The So 344 was originally intended as a parasite escort fighter armed with two MG 81 machine guns and one MK 108 cannon, but its original design was changed in January 1944. The second version of the aircraft retained the two machine guns, but its front section was a detachable explosive nose with stabilizing fins filled with 400 kg of explosives. The pilot sat in the cockpit near the tail which was in the back section. The plane proper had a wingspan of 5.7 m and a length of 5.3 m. Including the ejectable nose its length would be 7 m.
The plane would have been released from a mother plane upon reaching combat altitude. Then it would ignite its single Walter HWK 109-509 rocket engine and dive towards the enemy bomber fleet at a 45 degree angle. Shortly before contact it would release its explosive nose, equipped with a proximity fuze, into the center of the combat box formation in a way that it would damage as many bombers as possible. Then it would try to get away with the remaining fuel in its rocket engine and finally land on its fixed skid.
Owing to the extreme risks for the pilot inherent in the operation of this aircraft, the Sombold So 344 is sometimes listed as a suicide weapon. However, it was not intended as such, even though the chances of survival would have been very limited for the pilot of such a dangerous artifact.
A 1/5 scale model was built for aerodynamic tests, however the project was abandoned shortly before the end of the European conflict.
^Lepage, Jean-Denis (2009). Aircraft of the Luftwaffe, 1935-1945: An Illustrated Guide. McFarland. p. 257. ISBN9780786439379.
External links
Alternate history
Flying Things
January 04, 2023
sombold, sombold, schußjäger, shoot, fighter, rocket, powered, aircraft, designed, 1943, engineer, heinz, sombold, naumburg, saale, germany, project, came, about, when, luftwaffe, seeking, emergency, interceptor, combat, allied, bombing, raids, over, nazi, ger. The Sombold 344 Schussjager Shoot Fighter was a rocket powered aircraft designed in 1943 44 by engineer Heinz Sombold 1 in Naumburg Saale Germany The project came about when the Luftwaffe was seeking an emergency interceptor to combat the allied bombing raids over Nazi Germany in the last years of World War II So 344Role Bomber box busterNational origin GermanyManufacturer SomboldPrimary user LuftwaffeNumber built One 1 5 scale model built Contents 1 Description 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksDescription EditThe So 344 was originally intended as a parasite escort fighter armed with two MG 81 machine guns and one MK 108 cannon but its original design was changed in January 1944 The second version of the aircraft retained the two machine guns but its front section was a detachable explosive nose with stabilizing fins filled with 400 kg of explosives The pilot sat in the cockpit near the tail which was in the back section The plane proper had a wingspan of 5 7 m and a length of 5 3 m Including the ejectable nose its length would be 7 m The plane would have been released from a mother plane upon reaching combat altitude Then it would ignite its single Walter HWK 109 509 rocket engine and dive towards the enemy bomber fleet at a 45 degree angle Shortly before contact it would release its explosive nose equipped with a proximity fuze into the center of the combat box formation in a way that it would damage as many bombers as possible Then it would try to get away with the remaining fuel in its rocket engine and finally land on its fixed skid Owing to the extreme risks for the pilot inherent in the operation of this aircraft the Sombold So 344 is sometimes listed as a suicide weapon However it was not intended as such even though the chances of survival would have been very limited for the pilot of such a dangerous artifact A 1 5 scale model was built for aerodynamic tests however the project was abandoned shortly before the end of the European conflict See also EditEmergency Fighter ProgramAircraft of comparable role configuration and era Arado E 381 Blohm amp Voss P 214 Fliegende Panzerfaust Focke Wulf Volksjager Zeppelin RammerRelated lists List of German aircraft projects 1939 45 List of rocket aircraftReferences Edit Lepage Jean Denis 2009 Aircraft of the Luftwaffe 1935 1945 An Illustrated Guide McFarland p 257 ISBN 9780786439379 External links EditAlternate history Flying Things Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sombold So 344 amp oldid 1108514130, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
