Fieseler Fi 103R (Reichenberg)

History

The Fiseler Fi 103R was essentially a manned version of the successful V-1 rocket that terrorized the citizens of London during World War II. The manned system was designed to be a suicide missile, allowing the pilot to lock onto a target and eject at the last minute.

In theory, it's a solid plan for a country on the brink of losing a global conflict, but in practice, the idea of ??salvaging pilots in this way leads to considerable casualty rates.

The Fi 103 was born out of the idea that the system would be equally useful in precision strikes against Allied ships in the English Channel. The Fi 103R is already a proven weapon in the unmanned rocket version of the V-1 and can be easily mass-produced and commissioned with minimal testing or training.

The idea itself came from a proposal that involved delivering these suicide missiles from the belly of an advancing bomber.

While comparable to the Pacific Kamikaze, the pilot of the Fi 103 will not be confined to the cockpit. Once the target has been visually captured, the pilot can point the missile's nose at the target area and simply pop and deploy a chute by throwing the canopy aside. A major problem with this maneuver is the position of the canopy - it sits directly in front of the pulse jet engine.

In practice, the catapult cover interferes with the pulsed jet, making it less likely that the pilot will successfully pull out of the machine.

The Fi 103R is powered by a 772 lb thrust pulse jet engine mounted in the upper rear fuselage. The pilot's seating position was designed to be close to the opening of the pulse jet, and simple wings were added for stability. The flying skills are very basic, and only the most basic operations are required.

The landing only took place during testing and was a considerable challenge in itself, as the system was never intended to return to base safely. A powerful 850kg warhead is loaded into the nose assembly, resulting in an inexpensive and easy-to-build terrorist weapon.

Over 70 pilots were assigned to train on the Fi 103R, which was never fully developed. This action was due to the low interest of the German command in the system, as well as the loss of two such aircraft during the tests.

Although nearly 200 aircraft of this type were produced, the system was never fully deployed during World War II.

Specification

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Production

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Performance

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