It could be something out of Star Wars or a version of America’s feared B2 stealth bomber. The giveaway is the large black crosses on the wing.
This is Hitler’s stealth fighter-bomber, a little known secret weapon which might have altered the course of the Second World War, outpacing RAF fighters and giving anti-aircraft gunners much less time to defend Britain.
The plane has been recreated and its radar-beating capability put to the test by the men who built America’s stealth bomber. Their verdict: ‘Yes, it could have made a big difference.’
The plane’s awful potential is laid out in a TV documentary, shown this week in the U.S. on the National Geographic Channel, and to be broadcast in Britain on August 4.
The all-wing Horten Ho 2-29 looked more like today’s U.S. B2 bomber than any Second World War aircraft but is only a third of the size.
Made primarily of wood and powered by Messerschmitt jet engines, it was designed for speeds of up to 600mph.
With four 30mm cannons and two 1,100lb bombs, it was also meant to pack a punch. Working from original German blueprints and the remains of a prototype in a museum warehouse in Washington, the U.S. engineers of Northrop Grumman recreated the Nazi plane complete except for the engines.
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A very interesting piece Jack. I wonder if Hitler did as much interferring with this aircraft as he did with the first ever operational jet fighter the ME262. That baby could hit 680 mph and had a ceiling of about 50,000ft. Because Hitler insisted it be developed as a fighter bomber versus a straight fighter production was delayed for about 1 year resulting in its appearance just a tad too late to have a major effect on the German war effort. Good thing Hitler did stick his nose into it as a matter of fact. If Hitler had waited about 3-5 yrs to start his war we could all very well be speaking German today. Enough submarines would have been in operation by then to totally strangle Britain and close off Atlantic convoy routes completely. Couple that with missiles, jet fighters, the atomic bomb and with this Ho 2-29 able to strike North America and safety return……whew.
Hitler was the allies best friend. That’s why they never assassinated him.
It wasnt for the lack of trying, Jack.
Actually they didn’t, UV. His own officers tried to kill him…nothing to do with the allies. They knew a friend when they saw one.
That ‘friend’ was also responsible for murdering many allies including two uncles of mine, millions of Jews and others. He was no friend to anyone other than those of the so called ‘pure race.’
I believe Jack was being “ironic” when he called Hitler a friend, not literal.
Perhaps it would better to state Hitler was his own (and his country’s own) worst enemy… His insane micromanagement and constant interference with his subordinates undermined their effectiveness… which allowed the Allies sufficient time to organize, respond and win…
That’s correct Mac. I could have phrased it better.
History has made its judgement about Hitler. He over-reached and he was defeated: he micro-managed and undermined his military leaders. On the other hand, he also over-ruled his diplomats and generals in the first years of his rule and won almost every confrontation with the Western Powers. He was a strange, but evil, phenomenon.
Cunctator- Bang on!
And his legacy still haunts the free world today with skin-heads popping everywhere to carry his twisted message.
UV, I don’t know which I find worse…
At the end of the day, all of these people diminish the true horror and evil of the 3rd Reich.