Drawings I've been working on this year

I finally have a sort of complete set of some of the most important pre-Goddard rockets drawn. I hope to do more, but here's a preview:



Now here's a "backed off" view including the full guidestick lenths. These drawings do need more work--for instance the Congreve guidstick needs some taper...



That is all...

I would love to know the story behind the "Indian Sword Rocket".

I was wondering if I could somehow model some of these in OR...

NOPE!!! I might be able to fake out the program to allow for the shafts of the arrows, but the fletching has me beat.

It comes from the Anglo-Mysore wars of the late 1700's, when the Brits trying to take over India. Tipu Sultan was the biggest and last resistance. Tipu's rockets outperformed anything in Europe because they had iron cases (India's iron was also better than anything in Europe at the time) and could burn at higher pressures. Usually they were stablised by bamboo guidesticks, but some had sword blades instead. According to some sources, they went unstable at burnout, while other sources indicated that the took on a coning motion--either way, the swords would slash about in a deadly manner.

There is one of these left in existence, at the Woolwich Arsenal in England.

Not by coincidence, William Congreve's father was a general at the Woolwich Arsenal at the time, and a few years later, the younger Congreve set out to systematically copy and improve on the Indian rockets.

By 1814, the Brits were using those rockets against the Americans in the War of 1812. WHich is a whole different story.

TopRamen said:

I would love to know the story behind the "Indian Sword Rocket".

Click to expand...

Well, with any luck you'll get all the dimensions you need in a couple of years.

K'Tesh said:

I was wondering if I could somehow model some of these in OR...

NOPE!!! I might be able to fake out the program to allow for the shafts of the arrows, but the fletching has me beat.

Click to expand...

K'Tesh said:

I was wondering if I could somehow model some of these in OR...

NOPE!!! I might be able to fake out the program to allow for the shafts of the arrows, but the fletching has me beat.

Click to expand...

Maybe the shaft is the main body tube and the rocket is a pod on the side? Will OR model pods that extend above the main tube?

Great drawings Peter!
Been looking at micronizing a 32pound Congreve rocket. At some point I'll have to do a 1-page plan.

The Swedish was new to me, thanks for that.