DOSTHRA

(1945)

 

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The following information comes from Wilhelm Landig (deceased 1997) as provided by Henry Stevens, author of “Hitler’s Suppressed and Still-Secret Weapons, Science, and Technology”. Landig, who was a member of the SS during World War II, was charged with guarding the disc aircraft under development in Prague (see Schriever Flugkreisel and BMW Flügelrad) but also has revealed another secret type of aircraft kept hidden in Norway for purposes unknown.





The following is from Stevens' book:

Landig wrote of other aircraft and weapon systems besides flying discs.

 

One description involved a peculiar aircraft, a prototype, flown out of Norway called the “Dosthra” (no meaning given).

 

This aircraft resembled a giant insect. It was a mid-wing monoplane with a five-cornered fuselage, viewed in cross-section. It was thicker in the front than the rear. The front end of the fuselage was made of glass, giving it the insect look. The wingspan of the aircraft was about 135 feet, so it was about the size of a B-29 (which was 99 ft long).




 USAAF Boeing B-29 Superfortress

The Dosthra was designed for rough, outlying airfields with tow landing wheels being an incredible four meters in diameter. Its four radial Argus engines (1,500 hp, As-5s?) each drove a four-bladed propeller (most likely mounted in a pusher arrangement).




 

24-cylinder, water cooled "W" configuration; Maximum output: 1,119 kw (1,500 hp) at 1,800 RPM; Compression ratio: 5.6:1; Capacity: 94.1 liters (5,742 cu in); Weight: 1,100 kg (2,425 lbs). The engine was probably envisaged for a big, single engine passenger plane. The designer was engineer Riedel–the same who designed the two-stroke starter engine for the Jumo 004 turbojet engine. Three prototype As-5s were built between 1924 and 1927. None were ever flown. Or were they incorporated into the Dosthra as this is the only “radial“ looking Argus engine built (all others were inverted-Vs). Combined, the four As-5s would produce 6,000 hp in addition to 4,000 lb thrust from the two Jumos. The B-29 by comparison used four 2,200 hp engines (8,800 hp total) to achieve 358 mph as a bomber.


 

A fifth high-altitude engine was positioned in the rear of the aircraft. On the tips of the wings were mounted jet engines (almost certainly Jumo 004s) like the B-36, which additionally, could be used for steering.





 

US Convair B-36 bomber with “tip jets”.
Dosthra was reputed to have a similar arrangement.


 

The wings were of a slotted construction, possibly suction wings, whose area was considered small in proportion to the size of the aircraft. The tail section slanted backwards. Top speed for this aircraft was given at 830 kilometers per hour or almost 515 miles per hour. Its range was given at 22,000 kilometers 0r 13,640 miles. Enough range to be a threat to the American mainland. Its crew consisted of five to seven people.

 

The mission of the Dosthra remains unclear. The most curious thing about this aircraft was that it was armed with a weapon called “Metallstrahl”.

 

Metallstrahl was a type of rail gun that used magnetic forces to attract and repel steel bullets and launch them at tremendous velocity. Whether or not a rail gun was actually mounted in this aircraft or not, it is a fact that such a weapon was under development by the Germans in this time frame.

 

~ text correction and modification by Rob Arndt, all comments in parenthesis