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The secret weapons of the Third Reich

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The secret weapons of the Third Reich The secret weapons of the Third Reich
In the last years of the conflict, Germany produced a certain number of weapons propelled by rocket and turbojet engines, among the diverse artifacts which should have caused a change in the course of the war. Many of them had been devised for scientific purposes already before the outbreak of the war, and were later turned into deadly artifacts. Others were the product of hasty investigations carried out in secret laboratories under the menace of Allied bombings. In any case, these weapons would not achieve the objectives assigned by Hitler but, if these were not reached, the causes of the failure can not be fully attributed to the designers and builders of these devices. They should be sought rather in a war industry which was forced to make the effort of producing other materials of more immediate necessity, in the growing scarcity of the valuable special materials, in the belated revitalization of these projects, in the lack of fuel and, finally, in the absolute lack of time, which did not allow to carry the prototypes to the necessary degree of perfectioning, and which many times forced to throw to the clash of the battlefield weapons which had not been totally tested and had been built with the available materials. Only to this is due, for instance, that the flying-bomb offensive upon London did not manage to bow down the British capital faster and in a more determined way than what the Luftwaffe offensive had managed to do in the Battle of Britain. This article mentions some of the most important weapons among those which reached an operational utilization, and also the most interesting projects.
ENZIAN (Gentian) Surface-to-air, not operational This was in practice a rocket-propelled aircraft without pilot, obtained by modifying the Me 163 fighter aircraft. It was built with wood and special plastics, and was intended for being used as an anti-aircraft weapon. It was launched from an inclined railed ramp and impulsed by four accelerating rockets, and was capable of carrying a warhead filled with 500 kilograms of explosive while flying at a speed of 1,050 kilometers/hour. The project, which was originally elaborated by Doctor Wurster from the Holbach Kissing AG, was abandoned after the experimental launching of 25 prototypes.
RHEINTOCHTER (Daughter of the Rhine) Surface-to-air, not operational This anti-aircraft missile was produced by the Rheinmetall-Borsig AG in three models. The R1, which was the most interesting one, was a two-stage missile with a length of 6 meters, a maximum diameter of 54.5 centimeters and a maximum range altitude of 6,000 meters. It could carry a warhead filled with 120 kilograms of explosive and fitted with a proximity fuze. At least 80 exemplars were launched, and about 20 of these were remotely controlled via radio or radar. Many launchings had a full success. The R2, smaller than its predecessor, had 5.2 meters in length and was only a transition model, after which the R3 (depicted in the silhouette graphic) was adopted. This one promised to be an excellent missile and some launchings were effectuated, being sometimes fitted with auxiliary rockets, but it had not been definitely prepared when the war ended.
RHEINBOTE (Messenger of the Rhine) Surface-to-surface, operational This three-stage surface-to-surface missile was built by the Rheinmetall-Borsig AG by taking advantage of the experience acquired with the Rheintochter. It had a length of 10 meters and a maximum diameter of 53.6 centimeters, and was capable of carrying a warhead filled with 40 kilograms of explosive farther than 100 kilometers away with great precision. More than 200 exemplars were launched during the Battle of Antwerp alone.
FEUERLILIE (Fire Lily) Surface-to-air, not operational Two versions, the F 25 and the F 55, were simultaneously studied. The first one, developed in 1943 by the LFH Braunschweig of Ardtelwerke, was abandoned in 1944. It was a missile of 1.80 meters in length and 45 centimeters in diameter. It had an operational range of 5,000 meters and flew at subsonic speed. The F 55 (depicted in the silhouette graphic) was in turn a two-stage missile (with a first stage fed by solid fuel and a second stage fed by liquid fuel) of 4.5 meters in length and with an operational range of 13 kilometers. The project had to be abandoned in December 1944.
HS 293 Air-to-surface, operational Glider bomb with guidance via radio, capable of carrying a warhead filled with 500 kilograms of explosive. During the war it sank many enemy units and was used against ground targets as well.
HS 294 Air-to-surface, anti-ship, not operational Glider bomb similar to the Hs 293 but of greater dimensions than those of this one. In the last moments of its radio-commanded course its wings were detached and the bomb submerged on the sea like a torpedo. An acoustic sensor placed on the nose automatically directed the bomb against the target ship.
HS 295 Air-to-surface, anti-ship, not operational Anti-ship missile which should be launched from a bomber aircraft. This project was abandoned shortly after the production started.
HS 296 Air-to-surface, not operational Improved version of the Hs 295 which did not even reach the stage of prototype.
HS 298 Air-to-air, not operational Remote-controlled air-to-air missile of 2.03 meters in length and with an operational range of 8 kilometers. It could have been an excellent anti-aircraft weapon but it could not be perfected before the end of the war.
