German Guided Missiles of World War II by Steven J. Zaloga & Jim Laurier

Author:Steven J. Zaloga & Jim Laurier
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781472831941
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2019-07-24T00:00:00+00:00

Henschel Hs 117 Schmetterling

Henschel Flugzeuge Werke AG near Berlin was one of the few German firms with actual experience in missile design due to Prof Herbert Wagner’s previous work on the Hs 293 antiship missile. Wagner had studied the idea of adapting the Kehl-Straßburg guidance technology to a Flak missile as early as 1941. He proposed the Hs 297 to the RLM in 1941, but it was rejected as unnecessary. Following the start of the R-Programm, Henschel was given a contract for a small Flak missile under the Luftwaffe codename Schmetterling (Butterfly).

By this time, Wagner was Germany’s most experienced tactical missile designer and appreciated the many factors necessary to build an expendable missile. Rather than aim at the highest level of technological excellence, he sought to develop a missile that was small and cheap while still offering good performance. He chose a design that could be developed as quickly as possible. The Hs 297 Schmetterling was considerably smaller than its competitors since Wagner selected a small warhead, accepting that on average it would take three missiles to shoot down a typical target, namely a B-17 flying at 335 mph(540km/h) at a height of 6,000–8,000m (19,500–26,250ft) and a range of 15km (9 miles).

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