Mistel
Encyclopedia
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
composite aircraft
Composite aircraft
A composite aircraft is made up of multiple component craft. It takes off and flies initially as a single aircraft, with the components able to separate in flight and continue as independent aircraft.-Design principles:...
type of bomber, that appeared late in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The scheme originally involved replacing the entire nose-located crew compartment of a bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
airframe (usually a Junkers Ju 88
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
variant) with a specially-designed nose filled with a large load of explosive, and guiding it to its target by a fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
mounted above it on a set of struts. After releasing the bomber, the fighter would return to base. The first such composite aircraft
Composite aircraft
A composite aircraft is made up of multiple component craft. It takes off and flies initially as a single aircraft, with the components able to separate in flight and continue as independent aircraft.-Design principles:...
flew in July 1943 and was promising enough to begin a programme by Luftwaffe test unit KG 200
KG 200
Kampfgeschwader 200 was a Luftwaffe unit during World War II. The unit was the Luftwaffe's special operations wing that carried out long-distance reconnaissance flights, tested new aircraft designs, and operated captured aircraft....
, code-named "Beethoven".
Design and development
The first such experiments in Nazi Germany concerning composite aircraft of any type were performed with the DFS 230DFS 230
|-See also:-External links:* http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/dfs230.html* http://www.luftarchiv.de/flugzeuge/dfs/dfs230.htm...
troop glider as the "lower" component, and using established, engine-powered Luftwaffe aircraft such as the Focke-Wulf Fw 56
Focke-Wulf Fw 56
-See also:-External links:* http://aviationtrivia.info/Focke-Wulf-FW-56-Stosser.php* http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/fw56.html* http://www.luftfahrtmuseum.com/htmi/itf/fw56.htm...
or the Messerschmitt Bf 109
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
E as the upper component, in an attempt to provide the troop glider with a longer range, than if it was simply towed in the conventional manner.
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
Warhead
The term warhead refers to the explosive material and detonator that is delivered by a missile, rocket, or torpedo.- Etymology :During the early development of naval torpedoes, they could be equipped with an inert payload that was intended for use during training, test firing and exercises. This...
. The final stage of Mistel development was the development of specialised purpose-built jet
Jet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
-powered bomber components, including ones developed from the Messerschmitt Me 262
Messerschmitt Me 262
The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft. Design work started before World War II began, but engine problems prevented the aircraft from attaining operational status with the Luftwaffe until mid-1944...
and Junkers Ju 287
Junkers Ju 287
-Bibliography:* Hitchcock, Thomas H. Junkers 287 . Acton, MA: Monogram Aviation Publications, 1974. ISBN 0-914144-01-4.-External links:*...
and the entirely new Arado Ar 234
Arado Ar 234
The Arado Ar 234 was the world's first operational jet-powered bomber, built by the German Arado company in the closing stages of World War II. Produced in very limited numbers, it was used almost entirely in the reconnaissance role, but in its few uses as a bomber it proved to be nearly impossible...
. None of these ambitious schemes left the drawing board before the end of the war.
Warhead
The definitive Mistel warhead was a very large shaped chargeShaped charge
A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Various types are used to cut and form metal, to initiate nuclear weapons, to penetrate armor, and in the oil and gas industry...
, of nearly two short ton
Short ton
The short ton is a unit of mass equal to . In the United States it is often called simply ton without distinguishing it from the metric ton or the long ton ; rather, the other two are specifically noted. There are, however, some U.S...
s in weight, and fitted with a copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
or aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
liner, similar to the warhead of the much smaller Panzerfaust
Panzerfaust
The Panzerfaust was an inexpensive, recoilless German anti-tank weapon of World War II. It consisted of a small, disposable preloaded launch tube firing a high explosive anti-tank warhead, operated by a single soldier...
anti-tank weapon. The warhead was expected to have a penetration of up to 7 meters of reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
.
Some 250 Mistels of various combinations were built during the war, but met with limited success. They were first flown in combat against the Allied invasion fleet during Battle of Normandy
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
, targeting the British-held harbour at Courseulles-sur-Mer
Courseulles-sur-Mer
Courseulles-sur-Mer is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.It is a popular tourist destination not only with locals but also with international visitors who come to tour the Normandy landing beaches...
.
While Mistel pilots claimed hits, none of these can be correlated in Allied records, and they may have been made against the hulk of the old French battleship Courbet
French battleship Courbet (1911)
Courbet was the lead ship of her class, the first dreadnoughts built for the French Navy. She was completed before World War I and named in honour of Admiral Amédée Courbet. She spent the war in the Mediterranean, helping to sink the Austro-Hungarian protected cruiser in August 1914...