SCHMETTERLING (Butterfly) Surface-to-air, probably not operational During the development of the Henschel series of remote-controlled weapons, starting from a model of the Hs 293, the Schmetterling anti-aircraft missile, improperly called V-3 by some people, was created. Produced by the Henschel of Breslau following a project from Professor Wagner, the Schmetterling, named Hs 117, was a remote-controlled device intended for anti-aircraft utilization. With a weight of 450 kilograms, it had an operational range of 40 kilometers and was capable of flying at a maximum speed of 840 kilometers/hours, being its precision notable. However, albeit about 60 exemplars were built, there is no evidence of its operational utilization.
FI 103 Surface-to-surface, operational; air-to-surface, operational Named V-1, this weapon was developed almost simultaneously with the V-2. It was a little aircraft without pilot propelled by an Argus 014 pulse-jet engine capable of a thrust of 335 kilograms. The launching was effectuated from an inclined railed ramp and the sustentation speed was reached through the impulse given by a steam catapult. The V-1 had 8.24 meters in length, with a winspan of 5.30 meters and a diameter of 81.5 centimeters. Its operational altitude was about 3,000 meters and it was capable of carrying a warhead filled with 900 kilograms of explosive to a maximum distance of 370 kilometers, flying at a maximum speed of 656 kilometers/hour. The guidance system consisted of a simple gyroscopic device which kept the course. After a preset distance, the flow of fuel to the engine would be interrupted and the flying bomb would start to dive towards the target location. Built by the Gerhardt Fieseler Werke GmbH, it was considered to be the competitor of the V-2 because it was cheaper and faster to build. However, the V-2, albeit having a high cost and a long production time, was practically invulnerable to the enemy anti-aircraft artillery and fighter aircraft due to its high speed, and was much more precise as well. Based on this data, Hitler decided to continue the production of both weapons, employing one or the other according to the necessities. A piloted version of the V-1 was studied as well, according to the Reichenberger project. This type, built in few tens of exemplars, was not intended for suicidal misions but for serving as a testing bench for solving the problems relative to the control of the bomb during its flight. Near the end of the war, for reaching specific targets located at long distances, some V-1 were launched in flight from He 111 bomber aircraft which had been especially adapted for that purpose.
TAIFUN (Typhoon) Surface-to-air, operational This small anti-aircraft rocket, of 1.80 meters in length, was used to create an effective barrier of fire in sectors which should be crossed by the enemy formations. It was not fitted with any guidance or navigational system. It was capable of flying at a speed of 4,500 kilometers/hour and was fitted with a proximity fuze.
WASSERFALL (Waterfall) Surface-to-air, not operational This interesting anti-aircraft missile was derived directly from the V-2, of which it was a version of reduced size. It had 8 meters in length and could carry a warhead filled with 300 kilograms of explosive to a maximum distance of 27 kilometers, flying at a speed of 2,900 kilometers/hour. The guidance system was one of mixed type: remote control via radar during the stage of approaching the target and passive self-guidance, through a sensor capable of detecting the infrared emissions emitted by the engine exhausts of enemy aircraft, during the final stage of the course. The Wasserfall was intended for operating against the large formations of bomber aircraft which were decimating Germany, and for such purpose it was fitted with a proximity fuze. It could have been a very dangerous weapon, but the course of the war put an end to the experiments in the beginning of 1945. It is known that the technicians had achieved the desired results only in a 25 percent of the missiles, which is a relatively successful percentage if considering the complexity of their instruments.
A 4 Surface-to-surface, operational Better known as V-2 (Vergeltungswaffe, "Weapon of Revenge", number 2), this excellent contraption designed by the team led by Werner von Braun could be properly called the foundation of all the rockets of the subsequent Space Age. Its parts, due to reasons of economy and safety, were produced by several factories, among them the Zeppelin Luftschiffbau and the Ernst Heinkel GA. The missile had a length of 14.03 meters and a diamater of 1.65 meters, weighed 12.5 tonnes (of which the 70 percent was fuel) and could carry a warhead filled with 975 kilograms of explosive to a distance of 400 kilometers. Its maximum speed was 5,470 kilometers/hour (equivalent to 1,520 meters/second). It was launched from a vertical platform and was fitted with an autonomous navigation system. More than 5,000 exemplars of its definitive version were produced.
A 9/A 10 Surface-to-surface, not operational This gigantic project, completed up to the stage of prototype at the end of the war, was part of the A series of missiles, to which the A 4 (namely the V-2) belonged. It was fortunate for the United States that this project were not finished in time, because if it had worked - and the findings point to this being probable - its target would have been New York. This was a colossal two-stage missile of about 30 meters in length. The first stage was an A 10, a missile of new conception, which was actually a booster which should detach itself from the second stage after a flight of about 180 kilometers. The second stage was an A 9, namely a notably enhanced A 4, fitted with very large fins which reached close to the middle section of the fuselage. In the summit of the course, once the first stage were detached, the A 9 would start a long dive, progressively increasing its speed until falling on the target located more than 5,000 kilometers afar. It seems that the guidance system was one of inertial navigation, similar, at least in principle, to that used in the subsequent nuclear submarines.

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