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The Fieseler Fi 103R, code-named Reichenberg, was a late-World War II German manned version of the V-1 flying bomb (more correctly known as the Fieseler Fi 103). Produced for attacks in which the pilot was likely to be killed, or at best to parachute down at the attack site, these were to be carried out by the "Leonidas Squadron", V. Gruppe of the Luftwaffe's Kampfgeschwader 200.

Fi 103R Reichenberg
Fi 103R Reichenberg (without warhead) captured by British troops in 1945
Role	Manned missile Type of aircraft
National origin	Nazi Germany
Manufacturer	Fieseler
First flight	September 1944
Primary user	Luftwaffe
Produced	October 1944
Number built	c. 175
Developed from	Fieseler Fi 103 (V-1 flying bomb)

History

Background

The Leonidas Squadron, part of KG 200, had been set up as a suicide squadron. Volunteers were required to sign a declaration which said, "I hereby voluntarily apply to be enrolled in the suicide group as part of a human glider-bomb. I fully understand that employment in this capacity will entail my own death."[1] Initially, both the Messerschmitt Me 328 and the Fieseler Fi 103 (better known as the V-1 flying bomb) were considered as suitable aircraft, but the Fi 103 was passed over in favour of the Me 328 equipped with a 900 kilograms (2,000 lb) bomb.[2]

However, problems were experienced in converting the Me 328 and Heinrich Himmler wanted to cancel the project. Otto Skorzeny, who had been investigating the possibility of using crewed torpedoes against Allied shipping, was briefed by Hitler to revive the project and he contacted test pilot Hanna Reitsch. The Fi 103 was reappraised and was adopted for the project as it seemed to offer the pilot a slim chance of surviving.[3]

The project was given the codename "Reichenberg" after the capital of the former Czechoslovakian territory "Reichsgau Sudetenland" (present-day Liberec), while the aircraft themselves were referred to as "Reichenberg-Geräte" (Reichenberg apparatus).[3]

DFS development

In the summer of 1944 the DFS (German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight) at Ainring took on the task of developing a crewed version of the Fi 103, an example was made ready for testing within days and a production line was established at Dannenberg.[4]

The V-1 was transformed into the Reichenberg by adding a small, cramped cockpit at the point of the fuselage that was immediately ahead of the pulsejet's intake, where the standard V-1's compressed-air cylinders were fitted. The cockpit had basic flight instruments and a plywood bucket seat. The single-piece canopy incorporated an armoured front panel and opened to the side to allow entry. The two displaced compressed-air cylinders were replaced by a single one, fitted in the rear in the space which normally accommodated the V-1's autopilot. The wings were fitted with hardened edges to cut the cables of barrage balloons.[4] The broader-chord forward support pylon for the Argus pulsejet, by coincidence, resembles the same airframe component used on the American clone of the uncrewed V-1, the Republic-Ford JB-2 Loon.

It was proposed that a He 111 bomber would carry either one or two Reichenbergs beneath its wings, releasing them close to the target. The pilots would then steer their aircraft towards the target, jettisoning the cockpit canopy shortly before impact and bailing out. It was estimated that the chances of a pilot surviving such a bailout were less than 1% due to the proximity of the pulsejet's intake to the cockpit.[5]

Variants

There were five variants:[6][7] By October 1944 about 175 R-IVs were ready for action.[8]

• R-I – The basic single-seat unpowered glider.
• R-II – Unpowered glider; had a second cockpit fitted where the warhead would normally be.
• R-III – A pulsejet-powered two-seater.
• R-IV – The standard-powered operational model.
• R-V – Powered trainer for the Heinkel He 162 (shorter nose).

Operational history

Training

Volunteers trained in ordinary gliders to give them the feel of unpowered flight, then progressed to special gliders with shortened wings which could dive at speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour (190 mph). After this, they progressed to the dual-control R-II.[5]

Training began on the R-I and R-II and, although landing them on a skid was difficult, the aircraft handled well and it was anticipated that the Leonidas Squadron would soon be using the machines. Albert Speer wrote to Hitler on 28 July 1944 to say that he opposed wasting the men and machines on the Allies in France and suggested it would be better to deploy them against Russian power stations.[5]

