Please see the following, my understanding of the access and service hatches, an d names used on the A4 hatch plan

on page 329 of Holsken's "V-weapons of the 3rd Reich". I have used my English/German dictionary, with additional assistance fr om my mother-in-law. While she is a native speaker of German, she is a hausfrau and thus her knowledge of the technical context of these words is limited. I wou ld appreciate input from members as to this list; any advice and comments which are forthcoming will be used to create a comprehensive guide to the Klappen, to be posted with Hatch plans from various sources, in the group's files. If anyone has a hatch plan they are willing to have distributed, other than the plan on page 12 of the Fibel, the plan on page 329 of Holsken, or the hatch plan from Backfire vol 3 plate 2, please send them to Tracy.

I will use the Holsken plan as reference for this list, because while it uses th e same terms as the German Fibel, it also contains a few more. Note: the Holsken list uses some abbreviations, z. = to, u = and, d. = the. 1. Klappe fur Z-Spulventil = hatch for Z-stoff flush valve (spul=flush, ventil=valve) 2. Klappe z. Druckkontakt u. T-Spulventil = hatch to pressure switch (druck=pressure, kontakt=switch) and T-stoff flush va lve 3. Klappe fur Z-Entluftung = hatch for Z-stoff ventilation (entluftung=ventilation) 4. Klappe for Z-Betankung = hatch for Z-stoff tank fuelling inlet (betankung= "entanking", not a real Engl ish word, but this is the sense) 5. Klappe fur A u. T-Betankung = hatch for A-stoff tank and T-stoff tank fuelling inlet 6. Klappe fur Druckminderer = hatch for pressure reducer ( druck=pressure, minderer=reducer, in reality, pre ssure reduction valve) 7. Entlufterklappen = ventilation hatches 8. Gerateraumklappe III = hatch to control compartment 3 (literally, gerat=device/apparatus/equipment, r aum= space/room/compartment) 11. Federklappe (fur Abwurfstecker) = spring hatch (in the sense of spring-loaded self-closing hatch) for throwing p lugs (abwurf=throwing/ejecting/jettisoning, stecker=plug, AKA Stotz Plugs) 13. Ladeklappen = loading hatches ( ! ! ) I have been reviewing the Backfire report, and I noticed something in a section I have overlooked in the past, the section on de-fuelling an unlaunched rocket. At the mid-section of the interior of the rocket, between the two main fuel tank s are the alcohol, or B-stoff outlet valves for draining a filled alcohol tank.

Use of these valves involves a 70mm hose, with a coupling on the end of even gre ater diameter, so I don't think that such a hose would fit through the ventilati on hatches (the holes with the internal, downward-facing scoop, hatch seven on t he Holsken plan). This hose, in my opinion, must pass through another hatch, pos sibly the mysterious ladeklappen. 14. Rudermaschinenklappen = hatches to rudder drive/machinery (these hatches are for the servo motors; the se are sometimes listed as hatches to servo potentiometers, which are elsewhere, and they have their own access hatches.) 15. Einstiegklappe = dunno, another mystery hatch, although I have seen this described as 'manhole' 16. Klappe fur Zwischenverteiler = hatch for intermediate distributor, AKA secondary distribution box (zwischen=i n-between, verteiler=distributor) 17. Klappe fur Durchdrehen d. Pumpe u. Ausbau d. Schnellschlussreglers = Wow! This one's a toughie, but the general sense peeks through the fog. Durchdrehen = grind up, or rev/wind up, in the sense of using a crank to a flywh eel. "d. Pumpe" = the pump, referring to the steam-turbine operated fuel pump. u . = and, Ausbau = literally dismount, in the sense of removal, Schnell = fast, schluss = end/finish/stop, reglers = control/regulator/switch. Thus... Hatch for winding up the pump and removal of the emergency shut-down regulator. I find this reference to the turbine a little confusing, as I am unaware of any need to wind it up. The only thing in that vicinity I am aware of is the centrif ugal overspeed trip switch for the turbine, which has a manual reset handle, pre sumably accessed from the outside via a hatch. I don't know what this overspeed trip switch is called in German. There are some additional access hatches which don't appear on any plan I know o f, which are to the antennae connections (for tuning or adjustment?). The Fibel indicates two on hatch 4, forward of the antenna fairing, one for the fuel cut-o ff and one for the guidance signal. I don't know if they have names or numbers, but they appear to be present on all fins. One question regarding fuelling and hatches; the Backfire hatch plan shows one h atch for A-stoff fuelling (hatch J), and one hatch for T-stoff fuelling (hatch G ), whereas the Holsken plan (hatch 5) and the Fibel plan (hatch 1) show one hatc h for access to both tank inlets. Some thrust frame designs I have seen show the se two inlets as pointing in different directions and quite a distance apart (su ggesting the need for two separate access hatches). Was there a thrust frame des ign in which the T-stoff tank inlet had an extension pipe, taking it closer to t he A-stoff inlet?