The DFS 228 was a
rocket
A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...
-powered, high-
altitude
Altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum (geodesy), datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context (e.g., aviation, geometr ...
reconnaissance aircraft
A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using Aerial photography, photography), signals ...
designed by the ''
Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug
The , or DFS , was formed in 1933 to centralise all gliding activity in Germany, under the directorship of Professor Walter Georgii. It was formed by the nationalisation of the Rhön-Rossitten Gesellschaft (RRG) at Darmstadt.Reitsch, H., 1955, ...
'' (DFS - "German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight") during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. By the end of the war, the aircraft had only flown in the form of two unpowered prototypes.
Design and development
Initial design of the DFS 228 was undertaken before the outbreak of war as a
research aircraft
Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to c ...
, the DFS 54, aimed at developing a high-altitude escape system for
sailplane
A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the leisure activity and sport of gliding (also called soaring). This unpowered aircraft can use naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to gain altitude. Sailplan ...
s. The project was suspended by the
commencement of hostilities, but was revived in 1940 when the ''
Reichsluftfahrtministerium
The Ministry of Aviation (, abbreviated RLM) was a government department during the period of Nazi Germany (1933–45). It is also the original name of the Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus building on the Wilhelmstrasse in central Berlin, Germany, which ...
'' (RLM - "Reich Aviation Ministry") delivered the DFS with a requirement for a rocket-powered reconnaissance aircraft.
The advantages of a sailplane for
aerial reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or Strategy, strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including Artillery observer, artillery spott ...
included its silence, its low speed relative to the ground (allowing for higher-quality photography), and its potential ability to loiter above an area of interest. The project gave the DFS the opportunity to investigate two additional areas that it was interested in: the effects of
wing sweep
A swept wing is a wing angled either backward or occasionally forward from its root rather than perpendicular to the fuselage.
Swept wings have been flown since the pioneer days of aviation. Wing sweep at high speeds was first investigated in Ge ...
on sailplane design, and
supersonic
Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound (Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...
flight.
The DFS 228 was designed by
Felix Kracht and a first
prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...
was completed in March 1944; it was undergoing gliding tests by that August, carried aloft piggyback and
strut
A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension.
A stay is sometimes used as a synonym for ...
-mounted atop a
Dornier Do 217
The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by the German ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. It was a more powerful development of the Dornier Do 17, known as the ''Fliegender Bleistift'' (German: "flying pencil"). Designed in 1937-38 as a heavy bomber ...
. The aircraft was of conventional sailplane arrangement with long,
slender
Slender may refer to:
Term
* Gracility or slenderness
Literature
* Abraham Slender, a character in William Shakespeare's ''The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Merry Wives of Winsor''
Slender Man
*Slender Man, a fictional supernatural character
* ...
wings and designed to land on a
retractable skid mounted on its belly. The nose of the aircraft could be separated in an emergency and formed a self-contained,
pressurized
Pressurization or pressurisation is the application of pressure in a given situation or environment.
Examples Industrial
Industrial equipment is often maintained at pressures above or below atmospheric.
Atmospheric
This is the process by which a ...
escape capsule for the pilot.
Because of problems with the
cabin pressurization
Cabin pressurization is a process in which conditioned air is pumped into the aircraft cabin, cabin of an aircraft or spacecraft in order to create a safe and comfortable environment for humans flying at high altitudes. For aircraft, this air i ...
system, the second prototype accommodated the pilot in a prone position.
Forty flights were made with the prototypes, and installation of a rocket was to have taken place in February 1945, but the project fell by the wayside as the war situation became more desperate. The second prototype was destroyed in an air raid in May 1945, and the first prototype was captured by
U.S.
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
troops in June. In 1946 it was sent to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
for study where it was apparently scrapped in 1947, although its exact fate is unknown.
Variants
;DFS 54
:Experimental glider with a pressure cabin, oxygen, cabin heating and insulation for high altitude flying.
;DFS 228
:Powered variant of the DFS 54 with a
Walter HWK 509
The Walter HWK 109-509 was a German liquid-fuel bipropellant rocket engine that powered the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet and Bachem Ba 349 aircraft. It was produced by Hellmuth Walter Kommanditgesellschaft (HWK) commencing in 1943, with licensed p ...
D rocket propulsion unit.
Specifications (DFS 228 estimated)
See also
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
* Green, William. ''Warplanes of the Third Reich''. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970 (fourth impression 1979). .
* Myhra, David. ''DFS 228''. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2000. .
* Smith, J.Richard and Kay, Anthony. ''German Aircraft of the Second World War''. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1972 (third impression 1978). .
* Wood, Tony and Gunston, Bill. ''Hitler's Luftwaffe: A pictorial history and technical encyclopedia of Hitler's air power in World War II''. London: Salamander Books Ltd., 1977. .
{{Authority control
Abandoned military aircraft projects of Germany
1940s German military reconnaissance aircraft
Prone pilot aircraft
Rocket-powered aircraft
DFS aircraft
High-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1944