BV 246 | |
---|---|
Type | Air-to-surface guided bomb |
Place of origin | Germany |
Production history | |
Designer | Richard Vogt |
Designed | 1943 |
Manufacturer | Blohm & Voss |
Specifications | |
Mass | 730 kg (1,600 lb) |
Length | 3.53 m (11.6 ft) |
Wingspan | 6.4 m (21 ft) |
Warhead weight | 435 kg (960 lb) |
Operational range | 210 km (130 mi) |
Guidance system | Radar seeker (later anti radiation missile version) |
Launch platform | Junkers Ju 88 or Heinkel He 111 |
The Blohm & Voss BV 246 Hagelkorn (German language: "Hailstone") was a guided glide bomb developed to bomb specific targets (bridges, ships, etc.) once it was released.
This glider was designed by Richard Vogt, at first under the designation of BV 226, which was later changed to its definitive designation BV 246 on December 12, 1943.
It was intended to be dropped from a Junkers Ju 88 or a Heinkel He 111 bomber, either of which could carry three of the weapons, and was to be dropped from a height of 7,000 m (23,000 ft) at a speed of 550 km/h (340 mph), giving it a range of up to 210 km (130 mi). In a slight dive the Bv 226 could reach a speed of 900 km/h (560 mph).
The construction of the BV 246 avoided the usual aircraft techniques and strategic materials, so it could be mass-produced. It had clean aerodynamics, with high aspect ratio wings that made possible a glide ratio of 25:1. [1] The wings were made of magnesite cement, formed around a steel spar. [2] It had a cruciform tail in an early version and a double vertical tail mounted on the sides of a wide horizontal stabilizer in a later version. It had a length of 3.53 m (11.6 ft) and a wingspan of 6.4 m (21 ft). Its total weight was 730 kg (1,610 lb), of which 435 kg (959 lb) was the explosive warhead.
Initial tests revealed that the basic design was workable, but that the weapon was very inaccurate and because of this it was rejected. However, work was restarted in 1943, with 11 different versions being planned, due to its simple and inexpensive construction, and the new development contract was awarded to the Karlshagen test centre. A series of tests was begun to improve the weapon's accuracy, with air drops performed by KG 101. Despite unpromising results, the Ministry of Aviation nevertheless issued the order to commence mass production on 12 December 1943. In February 1944 the contract was cancelled due to the success of the V-1 flying bomb. [3]
The weapon was revived a further time, in early 1945, as an early form of anti-radiation weapon, using the Radieschen passive seeker which was designed to home in on Allied radar transmitters; around 1,000 units were produced but never used operationally. [4]
The Blohm & Voss BV 155 was a German high-altitude interceptor aircraft intended to be used by the Luftwaffe against raids by USAAF Boeing B-29 Superfortresses. Work started on the design as the Messerschmitt Me 155 in 1942, but the project went through a protracted development period and change of ownership, and prototypes were still under test and development when World War II ended.
The Blohm & Voss BV 40 was a German glider fighter designed to attack Allied bomber formations during the time of the bombing raids over Nazi Germany.
The Blohm & Voss BV 138Seedrache was a trimotor flying boat designed and built by the German aircraft manufacturer Blohm & Voss. It served as the Luftwaffe's primary seaborne long-range maritime patrol and naval reconnaissance aircraft operated by the Luftwaffe during the Second World War.
The Blohm & Voss BV 238 was a German flying boat, built during World War II. It was the heaviest aircraft ever built when it first flew in 1944, and was the largest aircraft produced by any of the Axis powers during World War II.
The Dornier Do 23 was a German medium bomber of the 1930s.
The Blohm & Voss BV 141 was a World War II German tactical reconnaissance aircraft, notable for its uncommon structural asymmetry. Although the Blohm & Voss BV 141 performed well, it was never ordered into full-scale production, for reasons that included the unavailability of the preferred engine and competition from another tactical reconnaissance aircraft, the Focke-Wulf Fw 189.
The Blohm & Voss BV 222 Wiking was a large six-engined German flying boat designed and built by the German aircraft manufacturer Blohm & Voss. It was the largest flying boat to attain operational status during the Second World War.
The Blohm & Voss Ha 142 was a four-engined long-distance monoplane designed and built by the German aircraft manufacturer Blohm & Voss.
The Horten H.IV was a German tailless flying wing glider in which the pilot was to lie in a prone position to reduce the frontal area, and hence drag. It was designed by Reimar and Walter Horten in Göttingen. Four were built between 1941 and 1943. They were flown in a number of unofficial competitions in Germany during World War II. After the war the flying examples were transported to the United Kingdom and the United States where several contest successes were achieved.
The Blohm & Voss P 194 was a German design for a mixed-power Stuka or ground-attack aircraft and tactical bomber, during World War II.
The Blohm & Voss Ha 140 was a German multi-purpose seaplane first flown in 1937. It was intended for use as a torpedo bomber or long-range reconnaissance aircraft but did not enter production.
The Blohm & Voss BV 143 was an early prototype rocket-assisted glide bomb developed by the German Luftwaffe during World War II.
The Arado Ar 198 was a prototype reconnaissance aircraft, developed by Arado Flugzeugwerke, with backing from the Luftwaffe, who initially preferred it over the Blohm & Voss BV 141 and the Focke-Wulf Fw 189. However, when flight tests were carried out the aircraft performed poorly and did not impress the Luftwaffe. One aircraft was completed in 1938.
The Blohm & Voss P.208 was a design project for a tailless swept-wing propeller-powered interceptor designed by the German company Blohm & Voss towards the end of the Second World War.
The Blohm & Voss Bv P 188 was a long-range, heavy jet bomber design project by the Blohm & Voss aircraft manufacturing division during the last years of the Third Reich. It featured a novel W-wing planform with variable incidence.
The Blohm & Voss BV 237 was a German proposed dive bomber with an unusual asymmetric design based on the Blohm & Voss BV 141.
The Blohm & Voss BV 950 was an anti-shipping air-launched glide torpedo developed in two variants, the L 10 Friedensengel and L 11 Schneewittchen.
The Blohm & Voss P 163 was a design project for an unconventional bomber during World War II. Constructed mainly from steel, its crew were accommodated in large wingtip nacelles, giving it a triple-fuselage appearance. Its propeller drive system was also unusual, with the central fuselage containing twin engines coupled to a front-mounted contra-prop.
The Blohm & Voss P 204 was one of several design studies by Blohm & Voss for asymmetric dive bombers during World War II. It was also unusual in having hybrid propulsion comprising both piston and jet engines.
The Dornier Do 417 was a twin-engine multirole combat aircraft. Developed in 1942, it resulted from the Luftwaffe's request for a medium bomber, a contest in which Dornier, Junkers, Heinkel, and Blohm & Voss competed. In the end, the Junkers Ju 188 was chosen by the Luftwaffe, and the Do 417 never entered production.