German "stealth": how in the Third Reich they tried to develop an invisible plane

  • Jul 01, 2022
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German " stealth": how in the Third Reich they tried to develop an invisible plane

Usually, when it comes to "stealth" technology, which is the ability of aircraft devices to remain undetected by radar, I recall the experiments of the second half of the last century in America and the USSR. However, another country almost brought this concept to life. We are talking about the German bomber No-229, which, if the development was completed, could significantly affect the course of the Second World War.

The history of this aircraft, unusual by the standards of the Second World War, began in 1931. It was then that the two brothers Walter and Reimar Horten decided to build their first glider according to the “flying wing” scheme, which they considered ideal for an aircraft. The essence of this form is that such a wing will have much less aerodynamic drag. Five years later, when the brothers joined the Luftwaffe, they continued their research. As a result, they resulted in the development in 1942 of a fighter according to the "flying wing" scheme, for which they had to first build several original gliders.

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Goering inspects the Horten gliders. Photo: livejournal.com
Goering inspects the Horten gliders. /Photo: livejournal.com
Goering inspects the Horten gliders. /Photo: livejournal.com

The prototypes were a bomber, which was to become the foundation for further developments on a jet fighter with a "flying wing" shape. Successful testing of a non-motorized prototype was carried out in 1944, after which they began to prepare a second prototype, moreover, in different parts of the Third Reich, both versions with an engine and non-engine were developed separately modifications.

Aircraft drawing. /Photo: rnns.ru
Aircraft drawing. /Photo: rnns.ru

The approach of the Allied armies did not stop the developers - prototypes were tested until the spring of 1945, and on March 12, 1945 they were tested. at a meeting with Goering, No.229 was even included in the "urgent fighter program." But the Germans did not have time to do this in practice: two months later, the Americans captured the factory in Friedrichsrod, where prototypes were made. In particular, according to Novate.ru, one sample has already been prepared for flight tests, two were at the final stage of readiness, and for two dozen pre-production machines were made required nodes.

Unloading a captured aircraft by American soldiers. / Photo: wikipedia.org
Unloading a captured aircraft by American soldiers. / Photo: wikipedia.org

It would seem that the design itself was innovative at that time, although it was already known in some countries. However, a number of interesting details in it did not give rest to American aircraft manufacturers when they examined the captured No-229 model. So, for example, a material with a carbon structure was suddenly found between the layers of the wing skin - most likely, it was ordinary charcoal. There were other design features of No.229, which for several decades could not be explained in any way.

The surviving prototype No-229. /Photo: aviadrive.ru
The surviving prototype No-229. /Photo: aviadrive.ru

And only a quarter of a century later, when a program to create an invisible aircraft began to be actively developed in America, the strange results of studying a captured German fighter were remembered again. The conclusions of the aircraft designers then amazed many: they came to the conclusion that all previously incomprehensible nodes and components in machine designs could well be elements of the "stealth" system, which is just being developed both in the USA and in USSR. The same charcoal was supposedly used to scatter radar signals.

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During the production of American stealth, the German aircraft was suddenly remembered. /Photo: dnpmag.com
During the production of American stealth, the German aircraft was suddenly remembered. /Photo: dnpmag.com

This information was very quickly confirmed by one of the Horten brothers, who wrote a whole book about the creation of an invisible aircraft. True, not everyone believed in his words, because before that, the design brothers who had lived in Argentina for many years did not even mention developments of this kind in their projects. Therefore, many considered this book or interview with stories about the German "stealth" just an attempt to attract attention. But at the same time, an experiment was already conducted in the 2000s: enthusiasts collected a copy of the same aircraft and tested its capabilities.

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A modern replica of the German stealth. /Photo: reaa.ru
A modern replica of the German stealth. /Photo: reaa.ru

It turned out that, of course, it was not possible to completely hide the car from radar, but it could be detected much closer than it happened with other aircraft. That is, for example, the British army, which they were going to destroy with the help of these fighters, according to all those the Horten brothers, it was half the time to report the aircraft approaching the positions and prepare for counterattack. For the times of World War II, this would have been a real breakthrough, and it is difficult to say how it would have affected the course of hostilities if the aircraft had been completed. But this did not happen, and No.229 is to this day one of the most controversial developments of the Third Reich.

In addition to the topic:
Why the futuristic stealth aircraft remained a demonstration model, and was not put into production
Source:
https://novate.ru/blogs/080422/62657/