| Plane type & model |
Monoplane jet-fighter-bomber (Go229A-0 estimated) |
Pheraps the World War II aircrafy that was farther ahead of its time than any other, the Go 220 went into production too late to see any action. It was designed by Luftwaffe Major Walter Horten and Oberleutnant Reimar Horten, two brothers who had been experimenting with tailless gliders since 1931. The Hortens were convinced that such a flying wing was an outstanding aircraft design, since it caused the least amount of drag. They discovered that if the right wing had a bell-shaped curve, it would be both stable and controllable. Thier first powered prototypes were built in the late 1930s and were equipped with two rear-facing prop engines. During the early 1940s, they found it difficult to generate much official financial support for thier project until intelligence reports from the US revealed that the Northrop corporation was developing its own flying wing . In 1943 the Hortens began working on a twin-jet powered flying wing prototype, the Horten Ho IX V2. This fighter bomber was made to Goring ´s general specifications that all new aircraft should carry 1000 Kg of bombs, fly 1000 Km/h and have a penetration depht (one third the total range) of 1000 Km. This 1000/1000/1000 plane was made of wood, since it was lightweight and metal was in short supply. The Hortens also believed that a wooden wing hit by a cannon shell would sustain less damage than a metal one. The wood construction, covered with a special radar-absorbing paint, made this flying wing virtually undetectable by radar. Since the Ho IX V2 was tailles, two drag brake flaps above and below each wingtip provided directional control. The pilot achieved lateral and longitudinal control by moving outer and center-mounted surfaces on the trailing edge of the wing. For better visibility, the pilot´s compartment was located as far foward as possible. After its first flight in February 1945, the Ho IX V2 pilot reported that it had excellent flying characteristics; however, on its second flight, it crashed when its starboard engine flamed out. Although the Ho IX V2 prototype had only logged 2 hours of flying time, the design was put into production at the Gotha factory for Luftwaffe evalutation, and was designated the GOtha Go 229. Several product versions, including two-seat all-weather fighters and traines, as well as the single-seated A-0 fighter bombers, were nearing completition when the Gotha factory was captured by the US Army in April 1945. The Hortens had also been contracted to develop a six-engine jet bomber with a range of 6500 Km, and were working on a supersonic flying wing , and even a large passenger-carrying version. If Germany had prolonged the war, the Go 229A-0 would probably entered Luftwaffe service in late 1945 or early 1946. |
