This revolutionary aircraft Horten H. IX was world’s first stealth aircraft that was not allowed to come in lime light till b2 was developed and test flown successfully. It remained closed in the books of history till National Geographic Channel discovered the hidden potential and realised that this aircraft was exactly similar to
Designed by Reimar and Walter Horten and built by Gothaer Waggonfabrik of
Its speed was estimated at 1,024 km/h (636 mph) and it could cruise at 15,000 meters (49,213 ft), an astonishing statistics for aircraft of 1944.
Design and development
In 1943, Reichsmarschall Göring issued a request for design proposals to produce a bomber that was capable of carrying a 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) load over 1,000 km (620 mi) at 1,000 km/h (620 mph); the so called "3 X 1000 project". Conventional German bombers could reach Allied command centers in
In the early 1930s, the Horten brothers had become interested in the flying wing design as a method of improving the performance of gliders. A wing-only configuration allowed stability without the added drag of the fuselage.
Flying wing layout removed any "unneeded" surfaces and lead to the lowest possible drag. Pitch and yaw movements were controlled by reducing power of on of the engines. This also meant that in the event of failure of one of the engines, the aircraft was difficult to control. However, immediate deployment of undercarriage could make the aircraft stable as the undercarriage side covers provided vertical stability, but reduced speed made it susceptible to enemy attacks from ground as well as air.
In 1942 German Government Air Ministry approved the Horten proposal, but ordered the addition of two 30 mm cannons, as they felt the aircraft would also be useful as a fighter due to its estimated top speed being significantly higher than that of any Allied aircraft.
Construction Materials: Horton H. IX was made of mixed construction materials. Center pod was made from welded steel tubing and wing spars were built from wood. The wings were made from two thin, carbon-impregnated plywood panels glued together with a charcoal and sawdust mixture. The wing had a single main spar, penetrated by the jet engine inlets, and a secondary spar used for attaching the ailerons. It was designed with a 7g capable load factor and had a high safety rating. The wing's chord/thickness ratio of 15% at the root and 8% at the wingtips provided high lift and short take off and landing capabilities.
Control was achieved with ailerons and spoilers. The control system included both long span (inboard) and short span (outboard) spoilers, with the smaller outboard spoilers activated first. This system gave a smoother and more graceful control of yaw than would a single spoiler system.
The aircraft utilized retractable tricycle landing gear. A drag parachute slowed the aircraft upon landing. The pilot sat on an ejection seat.
Operational history
Testing and evaluation: During the final stages of the war, the U.S. military initiated Operation Paperclip, an effort by the various intelligence agencies to capture advanced German weapons research, and keep it out of the hands of advancing Soviet troops. A Horten glider and the Ho 229 V3, which was undergoing final assembly, were secured and sent to Northrop Corporation in the
Survivors
A Horten H.IV flying wing glider is in the Planes of Fame museum in
Stealth technology
After the war, Allied commanders were surprised to hear from Reimar Horten that he mixed charcoal dust in with the wood glue to absorb electromagnetic waves (radar), which he believed could shield the aircraft from detection by British early warning ground-based radar known as Chain Home.
A jet-powered flying wing design such as the Horten Ho 229 will have a smaller radar cross-section than conventional contemporary twin-engine aircraft. This is because, with wings blended into the fuselage, there would be no large propeller disks or vertical and horizontal tail surfaces to provide a typical identifiable radar signature. Horten's theories were tested by Northrop-Grumman in 2008 through the building of a replica that was found to give a radar cross section only 40% that of conventional aircraft.
Engineers of the Northrop-Grumman Corporation had long been interested in the Ho 229, and several of them visited the
In early 2008, Northrop-Grumman paired up television documentary producer Michael Jorgensen, and the National Geographic Channel to produce a documentary to determine whether the Ho 229 was, in fact, the world's first true "stealth" fighter-bomber. Northrop-Grumman built a full-size reproduction of the V3, (pictured here) incorporating a replica glue mixture in the nose section. After an expenditure of about US$ 250,000 and 2,500 man-hours, Northrop's Ho 229 reproduction was tested at the company's classified radar cross-section (RCS) test range at Tejon, California, where it was placed on a 15-meter (50 ft) articulating pole and exposed to electromagnetic energy sources from various angles, using the same three frequencies used by the Chain Home in the mid-1940s. RCS testing showed that a hypothetical Ho 229 approaching the English coast from
With testing complete, the reproduction was donated by Northrop-Grumman to the San Diego Air and
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