Bachem Ba 349 Nummer 23, Stetten akM 01 10

Lothar Sieber (7 April 1922 – 1 March 1945) was a German

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

who was killed in the first vertical take-off manned rocket flight, in a

Bachem Ba 349 The Bachem Ba 349 Natter ( en, Colubrid, grass-snake) was a World War II German point-defence rocket-powered interceptor, which was to be used in a very similar way to a manned surface-to-air missile. After a vertical take-off, which eliminate ...

"Natter". Before he became a test pilot for Bachem, he piloted an

Arado Ar 232 The Arado Ar 232 ''Tausendfüßler'' (German: "Millipede"), sometimes also called ''Tatzelwurm'', was a cargo aircraft, designed and built in small numbers by the German firm Arado Flugzeugwerke during World War II. The design introduced, or br ...

in highly risky sorties. Shortly before his flight, he had become engaged to Gertrud Naudit, a

Luftwaffenhelfer A ''Luftwaffenhelfer'', also commonly known as a ''Flakhelfer'', was any member of the auxiliary staff of the German ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. Such terms often implied students conscripted as child soldiers. Establishment ''Luftwaf ...

. Sieber had held the rank of second lieutenant but was demoted to

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

after an alcohol-related

AWOL Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...

. Posthumuously he was promoted to Oberleutnant.

The first manned vertical-takeoff rocket flight

On 1 March 1945, at the Truppenübungsplatz Heuberg, Sieber entered the Natter ''Ba 349A M23'' for the first manned vertical take-off of a rocket. The experienced test pilot was told to execute a half roll if the Natter should veer off course. The start worked as planned, with Sieber executing the roll maneuvers as soon as the Natter changed its course. After the release of the

solid fuel rocket A solid-propellant rocket or solid rocket is a rocket with a rocket engine that uses Rocket propellant#Solid chemical propellants, solid propellants (fuel/oxidizer). The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder; they were u ...

boosters it could be seen that the

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an ...

came off and fell to the ground while the Natter disappeared into the clouds. Eyewitnesses reported that the main engine kept firing. Soon, the Natter reappeared vertically from the clouds and hit the ground at high speed. All eyes searched for Sieber appearing with his parachute from the clouds, but to no avail.

Impact site

At the impact site, about 7 km away, a 5 m deep crater was found, and except for half of a left arm and half of a left leg, only small body parts were found⁠, and later a 14 cm long part of a skull. In 1998–1999, excavations found the remains of one of the ''Starthilfsraketen'' RATO rockets at the impact site, proving that it did not release from the fuselage of the Natter. Lothar's remains are buried in a marked grave at Stetten am kalten Markt. Grab Lothar Sieber, Stetten akM 03 10

Aftermath

Reconstruction of the flight, which lasted for 55 seconds and covered a horizontal distance of 7 km, calculated an

average speed In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quanti ...

of about 800 km/h, thus about 14 km were traveled in total. Things went well at first, but one of the four jettisonable Schmidding boosters failed to release and the Natter went out of control. At 500 m (1,600 ft) the cockpit canopy pulled off as Sieber intended to bail out. He was instructed by radio to keep trying to shake off the booster, but inside the clouds he lost orientation as he presumably did not rely on the automatic radio guiding system which was designed to lead Natters with inexperienced pilots to the altitudes at which Allied bombers operated. The Natter probably turned on its back and flew horizontally rather than climbing, thus accelerating, which Sieber may have misinterpreted as a steep nose dive, pulling harder on the thrust rudder which made things even worse. Also, the brake parachute did not open due to the booster still being stuck. It is likely that Sieber understood his situation when the Natter left the clouds, and tried to bail out, but due to the high speed he managed only to get out with his left arm and leg before the violent impact. As an experienced test pilot had failed to control the Natter, which was intended to be operated by many inexperienced pilots as an interceptor, the SS cancelled the project. The cause was officially explained as a failure of the canopy, which simply may have not been properly latched before launch. Sieber's remains were buried with military honors on 3 March 1945.

References

External links

Abfangjagdflugzeug Bachem Ba 349 "Natter"

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sieber, Lothar 1922 births 1945 deaths Luftwaffe pilots German test pilots Military personnel from Dresden Aviation pioneers Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Germany Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1945

The first manned vertical-takeoff rocket flight

Impact site

Aftermath

See also

Further reading

References

External links