Mistel
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Mistel (German for "mistletoe", a parasitic plant) was the larger, unmanned component of a composite aircraft configuration developed in Germany during the later stages of World War II. The composite comprised a small piloted control aircraft mounted above a large explosives-carrying drone, the Mistel, and as a whole was referred to as the Huckepack ("Piggyback"), also known as the Beethoven-Gerät ("Beethoven Device") or Vati und Sohn ("Daddy and Son").[1]
The most successful of these used a modified
Other Mistel composites included the
Design and development
Initial experiments in Nazi Germany concerning composite aircraft of any type were performed with the
Later, the technique became more refined, and the bomber component (which was often a new aircraft rather than surplus) was fitted with a specialised 1,800 kg (3,960 lb.) warhead. The final stage of Mistel development was of specialised purpose-built jet-powered bomber components, including ones developed from the Messerschmitt Me 262, the Junkers Ju 287 and the entirely new Arado Ar 234. None of these ambitious schemes, with the exception of the Me 262 Mistel, had left the drawing board before the end of the war.
Warhead and operational history
The definitive Mistel warhead was a shaped charge weighing nearly two tonnes (the weight of a blockbuster bomb) fitted with a copper or aluminium liner. The use of a shaped charge was expected to allow penetration of up to seven meters of reinforced concrete.
Some 250 Mistels of various combinations were built during the war, but they met with limited success. They were first flown in combat against the Allied invasion fleet during the Battle of Normandy, targeting the British-held harbour at Courseulles-sur-Mer. An RCAF Mosquito piloted by Walter Dinsdale was first to shoot down a Mistel over Normandy, causing it to crash behind enemy lines and cause a large explosion. The night-fighter ace described the Bf 109 and Ju 88 composite as "lumbering" and a "cinch to shoot down".[3][4]
While Mistel pilots claimed hits, none of these match Allied records; they may have been made against the hulk of the old French battleship
A second opportunity to use the Mistels, in Scapa Flow in 1944, was abandoned after the sinking of the German battleship Tirpitz led to the departure of all of the Royal Navy's major surface units from the target.
As part of
Survivors
A
The Fw 190 retains its Kugelverschraubung mit Sprengbolzen ("ball joints with
The aircraft became the property of the RAF Museum in 1998 when its title was transferred from the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence. It was put on display at the RAF Museum Cosford in 2013 after previously being on long-term loan to the Imperial War Museum[7]
Variants
Variants of the Mistel included:[9]
- Mistel Prototype: Ju 88 A-4 and Bf 109 F-4
- Mistel 1: Ju 88 A-4 and Bf 109 F-4
- Mistel S1: Trainer version of Mistel 1
- Mistel 2: Ju 88 G-1 and Fw 190 A-8 or F-8
- Mistel S2: Trainer version of Mistel 2
- Mistel 3A: Ju 88 A-4 and Fw 190 A-8
- Mistel S3A: Trainer version of Mistel 3A
- Mistel 3B: Ju 88 H-4 and Fw 190 A-8
- Mistel 3C: Ju 88 G-10 and Fw 190 F-8
- Mistel Führungsmaschine: Ju 88 A-4/H-4 and Fw 190 A-8
- Mistel 4: Ju 287 and Me 262
- Mistel 5: Arado E.377A and He 162
Mistel combinations
Operational
- Ju 88 A-4/Bf 109 F-4
- Ju 88 A-4/Fw 190 A-8
Projected
- Ju 88 G-1/Fw 190 A-6
- Ju 88 A-6/Fw 190 A-6
- Ju 88G-1/Fw 190F-8
- Ju 88H-4/Fw 190A-8
- Ju 88H-4/Fw 190F-8
Design proposals
- Ju 88 G-7/Ta 152H
- Ta 154/Fw 190
- Ar 234/Fi 103
- Do 217K/DFS 228
- Si 204/Lippisch DM-1
- Ju 287/Me 262
Operators
See also
References
- ISBN 0385057822.
- ^ Wood, A.; Gunston, W. (1977). Hitler's Luftwaffe. London: Salamander. p. 241.
- ^ "Manitobans First To Bag Nazi Pick-A-Back Planes". The Winnipeg Evening Tribune. Winnipeg. 4 August 1944. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
- ^ "Walter Gilbert "Dinny" Dinsdale". flying for your life. The Canadian Fighter Pilot & Air Gunner Museum. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
- ^ "HMS NITH Ship No 327 (River Class Frigate)"
- ^ Simpson, Andrew (2013). "INDIVIDUAL HISTORY [733682]" (PDF). Royal Air Force Museum. Royal Air Force Museum. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
- ^ a b c Simpson, Andrew (2013-10-14). "Focke-Wulf FW190 now on display at Cosford" (PDF) (Press release). Royal Air Force Museum. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
- ISBN 1903223091.
- ISBN 9781909160569.
Further reading
- Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. "Prelude to 'Stand-Off'". Air Enthusiast, Thirty-four, September–December 1989. Bromley, UK: Fine Scroll. ISSN 0143-5450. pp. 43–47, 80.