The Horten Ho 229, designated by the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM, German Air Ministry) as the H.IX and often called Gotha Go 229 because of the identity of the chosen manufacturer of the aircraft, was a German prototype fighter/bomber designed by Reimar and Walter Horten and built by Gothaer Waggonfabrik late in World War II. It was the first pure flying wing powered by jet engines.
The design was a response to Hermann Göring's call for light bomber designs capable of meeting the "3×1000" requirement; namely to carry 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lbs.) of bombs a distance of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) with a speed of 1,000 kilometers per hour (620 mph). Only jets could provide the speed, but these were extremely fuel hungry so considerable effort had to be made to meet the range requirement. Based on a flying wing, the Ho 229 lacked all extraneous control surfaces, lowering drag. It was the only design to come even close to the 3×1000 requirements, and received Göring's approval. Its ceiling was 15,000 meters (49,000 ft.).
The Ho 229 was of mixed construction, with the center pod made from welded steel tubing and wing spars built from wood. The wings were made from two thin, carbon-impregnated plywood panels glued together with a charcoal and sawdust mixture. The wing had a single main spar, penetrated by the jet engine inlets, and a secondary spar used for attaching the elevons. The aircraft utilized retractable tricycle landing gear, with the nosegear on the first two prototypes sourced from an He 177's tailwheel system, with the third prototype using an He 177A main gear wheelrim and tire on its custom-designed nosegear strutwork and wheel fork. A drogue parachute slowed the aircraft upon landing. The pilot sat on a primitive ejection seat. The aircraft was originally designed for the BMW 003 jet engine, but that engine was not quite ready and the Junkers Jumo 004 engine was substituted.
Control was achieved with elevons and spoilers. The control system included both long span (inboard) and short span (outboard) spoilers, with the smaller outboard spoilers activated first. This system gave a smoother and more graceful control of yaw than would a single spoiler system.
The first prototype H.IX V1, an unpowered glider with fixed tricycle landing gear, flew on 1 March 1944. Flight results were very favorable, but there was an accident when the pilot attempted to land without first retracting an instrument-carrying pole extending from the aircraft. The design was taken from the Horten brothers and given to Gothaer Waggonfabrik. The Gotha team made some changes: They added a simple ejection seat, dramatically changed the undercarriage to enable a higher gross weight, changed the jet engine inlets, and added ducting to air-cool the jet engine's outer casing, so as to prevent damage to the wooden wing.
The H.IX V1 was followed in December 1944 by the Junkers Jumo 004-powered second prototype H.IX V2; the BMW 003 engine was preferred, but unavailable. Göring believed in the design and ordered a production series of 40 aircraft from Gothaer Waggonfabrik with the RLM designation Ho 229, even though it had not yet taken to the air under jet power. The first flight of the H.IX V2 was made in Oranienburg on 2 February 1945.
All subsequent test flights and development were done by Gothaer Waggonfabrik. By this time, the Horten brothers were working on a turbojet-powered design for the Amerika Bomber contract competition, and did not attend the first test flight. The test pilot was Leutnant Erwin Ziller. Two further test flights were made between 2 and 18 February 1945. Another test pilot used in the evaluation was Heinz Scheidhauer.
The H.IX V2 reportedly displayed very good handling qualities, with only moderate lateral instability (a typical deficiency of tailless aircraft). While the second flight was equally successful, the undercarriage was damaged by a heavy landing caused by Ziller deploying the brake parachute too early during his landing approach. There are reports that during one of these test flights, the H.IX V2 undertook a simulated "dog-fight" with a Messerschmitt Me 262, the first operational jet fighter and that the H.IX V2 outperformed the Me 262.
Two weeks later, on 18 February 1945, disaster struck during the third test flight. Ziller took off without any problems to perform a series of flight tests. After about 45 minutes, at an altitude of around 800 m, one of the Jumo 004 turbojet engines developed a problem, caught fire and stopped. Ziller was seen to put the aircraft into a dive and pull up several times in an attempt to restart the engine and save the precious prototype. Ziller undertook a series of 4 complete turns at 20º angle of bank. Ziller did not use his radio or eject from the aircraft. He may already have been unconscious as a result of the fumes from the burning engine. The aircraft crashed just outside the boundary of the airfield. Ziller was thrown from the aircraft on impact and died from his injuries two weeks later. The prototype aircraft was completely destroyed.
Despite this setback, the project continued with sustained energy. On 12 March 1945, the Ho 229 was included in the Jäger-Notprogramm (Emergency Fighter Program) for accelerated production of inexpensive "wonder weapons". The prototype workshop was moved to the Gothaer Waggonfabrik (Gotha) in Friedrichroda. In the same month, work commenced on the third prototype, the Ho 229 V3.
