Secret Projects Flying Saucer Aircraft - Bill Rose and Tony

Page 51 of 180

Page 51 of 180
Secret Projects Flying Saucer Aircraft - Bill Rose and Tony

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No mention of this radar-absorbing mater- ial (RAM) appears in early descriptions of the Go 229 and there are no references to tests that established the feasibility of configuring this design to avoid radar detection. That said, the Germans made considerable progress with radar countermeasures and perhaps their most significant achievement was the effective masking of U-Boat periscopes. So the idea of a Second World War German stealth fighter cannot be completely dis- missed. At the beginning of 1945 Gotha engineers working under the direction of Dr. Ing. Hiin- erjager (who were responsible for producing the Go 229) completed plans for an advance flying wing fighter called the P.60A, which was accepted for further development by the RLM as a potential successor to the Go 229. This design was considered to be a big improvement over the Go229 fighter by American scientists who examined the P.60A research material in some detail. However, the Hortens designed their own replacement for the Go229 and this near-supersonic jet knownas the Ho-X was expected to enter ser- Horten Ho 9 V2 undergoing assembly in the workshops at Gottingen Airfield. Courtesy of David Myhra The experimental Ho 9 V1 glider designed by the Horten Brothers is moved by a ground crew in preparation for a test flight at Oranienburg Airfield, during mid-1944. Courtesy of David Myhra The Horten Ho 9 VI is towed across a snow-covered airfield, probably in early 1944. Note the fixed rear wheels in streamlined fairings used on this initial prototype. After trials at Oranienburg, V-1 was moved to Brandis and finally destroyed by occupying US forces. Courtesy of David Myhra 49 German Wartime Flying Discs