-Miscellaneous
Materials
Wood, iron or steel fittings
Dimensions
3-D (Box): 134.6 x 53.3 x 30.5cm (53 x 21 x 12 in.)
Other (Lid): 2.5cm (1 in.)
Country of Origin
Germany
See more items in
National Air and Space Museum Collection
Location
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA
Exhibit Station
Rockets & Missiles
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nasm_A19602002002