View source for C-Stoff

{{Short description|German rocket fuel}}
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'''C-Stoff''' ({{IPA|de|t͡seː ʃtɔf|}}; "substance C") was a [[Redox|reductant]] used in [[bipropellant rocket]] fuels (as a fuel itself) developed by [[Hellmuth Walter Kommanditgesellschaft]] in [[Germany]] during [[World War II]]. It was developed for use with [[T-Stoff]] (a [[high-test peroxide]]) as an oxidizer, which together with C-Stoff as the fuel, forms a [[hypergolic fuel|hypergolic mixture]].

{|
| [[Methanol]]
| style="margin-left:1em" | CH<sub>3</sub>OH
| style="margin-left:1em" | ~57% by weight
|-----
| [[Hydrazine]] [[hydrate]]
| style="margin-left:1em" | N<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub> · H<sub>2</sub>O
| style="margin-left:1em" | ~30% by weight
|-----
| [[Water]]
| style="margin-left:1em" | H<sub>2</sub>O
| style="margin-left:1em" | ~13% by weight
|-----
| Catalyst 431
| style="margin-left:1em" | K<sub>3</sub>[Cu(CN)<sub>4</sub>]
| style="margin-left:1em" | [[Cuprate|potassium tetracyanocuprate(I)]]
|}

The proportions of the components in C-Stoff were developed to catalyse the decomposition of T-Stoff, promote combustion with the oxygen released by the decomposition, and sustain uniform combustion through sufficient quantity of the highly reactive hydrazine.  The combination of the C-Stoff, used as a rocket fuel, with the T-Stoff used as the oxidizer, often resulted in spontaneous explosion from their combined nature as a [[hypergolic fuel]] combination, necessitating strict hygiene in fueling operations; there were numerous catastrophic explosions of the [[Messerschmitt Me 163]] aircraft that employed this fuel system.  Another hazard was [[toxicity]] to humans of each of the propellants.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stüwe |first=Botho |year=1998 |title=Peene Münde West: die Erprobungsstelle der Luftwaffe für geheime Fernlenkwaffen und deren Entwicklungsgeschichte |language=de |location=Munich |publisher=Bechtermünz im Weltbild Verlag |page=220 |isbn=3-8289-0294-4}}</ref>

== C-fuel ==
After the war, Allied studies into rocket propellants continued with engines such as the [[Armstrong Siddeley Beta]], under the name "'''C-fuel'''".<ref name="skomer">{{cite web|title=United Kingdom Aerospace and Weapons Projects: Rocket Engines |url=http://www.skomer.u-net.com/projects/rocketengine.htm |publisher=Skomer |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080422201331/http://www.skomer.u-net.com/projects/rocketengine.htm |archivedate=2008-04-22 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of stoffs]]
* [[UDMH]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:German inventions of the Nazi period]]
[[Category:Rocket fuels]]