, which had been included as a component of the Mulberry harbour
Mulberry harbour
A Mulberry harbour was a British type of temporary harbour developed in World War II to offload cargo on the beaches during the Allied invasion of Normandy....
at Arromanches and specially dressed up as a decoy
Decoy
A decoy is usually a person, device or event meant as a distraction, to conceal what an individual or a group might be looking for. Decoys have been used for centuries most notably in game hunting, but also in wartime and in the committing or resolving of crimes.-Duck decoy:The term duck decoy may...
by the Allies. Serious blast and shrapnel damage from a near miss was also suffered by HMS Nith, a floating headquarters, on 24 June. There were 9 killed and 26 wounded and the Nith was towed back to England for repairs.
A second opportunity to use the Mistels, in Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow
right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
in 1944, was abandoned after the loss of the Tirpitz
German battleship Tirpitz
Tirpitz was the second of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Imperial Navy, the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven in November 1936 and launched two and a half years later in April...
led to the departure of all the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
's major surface units from the target.
As part of Operation Iron Hammer
Operation Eisenhammer
Operation Eisenhammer was a planned strategic bombing operation against power generators near Moscow and Gorky in the Soviet Union which was planned by Nazi Germany during World War II but eventually abandoned....
in late 1943 and early 1944, Mistels were selected to carry out key raids against Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
weapons manufacturing facilities—specifically, electricity-generating power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
s around Moscow and Gorky
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
. These plants were known to be poorly defended by the Soviets and irreplaceable. However, before the plan could be implemented, the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
was already pushing into Germany itself and it was decided to use the Mistels against their bridgehead at Küstrin
Kostrzyn nad Odra
Kostrzyn nad Odrą is a town in western Poland, at the confluence of the Oder and Warta rivers, on the border with Germany. Located in the Lubusz Voivodeship, in Gorzów County, it had 19,952 inhabitants as of 2007.- History :...
instead. On 12 April 1945, Mistels attacked the bridges being built there, but the damage caused was negligible and delayed the Soviet forces for only a day or two. Subsequent Mistel attacks on other bridges being thrown across the Oder were similarly ineffective.
Survivors
A Focke-Wulf Fw 190Focke-Wulf Fw 190
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger was a German Second World War single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s. Powered by a radial engine, the 190 had ample power and was able to lift larger loads than its well-known counterpart, the Messerschmitt Bf 109...
(Werk Nr. 733682), preserved in the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
in London, was the fighter part of a Mistel system that was captured by British forces in 1945. The aircraft retains the Kugelverschraubung mit Sprengbolzen (balljoints with explosive bolts), the fittings underneath that attached it to its Junkers Ju 88 partner.
Variants
- Mistel Prototype: Ju 88A-4 and Bf 109F-4
- Mistel 1: Ju 88A-4 and Bf 109F-4
- Mistel S1: Trainer version of Mistel 1
- Mistel 2: Ju 88G-l and Fw 190A-8 or F-8
- Mistel S2: Trainer version of Mistel 2
- Mistel 3A: Ju 88A-4 and Fw 190A-8
- Mistel S3A: Trainer version of Mistel 3A
- Mistel 3B: Ju 88H-4 and Fw 190A-8
- Mistel 3C: Ju 88G-10 and Fw 190F-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
Projected for use
- Ju 88G-1/Fw 190A-6
- Ju 88A-6/Fw 190A-6
- Ju 88G-1/Fw 190F-8
- Ju 88H-4/Fw 190A-8
- Ju 88H-4/Fw 190F-8
Only in paper plans or proposed
- Ju 88 G-7/Ta 152H
- Ta 154/Fw 190
- Ar 234/Fi 103V-1 flying bombThe V-1 flying bomb, also known as the Buzz Bomb or Doodlebug, was an early pulse-jet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile....
- Do 217K/DFS 228DFS 228-See also:-Bibliography:* Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970 . ISBN 0-356-02382-6.* Myhra, David. DFS 228. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-76431-203-0....
- Siebel Si 204Siebel Si 204The Siebel Si 204 was a small twin-engined transport and trainer aircraft developed during World War II. It was based on the Fh 104. Originally designed in response to a RLM development order for a small civil transport plane in 1938, it was eventually produced for the Luftwaffe.-Development:The Si...
/Lippisch DM-1Lippisch DM-1|-References:-External links:*... - Ju 287Junkers Ju 287-Bibliography:* Hitchcock, Thomas H. Junkers 287 . Acton, MA: Monogram Aviation Publications, 1974. ISBN 0-914144-01-4.-External links:*...
/Me 262