Hitler's Spyplane Over Normandy 1944: The World's First Jet by Philippe Bauduin

Author:Philippe Bauduin [Bauduin, Philippe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2014-06-08T21:00:00+00:00

The cockpit of the Arado Ar 234. (DR)

At the beginning of March 1945 however, the work of the designers and engineers was stopped and the Arado factory was methodically destroyed due to the impending threat of the advancing Red Army.

The first combat action the aircraft saw took place when the two V5 and V7 prototypes were sent to France on 25 July 1944. Their objective was to photograph the Allied bridgehead in Normandy, something the ordinary reconnaissance planes were unable to do. Only the V5 could be used, the other aircraft being returned to Germany after experiencing problems with its engine.

Piloted by Erich Sommer, the aircraft first flew over the beaches on 2 August 1944 (see chapter 7). Flying at an altitude of 9,000m and a speed of around 800km/h, the aircraft was not even detected by the Allies. For this mission, two Rb50/30 cameras were mounted on the back of the fuselage, inclined at twelve degrees on either side of the aircraft, allowing photographs to be taken in a 10km band around the trajectory of the aircraft. On the same day, the plane was joined by the other prototype and between them they carried out other similar missions over the following three weeks.

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