The Henschel Hs 117 ''Schmetterling'' (German for ''
Butterfly'') was a radio-guided German
surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
project developed during
World War II. There was also an air-to-air version, the Hs 117H.
The operators used a telescopic sight and a
joystick
A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. A joystick, also known as the control column, is the principal cont ...
to guide the missile by
radio control
Radio control (often abbreviated to RC) is the use of control signals transmitted by radio to remotely control a device. Examples of simple radio control systems are garage door openers and keyless entry systems for vehicles, in which a small ...
, which was detonated by
acoustic and
photoelectric proximity fuse
A proximity fuze (or fuse) is a Fuze (munitions), fuze that detonates an Explosive material, explosive device automatically when the distance to the target becomes smaller than a predetermined value. Proximity fuzes are designed for targets such ...
s, at .
Development
In 1941, Professor
Herbert A. Wagner Herbert Alois Wagner (22 May 1900 – 28 May 1982) was an Austrian scientist who developed numerous innovations in the fields of aerodynamics, aircraft structures and guided weapons. He is most famous for Wagner's function describing unsteady lift ...
(who was previously responsible for the
Henschel Hs 293
The Henschel Hs 293 was a World War II German radio-guided glide bomb. It is the first operational anti-shipping missile, first used unsuccessfully on 25 August 1943 and then with increasing success over the next year, ultimately damaging or sink ...
anti-ship missile) invented the Schmetterling missile and submitted it to the
Reich Air Ministry (RLM), who rejected the design because there was no need for more anti-aircraft weaponry.
However, by 1943 the
large-scale bombing of Germany caused the RLM to change its mind, and
Henschel
Henschel & Son (german: Henschel und Sohn) was a German company, located in Kassel, best known during the 20th century as a maker of transportation equipment, including locomotives, trucks, buses and trolleybuses, and armoured fighting vehicle ...
was given a contract to develop and manufacture it. The team was led by Professor Wagner, and it produced a weapon somewhat resembling a
bottlenose dolphin
Bottlenose dolphins are aquatic mammals in the genus ''Tursiops.'' They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus definitively contains two species: the common ...
with swept wings and cruciform tail.
In May 1944, 59 Hs 117 missiles were tested, some from beneath a
Heinkel He 111
The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after th ...
; over half the trials failed. Mass production was ordered in December 1944, with deployment to start in March 1945. Operational missiles were to be launched from a 37mm gun carriage.
In January 1945, a prototype for mass production was completed, and production of 3,000 missiles a month was anticipated, but on 6 February,
''SS-Obergruppenführer'' Hans Kammler
Hans Kammler (26 August 1901 – 1945 ssumed was an SS-Obergruppenführer responsible for Nazi civil engineering projects and its top secret weapons programmes. He oversaw the construction of various Nazi concentration camps before being put ...
cancelled the project.
Variants
The Hs 117H was an air-launched variant, designed to be launched from a
Dornier Do 217,
Junkers Ju 188, or
Junkers Ju 388. This version was designed to attack enemy aircraft up to above the launching aircraft.
See also
References
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External links
Henschel Hs117 Schmettering (Butterfly) - Royal Air Force Museum, Cosford (UK)
World War II guided missiles of Germany
Surface-to-air missiles of Germany
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