This motor is a Walter 109-509.A-1, serial M-1739, with a manufacturer's stamp indicating the manufacturer to be "hnx" - Hellmuth Walter Kommanditgesellschaft. It's Science Museum accession number is 1985-2003.

Previously undescribed in the mainstream literature, the existence of this motor has only recently come to light. It is now part of the Science Museum's collection, and is on occasional display at the reserve store at Wroughton.

Known History.

Currently its history is being researched. It is probable that the motor was used at the College of Aeronautics at Cranfield serving as an instructional unit. There are points around the motor where labels have at some point been stuck, presumably naming the parts of the motor.

Many of the smaller exhibits, and many of the engines from Cranfield have been donated to the Science Museum, and those not on display in central London are in store at Wroughton.

The Science Museum's accession number for this exhibit probably does not reflect the true date of its acquisition, and it may have been in store at Wroughton since the 1950s. However, the more likely date could be in the early 1980s when Cranfield was undergoing a period of rationalisation.

Description.

This motor is largely complete, although missing the T-Stoff inlet pipe for the steam generator, and the lever and rod connecting the control valve to the steam control unit.

An "interesting" point about this exhibit, is that sometime during its life, almost every part of it has been painted black. Currently displayed under the wing of a De Havilland Comet jet airliner (a strange irony), and only illuminated by the high level sodium lamps in the museum hangars, the colour makes photography very difficult.

The paint is now cracked and flaking, and some steel parts of the motor show a little corrosion, making the overall appearance of the unit shabby, but the condition is largely good.

All photographs © Shamus Reddin,
- with thanks to the staff of the Science Museum, Wroughton

The starboard side of the motor seen from the rear, looking forward. Virtually the only unpainted piece on the motor, the unit on the left, is the Steam Generator.

The starboard side of the motor, this time looking toward the motor thrust tube, and the rear of the aeroplane. It is very difficult to make out the different pipe runs in pictures like this, because they are all painted black.

However, one thing to notice is the side plate of the motor frame, which covers the entire starboard face. Compare this with the motor from the Shuttleworth collection, which has a small side plate.

This view of the motor's front face clearly shows the standard features of an "A-1" motor - inlcuding the large T-Stoff pipe and the Bosch electric starter motor: although they are not easy to make out, because of the paint.

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