Bumper-Wac rocket

USA

History:

Bumper-Wac

Bumper-Wac rocket

Bumper BU-7 after recuperation

Bumper BU-8 before launch

Bumper BU-8 launch

Cape Canaveral A4/V2 Bumper launches:

Only two Bumper V-2's were ever launched from the Joint Long-Range Proving Grond (JLRPG) or as referred to today as Cape Canaveral.
The first bumper V-2 to be launched was B-8 due to moisture problems with B-7. JLRPG combated the moisture problems by adding silicone grease to vulnerable points and reversing the loading sequence by loading the liquid oxygen after loading the hydrogen peroxide. This seem to work well for both of the launches. B-8 was successfully fired on July 23, 1950 and B-7 was successfully fired on July 29, 1950. Bumper 7 attained a speed of Mach 9, the highest sustained speed that had ever been reached in the Earth's atmosphere. The main point of study with these flights was that of staging.
A discussion of the results of these launches are loacated in the Patrick Air Force Base, Long-Range Proving Ground Division, Technical Report No. 1, "Bumper Missiles 7 and 8," Sept 29, 1950.

Technical Data:

Launch List:

Tot. Nr	Type Nr	Launch Vehicle	Serial Nr	Launch Date	L. Time	Launch Site	Comment	Altitude	Range	Velocity	Burn time
1	1	Bumper-Wac	BU-1	13/05/1948	13:43	WS, LC-33		79,1 miles (V2: 69,7 miles)	(V2: 32 miles)	2740 mph (V2:2467 mph)	V2: 66 sec, WAC: 6 sec
2	2	Bumper-Wac	BU-2	19/08/1948	14:45	WS, LC-33	Failure, prem. shutdown	8,3 miles	0,9 miles	850 mph	V2: 33,8 sec, WAC:0 sec
3	3	Bumper-Wac	BU-3	30/09/1948	15:30	WS, LC-33	Failure, WAC failure	93,4 miles	22 miles	3160 mph	V2: 64,2 sec, WAC: 0 sec
4	4	Bumper-Wac	BU-4	1/11/1948	14:24	WS, LC-33	Failure, Tail expl.	3 miles	1,0 mile	875 mph	V2: 18,5 sec, WAC: 0 sec
5	5	Bumper-Wac	BU-5	24/02/1949	22:22	WS, LC-33		244 miles (V2:63 miles)	80 miles (V2: 21,5 miles)	5150 mph (V2: 2615 mph)	V2: 68 sec, WAC: 28 sec
6	6	Bumper-Wac	BU-6	21/04/1949	17:16	WS, LC-33	Failure, prem. shutdown	31 miles	0,4 miles	1820 mph	V2: 48 sec, WAC: 0 sec
7	7	Bumper-Wac	BU-8	23/07/1950	14:29	CC, LC3	Failure, WAC failure	10 miles	200 miles (V2:50 miles)	4300 mph (V2:3000 mph)
8	8	Bumper-Wac	BU-7	29/07/1950	11:44	CC, LC3		10 miles	200 miles

Note:

All "Launch Date" are in UT time.
The launch of 23.07.1950 was the 1st launch of CC.
Flight 1: Premature cut off of WAC 2nd stage.
Flight 2: Inadvertent valve closure shut down of V2 1st stage.
Flight 3: WAC second stage did not ignite.
Flight 4: Explosion in tail section of V2 1st stage.
Flight 5: Succesfull. Separation at 21.5 miles altitude.
Flight 6: Premature cut off of V2 1st stage. WAC did not fire.
Flight 8: Low-angle, high speed flight in atmosphere.
Flight 7: Low-angle flight through atmosphere.

Ref.: #35, #502 - update: 14.07.15