Wasserfall
Wasserfall | |
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Type | Surface-to-air missile |
Place of origin | Nazi Germany |
Production history | |
Manufacturer | Flak-Versuchskommando Nord, EMW Peenemünde |
Unit cost | 7,000–10,000 ℛ︁ℳ︁ |
Produced | March 1943 |
Specifications | |
Mass | 3,700 kilograms (8,200 lb) |
Length | 7.85 metres (25.8 ft) |
Diameter | .864 metres (2 ft 10.0 in) |
Warhead | 235 kilograms (518 lb) |
Detonation mechanism | Proximity |
Engine | Liquid-propellant rocket motor |
Operational range | 25 kilometres (16 mi) |
Maximum speed | 770 metres per second (1,700 mph) |
Guidance system | Manual command to line of sight (MCLOS); operator used a radio command link to steer the missile along the optical line of sight from launch point to target |
Launch platform | Fixed |
The Wasserfall Ferngelenkte FlaRakete ("Waterfall remote-controlled anti-aircraft rocket"
The system was based on many of the technologies developed for the
Among the many development problems, control of the high-speed rocket was a significant concern, leading to the development of a
Technical characteristics
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/Wasserfall_SAM.jpg/220px-Wasserfall_SAM.jpg)
Wasserfall was essentially an
Unlike the V-2, Wasserfall was designed to stand ready for periods of up to a month and fire on command, therefore the volatile
Guidance was to be a simple radio control manual command to line of sight (MCLOS) system for use against daytime targets. Commands were sent to the missile using a modified version of the FuG 203/FuG 230 "Kehl-Straßburg" (code name Burgund)[3] radio-guidance system that used a joystick.[4] Originally developed for anti-ship missiles dropped by bombers, it was used to direct both the unpowered Fritz X and rocket-boosted Henschel Hs 293.[5] For the anti-aircraft role, the controller was mounted beside a chair on a framework that allowed the operator to tilt back to easily look at targets above him, rotating as needed to keep the target in sight.
Night-time use was considerably more complex because neither the target nor the missile would be easily visible. For this role a new system known as Rheinland was under development. Rheinland used a radar unit for tracking the target and a
The original design had called for a 100 kg (220 lb) warhead, but because of accuracy concerns it was replaced with a much larger one of 306 kilograms (675 lb), based on a liquid explosive. The idea was to create a large blast area effect amidst the enemy bomber stream, which would conceivably bring down several airplanes for each missile deployed. For daytime use the operator would detonate the warhead by remote control.
Development
Conceptual work began in 1941, and final specifications were defined on 2 November 1942. The first models were being tested in March 1943, but a major setback[
The Bäckebo rocket, a V-2 rocket using Wasserfall radio guidance, crashed in Sweden on 13 June 1944.
Assessment
According to
To this day, I am convinced that substantial deployment of Wasserfall from the spring of 1944 onward, together with an uncompromising use of the jet fighters as air defense interceptors, would have essentially stalled the Allied strategic bombing offensive against our industry. We would have well been able to do that – after all, we managed to manufacture 900 V-2 rockets per month at a later time when resources were already much more limited.
— Albert Speer, Reich Minister of Armaments and War Production, memoir.
In contrast, historian Michael J. Neufeld has argued that it would not have been possible for Germany to have fielded Wasserfall batteries before its defeat due to the extensive development work needed, and the project continued for too long due to bureaucratic inertia in the German military and the sense of desperation among the German leadership. He has also judged that the missiles would have probably proven ineffective in combat as they would not have been fitted with proximity fuses (which Germany never fielded) and their guidance system was impractical.[8][page needed] Similarly, the relevant volume of the book series Germany and the Second World War notes that the Wasserfall was one of several competing missile systems which the Luftwaffe ordered to be developed despite lacking the resources needed to complete or field them during the war.[9]
See also
- Enzian
- Rheintochter
- Henschel Hs 117 Schmetterling ("Butterfly")
- List of missiles
- List of German guided weapons of World War II
- List of surface-to-air missiles
- Wunderwaffe
References
- ^ a b c Klee, Ernst; Merk, Otto (1965) [1963]. The Birth of the Missile: The Secrets of Peenemünde. Hamburg: Gerhard Stalling Verlag. pp. 69, 70, 77.
- ^ Brügge, Norbert. "The history of post-war rockets on base German WW-II "Wasserfall" missile propulsion". b14643.de. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
- ^ a b c Pocock, Rowland F. (1967). German Guided Missiles of the Second World War. New York: Arco Publishing Company, Inc. pp. 71, 81, 87, 107.
- ^ "Henschel Hs 293 joystick anti-ship missile". Wehrmacht History 1935 to 1945. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
- ISBN 0-02-922895-6.
- ISBN 0-684-82949-5.
- ISBN 3-550-06074-2.
- ISBN 0-02-922895-6.
- ISBN 0-19-822889-9.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- EMW Wasserfall Luft '46 entry
- Wasserfall German Surface to Air Missile
- W-10 Drawing Archived 26 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine