Reaction Motors in New Jersey - Lake Denmark and Picatinny
By Shireesh Kumar, NJIT
Finally they moved to Navy buildings in the remote hills near Picatinny
Arsenal, close to Lake Denmark, in Rockaway, N.J. It was remote site
which was good for testing. This site was also close to the supply of
skilled labor and chemicals they needed for the test. In 1945, NACA,
the predecessor of NASA chose RMI as a contractor to build rocket motors
for this new aircraft--to be called the X-1-Bell. RMI ultimately developed
a four-chamber engine (the 6000C4, "Black Betsy"), fueled
by a mixture of liquid oxygen and diluted ethyl alcohol, for the new
aircraft. On October 14, 1947, a young Army Air Force veteran--Chuck
Yeager--climbed into the X-1 (Specs
of X-1), with its RMI-designed and built rocket engine. He was the
first one who broke the sound barrier. The first time in history an
aircraft did so.
Below are the pictures that were taken at Lake Denmark while RMI was
doing some test.
Photos from Picatinny
 |
Company: RMI(Reaction Motors Inc.)
Test: Analyzing Engine A175
Site: Lake Denmark
|
 |
Company: RMI(Reaction Motors
Inc.)
Test: Test on Rocket Sled
Site: Lake Denmark
|
 |
Company: RMI(Reaction Motors
Inc.)
Test: Rocket Energiser
Site: Lake Denmark
|
 |
Company: RMI(Reaction Motors Inc.)
Test: Testing 6000 series
Site: Lake Denmark
|
|
