The DFS 228 was a
rocket
A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...
-powered, high-
altitude
Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...
reconnaissance aircraft
A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using photography), signals intelligence, as ...
designed by the ''
Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug
The ''Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug'' (), or DFS , was formed in 1933 to centralise all gliding activity in Germany, under the directorship of Professor Walter Georgii. It was formed by the nationalisation of the Rhön-Rossitten Ge ...
'' (DFS - "German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight") during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. By the end of the war, the aircraft had only flown in the form of two unpowered prototypes.
Design and development
Initial design of the DFS 228 was undertaken before the outbreak of war as a
research aircraft
An experimental aircraft is an aircraft intended for testing new aerospace technologies and design concepts.
The term ''research aircraft'' or ''testbed aircraft'', by contrast, generally denotes aircraft modified to perform scientific studies, ...
, the DFS 54, aimed at developing a high-altitude escape system for
sailplane
A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the leisure activity and sport of gliding (also called soaring). This unpowered aircraft can use naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to gain altitude. Sailplan ...
s. The project was suspended by the
commencement of hostilities, but was revived in 1940 when the ''
Reichsluftfahrtministerium
The Ministry of Aviation (german: Reichsluftfahrtministerium, abbreviated RLM) was a government department during the period of Nazi Germany (1933–45). It is also the original name of the Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus building on the Wilhelmstrasse ...
'' (RLM - "Reich Aviation Ministry") delivered the DFS with a requirement for a rocket-powered reconnaissance aircraft.
The advantages of a sailplane for
aerial reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including artillery spotting, the collection of ima ...
included its silence, its low speed relative to the ground (allowing for higher-quality photography), and its potential ability to loiter above an area of interest. The project gave the DFS the opportunity to investigate two additional areas that it was interested in: the effects of
wing sweep
A swept wing is a wing that angles either backward or occasionally forward from its root rather than in a straight sideways direction.
Swept wings have been flown since the pioneer days of aviation. Wing sweep at high speeds was first investigat ...
on sailplane design, and
supersonic
Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound ( Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...
flight.
The DFS 228 was designed by
Felix Kracht and a first
prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
was completed in March 1944; it was undergoing gliding tests by that August, carried aloft piggyback and
strut
A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension.
Human anatomy
Part of the functionality o ...
-mounted atop a
Dornier Do 217
The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by the German ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II as a more powerful development of the Dornier Do 17, known as the ''Fliegender Bleistift'' (German: "flying pencil"). Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bomber ...
. The aircraft was of conventional sailplane arrangement with long,
slender wings and designed to land on a
retractable skid mounted on its belly. The nose of the aircraft could be separated in an emergency and formed a self-contained,
pressurized
{{Wiktionary
Pressurization or pressurisation is the application of pressure in a given situation or environment.
Industrial
Industrial equipment is often maintained at pressures above or below atmospheric.
Atmospheric
This is the process by ...
escape capsule for the pilot.
Because of problems with the
cabin pressurization
Cabin pressurization is a process in which conditioned air is pumped into the cabin of an aircraft or spacecraft in order to create a safe and comfortable environment for passengers and crew flying at high altitudes. For aircraft, this air is ...
system, the second prototype accommodated the pilot in a prone position.
Forty flights were made with the prototypes, and installation of a rocket was to have taken place in February 1945, but the project fell by the wayside as the war situation became more desperate. The second prototype was destroyed in an air raid in May 1945, and the first prototype was captured by
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
troops in June. In 1946 it was sent to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
for study where it was apparently scrapped in 1947, although its exact fate is unknown.
Variants
;DFS 54
:Experimental glider with a pressure cabin, oxygen, cabin heating and insulation for high altitude flying.
;DFS 228
:Powered variant of the DFS 54 with a
Walter HWK 509D rocket propulsion unit.
Specifications (DFS 228 estimated)
See also
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
* Green, William. ''Warplanes of the Third Reich''. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970 (fourth impression 1979). .
* Myhra, David. ''DFS 228''. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2000. .
* Smith, J.Richard and Kay, Anthony. ''German Aircraft of the Second World War''. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1972 (third impression 1978). .
* Wood, Tony and Gunston, Bill. ''Hitler's Luftwaffe: A pictorial history and technical encyclopedia of Hitler's air power in World War II''. London: Salamander Books Ltd., 1977. .
{{Authority control
Abandoned military aircraft projects of Germany
1940s German military reconnaissance aircraft
Prone pilot aircraft
Rocket-powered aircraft
World War II reconnaissance aircraft of Germany
DFS aircraft
High-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1944