Gildwiller1918 Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 The Germans began development of a viable surface to air missile in 1942 to combat the ever increasing allied air raids. The Rheintochter (Rhine Maiden) R 1 was a 2 stage missile that was actually tested and flown towards the end of the war. Between 1943 and 1944 over 80 were tested, but none reached adequate altitude, so the R 3 model was introduced, which had a similar 2 stage system, but was augmented with 2 side mounted boosters, similar to the space shuttle in design. 6 of these models were tested, however by this stage in the war, precious raw materials were needed elsewhere and the project was halted. The R 3 had a operational ceiling of about 20,000 feet and a range of nearly 40,000 feet and shot through the air at nearly 700 MPH, accelerating to Mach 1 in the first 1000 feet. There is not much else on information, such as guidance systems. As with the myriad of last minute wonder weapons, it came a little too late. However if introduced earlier it could have been a game changer. Below is a model representing the missile and its launcher. The second image shows the missile at the Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. after undergoing a restoration. The missile is now on display in the Deutsches Museum in Munich. Source, internet. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fritz Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 Rheinbote and Rheintochter (r), Deutsches Technikmuseum, Berlin Muzeum Wyrzutnia Rakiet - Rąbka Łeba, now Poland. Had not heard of these Wunderwaffen / weapons before. The costs of production would have probably been too high. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gildwiller1918 Posted November 13, 2020 Author Share Posted November 13, 2020 I agree, I can't imagine the resources that went into these things. Although I am curious as to how effective they would have been, such as guidance systems, or proximity fuses, etc. I am not surprised you had never heard of them before, I did not know much about them myself, but that is a reason for posting, to help educate and enlighten. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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