Argus As 014 The Argus As 014 ( also known as the 109 - 014 by the RLM ) was a pulse jet engine used on the German V - 1 flying bomb of World War II , and the first model of pulsejet engine placed in mass production . History . The origins of the Argus As 014 lie in 1928 , when Munich inventor Paul Schmidt began work on a new design of pulse jet engine . Schmidt received a patent on his design in 1931 and received support from the German Air Ministry in 1933 . In 1934 , along with Professor Georg Madelung , Schmidt proposed a " flying bomb " to be powered by his pulse jet to the Ministry and received a development contract the following year . In 1938 he demonstrated a pulse jet – powered pilotless bomber , but the project was shelved by the Air Ministry as the prototype lacked range and accuracy and was expensive to construct . That same year , however , the Argus Company began work on a flying bomb using Schmidt ' s engine . Schmidt later joined Argus in 1940 . License manufacture of the As 014 was carried out in Japan in the latter stages of World War II , as the Ka10 , and as the American - made reverse - engineered Ford PJ31 in the United States , for powering the Republic - Ford JB - 2 " Loon " cruise missile and the experimental USAAF - developed JB - 4 television - guided bomb . Design and development . A model of simplicity and low cost , the engine was made from a sheet of mild steel rolled into a tube . At the front of the engine there was a spring flap - valve grid ( shutters ) , a fuel inlet valve and an igniter . It could run on any grade of petroleum fuel and its shutter system was not expected to last longer than one flight , as it had an operational life of approximately one hour . The engine was a resonant jet which , contrary to popular legend , could operate while the V - 1 was stationary on its launch ramp . Operation . Ignition was accomplished by an automotive - type spark plug located about behind the shutter system , electricity to the plug being supplied from a portable starting unit . Three air nozzles in the front of the pulse jet were connected to an external high pressure air source which was used to start the engine . Acetylene was used for starting , and very often a panel of wood or similar was held across the end of the tailpipe to prevent the fuel from diffusing and escaping before ignition was complete . Once the engine had been started and the temperature rose to the minimum operating level , the external air hose and connectors were removed and the resonant design of the tailpipe kept the pulse jet firing . Each cycle or pulse of the engine began with the shutters open ; fuel was injected behind them and ignited , and the resulting expansion of gases forced the shutters closed . As the pressure in the engine dropped following combustion , the shutters reopened and the cycle was repeated , roughly 45 to 55 times per second . The electrical ignition system was used only to start the engine - a V - 1 carried no coils or magnetos to power the spark plug once launched . Since the engine was rather simple , low - grade gasoline could be used and a good amount of thrust — 2 . 7 kN ( 660 lb ) — was produced , but it was inefficient , limiting the range of the V - 1 to 150 – 250 miles . The resonant frequency of this combustion process was around 45 Hz , giving the V - 1 its nicknames " buzz bomb " or " doodlebug " , because of the sputtering sound it emitted . The prototype engine was tested while slung below a Gotha Go 145 Luftwaffe training biplane in April 1941 and the first prototype V - 1 flew on December 24 of 1942 . The As 014 , as well as the higher thrust As 044 pulsejet engine , was also under consideration as a power source for various last - ditch German fighters in the closing days of World War II . Production totaled 31 , 100 units . Postwar . After the Second World War the As 014 was reverse - engineered / copied for use by the USA , as the Ford PJ31 , on the JB - 2 Loon , and the Soviet Union as the Chelomey D - 3 on the 10Kh ( Fieseler Fi 103 look - alike ) . Engines on display . The Planes of Fame Aeronautical Museum in Chino , California , houses what is believed to be the only operational As 014 in the world . It was restored into full operational status sometime in 2005 and retains the original valve system . The engine was run on a trailer during the annual 2009 Planes of Fame air show , the engine was used to push the trailer and the truck towing it at a speed of around 30 mph . The V - 1 flying bomb held by the London Science Museum features a sectioned As 014 engine , other museums displaying V - 1s complete with their engines include the :