Aerospace Engines A to Z
Aerospace Engines A to Z

Updated: 17-Jun-2025

Swedish rocketry pioneer Wilhelm Theodor Unge pursued a military career, during which he became interested in this type of weapon.

Wilhelm Theodor Unge
“W.T. Unge”

-He founded the Mars Company with Nobel, among others. He also collaborated with Krupp in Germany for approximately five years.

-In 1892, he developed his first unusual rocket: the gas outlet was reversed, and a dome reversed the flow of the gas jet. There were heating problems throughout the entire projectile.

Unge's first model
"Unge's first model"

-The following models had the exhaust flow directed toward the rear, but with devices to provide a constant spin to stabilize the trajectory. In one case, the outlets were fluted, while others were directly inclined.

Four Types of Unge Rockets
“Four Types of Unge Rockets”

-In 1897, he introduced a device that he patented under number 10257. A kind of helical pitch imparts spin to the self-propelled projectile.

View of Unge's projectile
Detail of the Unge projectile's spinning device
“View of the projectile and detail of the spinning device”

-All rockets ran on solid fuel, such as black powder or ballistite.

-For the device to spin, its center of gravity had to be at the center of the longitudinal axis so that it wouldn't spiral forward.

-One of the last projects were the projectiles from 1905 to 1909, measuring 10 cm, 20 cm, and 30 cm in diameter.

For example, the 10 cm shell was less than a meter long and carried about 5 kg of propellant. The 30 cm shell was 2.35 meters long and carried 116 kg of propellant.

Unge projectile from 1905
"Projectile from 1905"

Launching tests of an Unge projectile
“Launching tests”

Motores de UNGE

Model: Self-propelled ammunition

Arquitecture:
Chambers:
Fuels:
Feed System:
Ignition:
Thrust:
Weight:

Other details: