RATO Pods in 1940

[Chris Goss]

KGr 126 reported the use of these pods October-December 1940 (as did I.KG 28 in 1941} due to the shortness of the runway at Nantes. Would these be Walter HWK pods and did any other units use them in 1940?

[Nick Beale]

Doing a search on Bundesarchiv Invenio for Starthilfe [take-off assistance], I got two that are digitised:


RL 2-III/383: E-Häfen.- Ausbau für Starthilfe (1939–40)
RL 2-III/1868: E-Häfen.- Ausbau für Starthilfe (Sept. 1939)


Each contains something about T-Stoff or Sonderkraftstoff. There are another 7 Luftwaffe hits that I didn't check and any number of Army ones.

[Chris Goss]

RL-2/III/383 mentions that on 16 Aug 40 shows that the airfields at Nantes and Etampes had equipment for 10 rocket-assisted-take-offs and they expected equipment for a complete Kampfgruppe by 20 Aug. It does not say if these were Walter HWK 109-500 (that early?) but T-Stoff and Z-Stoff is mentioned in the document.