The Messerschmitt Bf 162 was a
light bomber
A light bomber is a relatively small and fast type of military bomber aircraft that was primarily employed before the 1950s. Such aircraft would typically not carry more than one ton of ordnance.
The earliest light bombers were intended to dro ...
aircraft designed in
Germany prior to
World War II, which flew only in prototype form.
Design and development
The Bf 162 was designed in response to a
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* ...
RLM (''Reichsluftfahrtministerium'', Reich Aviation Ministry) specification for a ''schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") for tactical use. Messerschmitt's design was a modified
Bf 110 with a glazed nose to accommodate a
bombardier. In
1937
Events
January
* January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua.
* January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...
, three prototypes were flown against rival designs, the
Junkers Ju 88 and the
Henschel Hs 127
The Henschel Hs 127 was a German bomber that was built as two prototypes, but cancelled without entering mass production.
In 1935, the RLM (''Reichsluftfahrtministerium'' - German Ministry of Aviation) published requests for a fast tactical bom ...
, both entirely new aircraft.
It was eventually decided that the Ju 88 be selected for production, and development of the Bf 162 ended. As a
disinformation tactic, images of the Bf 162 were widely circulated in the German press, captioned as the "Messerschmitt Jaguar", a name never used outside this context.
This aircraft's
RLM official airframe number of ''8-162'' was later re-used for the
Heinkel He 162 jet fighter.
Specifications (Bf 162)
See also
References
*Green, William. ''Warplanes of the Third Reich''. New York:Doubleday, 1972. .
*Wagner, Ray and Heinz Nowarra. ''German Combat Planes: A Comprehensive Survey and History of the Development of German Military Aircraft from 1914 to 1945''. New York: Doubleday, 1971.
External links
German Aviation 1919 - 1945
{{RLM aircraft designations
Bf 162
1930s German bomber aircraft
Abandoned military aircraft projects of Germany
Low-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1937
Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft
Twin-tail aircraft