Test flights

The first real flight was performed in September 1944 at the Erprobungsstelle Rechlin, the Reichenberg being dropped from a Heinkel He 111. However, it subsequently crashed after the pilot lost control when he accidentally jettisoned the canopy. A second flight the next day also ended in a crash and subsequent test flights were carried out by test pilots Heinz Kensche and Hanna Reitsch. Reitsch herself experienced several crashes, which she survived unscathed.[5] On 5 November 1944 during the second test flight of the R-III, a wing fell off due to vibrations and Heinz Kensche managed to parachute to safety, albeit with some difficulty due to the cramped cockpit.[9]

Cancellation

When Werner Baumbach assumed command of KG 200 in October 1944, he shelved the Reichenberg in favour of the Mistel project. He and Speer eventually met with Hitler on 15 March 1945 and managed to convince him that suicide missions were not part of the German warrior tradition and later that day Baumbach ordered the Reichenberg unit to be disbanded.[9]

Aircraft on display

• Flying Heritage Collection, Everett, Washington[10]
• Canadian War Museum, (under restoration 2009).
• Lashenden Air Warfare Museum, Headcorn, Kent,[11] (restored N° 85)
• La Coupole, Saint-Omer, France.,[12] (restored N° 126)
• Schweizerisches Militärmuseum Full, Full-Reuenthal, Switzerland, (restored N° 27)
• Stinson Air Field, San Antonio, Tx, United States[13] (replica).
• National Military Museum (Soesterberg) Netherlands (on temporary display)
• Muzeum Molke, Ludwikowice Kłodzkie, Poland (replica)[14]

Specifications (Fi 103R-IV)

Data from The warplanes of the Third Reich[15]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 8.00 m (26 ft 3 in)
• Wingspan: 5.72 m (18 ft 9 in)
• Gross weight: 2,250 kg (4,960 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Argus As 109-014 pulsejet, 2.9 kN (660 lbf) thrust - static thrust: 2.2 kN (500 lbf); max thrust: 3.6 kN (800 lbf)[16][17]

Performance

• Cruise speed: 650 km/h (400 mph, 350 kn) at 2,400 m (8,000 ft)
• Never exceed speed: 800 km/h (500 mph, 430 kn)
• Range: 329 km (204 mi, 178 nmi) from point of launch, cruising at 2,500 m (8,200 ft)
• Endurance: 32 minutes

Armament
850 kg (1,874 lb) high-explosive warhead

See also

• Fieseler Fi 103 (V-1 flying bomb)
• Kawanishi Baika (IJN)
• Leonidas Squadron, KG 200's "suicide unit".
• Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka, the Japanese suicide rocket aircraft.

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

• Reichenberg-Gerät, die bemannte Fi 103 (in German)

На других языках

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[de] Reichenberg-Gerät

Reichenberg war die Tarnbezeichnung für eine bemannte Fieseler-Fi-103-Version, die im Zuge dieser Entwicklung im Zweiten Weltkrieg gebaut wurde. Sie wurde auch als V4 bezeichnet und war eine als Kamikaze-Waffe modifizierte V1 (siehe auch: deutsches Militärprojekt „Selbstopfer“). Auch die Japaner griffen dieses Prinzip auf und stellten die Yokosuka MXY-7 her.

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- [en] Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenberg

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[fr] Fieseler Fi 103R (Reichenberg)

Le Fieseler Fi 103R, nom de code « dispositif Reichenberg » (en allemand : « Reichenberg-Gerät »), était une version pilotée de la bombe volante V1, aussi connue sous la désignation plus exacte de Fieseler 103. Produite par les Nazis à la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, elle devait permettre aux Allemands de mener des attaques au cours desquelles le pilote avait de très fortes chances de laisser sa peau (comme c'était d'ailleurs également le cas avec l'avion-suicide japonais Ohka, qui était propulsé par fusée). Dans le meilleur des cas, le pilote aurait eu la « chance » de pouvoir sauter en parachute hors de son avion juste avant d'arriver sur le site de bombardement, auquel cas il aurait très probablement été aspiré par le moteur qui propulsait l'appareil.

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[it] Fieseler Fi 103R

Il Fieseler Fi 103R, noto inizialmente come Reichenberg, era un velivolo militare monoposto ad ala media definibile come bomba volante pilotata, prodotto dall'azienda tedesca Gerhard-Fieseler-Werke GmbH negli anni quaranta. Era una versione pilotata della Wunderwaffe V1.

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