The V3 was larger than previous prototypes, the shape being modified in various areas, and it was meant to be a template for the pre-production series Ho 229 A-0 day fighters, of which 20 machines had been ordered. The V3 was meant to be powered by two Jumo 004C engines with 10% greater thrust each than the earlier Jumo 004B production engine used for the Me 262A and Ar 234B, and could carry two MK 108 30mm cannon in the wing roots. Work had also started on the two-seat Ho 229 V4 and Ho 229 V5 night-fighter prototypes, the Ho 229 V6 armament test prototype, and the Ho 229 V7 two-seat trainer.
When WW II ended, Reimar Horten emigrated to Argentina after failed negotiations with the United Kingdom and China, where he continued designing and building gliders, one experimental supersonic delta-wing aircraft and one twin-engined flying wing transport called the "Naranjero" for its intended use of carrying oranges for export. It was unsuccessful commercially. Walter remained in Germany after the war and became an officer in the post-war German Air Force. Reimar died on his ranch in Argentina in 1994 and Walter died in Germany in 1998.
The only surviving Ho 229 airframe, the V3 (and indeed, the only surviving World War II-era German jet prototype still in existence) was stored for many years at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Paul E. Garber Restoration Facility in Suitland, Maryland, USA.
In December, 2011, the National Air and Space Museum had moved the Ho 229 into the active restoration area of the Garber Restoration Facility and it is currently being reviewed for full restoration and display. The center section of the V3 prototype was meant to be moved to the Smithsonian NASM's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in late 2012 to commence a detailed examination of it before starting any serious conservation/restoration efforts, and then moved to the Udvar-Hazy facility's restoration shops, with only the NASM's B-26B Marauder Flak Bait medium bomber directly ahead of it for restoration.
In early 2008, Northrop-Grumman paired up television documentary producer Michael Jorgensen, and the National Geographic Channel to produce a documentary to determine whether the Ho 229 was, in fact, the world's first true "stealth" fighter-bomber. Northrop-Grumman built a full-size non-flying reproduction of the V3, constructed to match the aircraft's radar properties. After an expenditure of about US$250,000 and 2,500 man-hours, Northrop's Ho 229 reproduction was tested at the company's classified radar cross-section (RCS) test range at Tejon, California, where it was placed on a 15-meter (50 ft.) articulating pole and exposed to electromagnetic energy sources from various angles, using the same three HF/VHF-boundary area frequencies in the 20–50 MHz range used by the Chain Home system in the mid-1940s. To view the National Geographic documentary Click here.
On July 10, 2013, 69 years after the Ho 229 was test flown, the US Navy successfully conducted take-offs, landings and touch and go's from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, with a new stealth jet called the X-47B UCAS built by Northrop-Grumman. What is so different about this plane is the fact that it is a 'drone'. To view a short video of that test Tap of click here.
General characteristics of the Ho 229:
Crew: 1
Length: 7.47 m (24 ft. 6 in.)
Wingspan: 16.76 m (55 ft.)
Height: 2.81 m (9 ft. 2 in.)
Wing area: 50.20 m² (540.35 ft.²)
Empty weight: 4,600 kg (10,141 lbs.)
Loaded weight: 6,912 kg (15,238 lbs.)
Maximum takeoff weight: 8,100 kg (17,857 lbs.)
Powerplant: 2 × Junkers Jumo 004B turbojet, 8.7 kN (1,956 lbf) each
Estimate maximum speed : 977 km/h (607 mph) at 12,000 m (39,000 ft.)
Estimated service ceiling: 16,000 m (52,000 ft.)
Estimated rate of climb: 22 m/s (4,330 ft./min.)
Armament: Hs 298 AAM Rocket X 4 or Mk108 30mm cannon X 4
Facts and General Characteristics of the Model:
This model is a reproduction of an Ho 229-B Nachtjäger. It is a V6 variant which is estimated to be the prototype of a two seat trainer. It must have been expected to be the basic airframe for the planned night fighter carrying a radar operator’s seat and any available radar equipment. To accommodate the second seat, the center section was totally redesigned and the nose was sharply extended forward.
Manufacturer: Dragon Models LTD., Hong Kong
Scale: 1/48
Wingspan: 13.5"
Length: 9.0"
Height: 3.25"
Hours to build and paint: 26.5
Mistakes:
1. Several of the decals broke so I couldn’t use them.
2. Some parts didn’t fit together well. The most noticeable were the main landing gear – one is longer than the other.
3. I should have used a filler in the gaps between the fuselage and wings.
