DFS 230F

Last updated
DFS 230F
RoleAssault glider
National origin Germany
Manufacturer Gothaer Waggonfabrik
DesignerIng. Hünerjäger [1]
First flightlate 1943 [1]
Number built1 [1]

The DFS 230F was a military assault glider designed and built in Germany, by Gotha during World War II, to succeed the smaller DFS 230 which it was only related to by name.

Military glider glider for military use in combat operations

Military gliders have been used by the military of various countries for carrying troops and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War. These engineless aircraft were towed into the air and most of the way to their target by military transport planes, e.g., C-47 Skytrain or Dakota, or bombers relegated to secondary activities, e.g., Short Stirling. Most military gliders do not soar, although there were attempts to build military sailplanes as well, such as the DFS 228.

Germany Federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe

Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central and Western Europe, lying between the Baltic and North Seas to the north and the Alps, Lake Constance and the High Rhine to the south. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, France to the southwest, and Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands to the west.

Gothaer Waggonfabrik aircraft and rolling stock manufacturer

Gothaer Waggonfabrik was a German manufacturer of rolling stock established in the late nineteenth century at Gotha. During the two world wars, the company expanded into aircraft building.

Contents


Design and development

After initial operations using the DFS 230, it became obvious to the Wehrmacht that a larger more capable assault glider would be desirable. The DFS 230 F was designed to fulfil that need, but in an atmosphere of political intransigence.

Wehrmacht unified armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945

The Wehrmacht was the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer (army), the Kriegsmarine (navy) and the Luftwaffe. The designation "Wehrmacht" replaced the previously used term Reichswehr, and was the manifestation of the Nazi regime's efforts to rearm Germany to a greater extent than the Treaty of Versailles permitted.

The RLM (Reichsluftfahrtministerium - German Air Ministry), issued a directive in 1941 that no effort was to be spent designing a replacement for the rather dated DFS 230 assault glider, in its weight class. Ing. Hünerjäger of Gothaer Waggonfabrik (Gotha) believed that a great improvement on the DFS 230 could be achieved with an aircraft of similar dimensions designing what was named the DFS 230 V7 despite the ban. Gotha named their new design's prototype DFS 230 V7, production aircraft were to be designated DFS 230F-1, to deflect criticism for ignoring the ban on DFS 230 replacement. [1]

DFS 230 military glider

The DFS 230 was a German transport glider operated by the Luftwaffe in World War II. It was developed in 1933 by the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug with Hans Jacobs as the head designer. The glider was the German inspiration for the British Hotspur glider and was intended for airborne assault operations.

Generally similar in layout and construction to the DFS 230A, the DFS 230F was a larger machine capable of carrying almost double the weight of cargo of the base-line DFS 230A-1, as well as seating up to 15 troops, as opposed to seven.

Construction of the DFS 230F was of welded-steel tube for the fuselage with wooden wings, control and tail surfaces, all fabric or plywood skinned. The fuselage was provided with side doors and a removable roof panel to allow loading of bulky items.

Fuselage aircraft main body which is the primary carrier of crew, passengers, and payload

The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, and cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, as well, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage, which in turn is used as a floating hull. The fuselage also serves to position control and stabilization surfaces in specific relationships to lifting surfaces, which is required for aircraft stability and maneuverability.

Aircraft fabric covering

Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures, the de Havilland Mosquito being an example of this technique, and on the pioneering all-wood monocoque fuselages of certain World War I German aircraft like the LFG Roland C.II, in its wrapped Wickelrumpf plywood strip and fabric covering.

Plywood manufactured wood panel made from thin sheets of wood veneer

Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards which includes medium-density fibreboard (MDF) and particle board (chipboard).

Control of the aircraft was by conventional elevator, ailerons, with large landing flaps to reduce landing speed and spoilers to adjust the approach angle. The undercarriage consisted of two main-wheels attached to the fuselage sides and a tail-skid.

Flap (aeronautics) aircraft wing device used to increase lift by extending the trailing edge of the wing

Flaps are a kind of high-lift device used to increase the lift of an aircraft wing at a given airspeed. Flaps are usually mounted on the wing trailing edges of a fixed-wing aircraft. Flaps are used for extra lift on takeoff. Flaps also cause an increase in drag in mid-flight, so they are retracted when not needed.

Spoiler (aeronautics) device for reducing aerodynamic lift

In aeronautics, a spoiler is a device intended to intentionally reduce the lift component of an airfoil in a controlled way. Most often, spoilers are plates on the top surface of a wing that can be extended upward into the airflow to spoil it. By so doing, the spoiler creates a controlled stall over the portion of the wing behind it, greatly reducing the lift of that wing section. Spoilers differ from airbrakes in that airbrakes are designed to increase drag without affecting lift, while spoilers reduce lift as well as increasing drag.

Landing gear aircraft part which supports the aircraft while not in the air

Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft and may be used for either takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally both. It was also formerly called alighting gear by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin Company.

Completed in 1943 the DFS 230 V7 had a cargo hold measuring 4.5 m (15 ft) x 1.5 m (5 ft) x 1.5 m (5 ft), a vast improvement on the DFS 230. Access to the hold was via large hatches in the fuselage sides and roof of the rear fuselage. For assault glider missions a crew of two would fly the aircraft with up to 11 Fallschirmjäger or up to 1,750 kg (3,858 lb) of cargo in overload conditions. [1]

Fallschirmjäger is the German word for paratroopers. They played an important role during World War II, when, together with the Gebirgsjäger they were perceived as the elite infantry units of the German military. After World War II, they were reconstituted as parts of postwar armed forces of both West and East Germany, mainly as special ops troops.

Despite successful flight trials no orders for production aircraft were forthcoming and only the prototype was built. [1]

Variants

Data from:' [1]

(Gotha) DFS 230 V7
The prototype of an assault glider in the same class as the DFS 230 (an altogether new design)
(Gotha) DFS 230F-1
The proposed production version

Specifications (DFS 230 V7)

Data from Aircraft of the Third Reich [1] , Fighting gliders of World War II [2] , German gliders in World War II [3]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Green, William (2010). Aircraft of the Third Reich (1st ed.). London: Aerospace Publishing Limited. p. 194. ISBN   978-1-900732-06-2.
  2. ↑ Mrazek, James E. (1977). Fighting gliders of World War II . London: Hale. ISBN   978-0312289270.
  3. ↑ Nowarra, Heinz J. (1991). German gliders in World War II. West Chester, PA: Schiffer. pp. 20–23, 47. ISBN   0887403581.

Further reading


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