The Henschel Hs 117 ''Schmetterling'' (German for ''
Butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...
'') 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 con ...
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
The photoelectric effect is the emission of electrons when electromagnetic radiation, such as light, hits a material. Electrons emitted in this manner are called photoelectrons. The phenomenon is studied in condensed matter physics, and solid sta ...
proximity fuses, 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 anti-ship missile) invented the Schmetterling missile and submitted it to the
Reich Air Ministry
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), 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 vehicl ...
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 comm ...
with swept wings and cruciform tail.
In May 1944, 59 Hs 117 missiles were tested, some from beneath a
Heinkel He 111; 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 cancelled the project.
Variants
The Hs 117H was an air-launched variant, designed to be launched from a
Dornier Do 217,
Junkers Ju 188
The Junkers Ju 188 was a German ''Luftwaffe'' high-performance medium bomber built during World War II, the planned follow-up to the Ju 88 with better performance and payload. It was produced only in limited numbers, due both to the presence of ...
, 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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