Pulse Jet engine from a V1 Flying Bomb.

Pulse Jet engine from a V1 Flying Bomb fired up on Feb 6 2021 at the Military Aviation Museum near Virginia Beach.
The sound is very low because it blew my mic out while recording.

[tedwilks]

I vividly remember seeing a V-1 as it flew by me late one afternoon about one mile away [not directly overhead]. No flames were coming out of the rear of the motor. I was about 50 miles east of London on the south side of the Thames estuary. I was about 9 or 10 years old. I was more curious than frightened. As I watched the engine stopped and the bomb started to dose-dive towards the ground. I jumped into the roadside ditch [fortunately it was dry]. I was too far away to feel any shock wave or ground tremor.

[joepalooka]

My mother lived through the war in England, and she told me stories about that sound. When it stopped you knew it was coming down close.

[graememckay]

I remember an old uncle saying that sound brought mixed emotions. Hearing it meant it had passed you so you were happy to be safe but also knew someone else wasn't so it was terrifying.

[milowagon]

My Dad was Royal Navy and was posted to London during the V1 onslaught. They were charged with the task of clean up after a strike. A messy business, he said.
While on a train, a V1 hit a gas storage tank about half a mile away. He said it was the biggest bang he'd ever heard.
That was from a man who served on battleships firing 16 inch guns in action. He was a great fella.

[sempertard]

What's cool about pulse jets is the sound frequency. Going from idle to full power only changes the amplitude of the sound unlike rotary engines that whine at a higher pitch.

[AKrn]

Testing is complete. Now you can take it home and use it on your neighbors when they get too loud.

[pacificostudios]

The pulse jet is one of the most amazing obsolete technologies. No turbines, no fans, and no propeller. Unfortunately, very inefficient.

[johnhickman]

One of the most terrifying sounds of the 1940s, especially when it stopped. The next sound moments later was the BOOM.

[colinlighten]

The terror was if you heard it when the engine cut out. It meant it was falling nearby.
My Mum called them “ Doodlebugs”.

[DraftedByTheMan]

My dad was wounded in France shortly after the Normandy invasion. He acquired blood poisoning from the lead fragments and blinded for almost 11 months. While in the hospital, he could hear the V1’s (V2’s were so fast, he would only hear the explosion).
He had nightmares for the rest of his life.

[yhsbu]

The biggest problem with those engines is the ungodly loud noise and a low-pressure ratio of something like 2:1. They consume a lot of fuel for the amount of thrust they generate. Also, the valves take a hell of a beating with that cycle. This was probably the best use for them (disposable cheap engines that deliver a payload upon being obliterated).

[deathwishdrang]

Thats a sound I hoping I would never hear again in my life, its like bringing some monster back to life

[terrym]

My mum was a girl when she saw and heard a V1 over London she vividly remembered the engine stopping they all ran for cover and waited for it to explode, the sound burst her ear drum but she was lucky she said.
Many perished or were wounded and windows all around smashed by the blast causing injuries.
But mum as she said we had to help the wounded then return to everyday life. I miss her so much now.

[tsmgguy]

My father was a combat engineer in one of the early waves on Omaha beach. His unit moved large amounts of supplies over open beaches in the following months since the German either held or had destroyed the French channel ports. Later in the Summer, V-1s began passing overhead on their way to London. "Sounded like trucks in low gear, " he said. So they did!

[jyralnadreth]

By 1946 The Royal Navy actually had a weapon system that could deal with the V1 Flying bomb...STAAG Mark 2. Its pretty much a close in weapons system with a pair of 40mm Bofors with a Predictive fire control system and a Type 262 Radar. During the War Britain had Hazemayer Mounts with 2 Bofors (Had Type 282 radar and was manually operated) The V1s cruising Altitude was well within the Bofors capabilities. STAAG was dropped by the Navy in the early 1960s as STAAG was very heavy due to its Triaxle stabilisation system, its vacuum tube computer was not the most reliable out at sea and it was maintenance intensive but it was very accurate and performed much like a Phalanx Close In Weapons system does today.

[KJohn]

My grandmother told me that-as long as you can hear it you are safe-when the engine sound stops it’s coming down. She lived in East London and the house next door was flattened by a V1-lots of damage to her house as well.

[scopex]

My late mum was a little girl in WW2 and she told me about ones that landed close to her house. Ive only ever imagined what they sounded like - NOW I know it must have been truly terrifying at night hearing them coming over in their hundreds in the dark. Thank you for sharing.

[jon]

My mother, now aged 94, lived in NW London. She speaks of how terrifying the moments between the sound of the engine cutting out and the eventual explosion were.

[Kingwoodish]

My dad was a young American soldier in London during the times of V1 bombs and vividly recalled their sound and damage.

[thethman]

Even now that are alive that remember what that meant.