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RHEINMETALL-BORSIG VTOL
(1944)
By Rob Arndt
Under round-the-clock aerial bombardment by the Allies during the last year of the war, the German aircraft manufactuers and designers sought radical new solutions to solve the problems of loitering Allied fighters and continuously damaged Luftwaffe runways. With the RLM seeking point-defense interceptors for strategic locations, VTOL designs were favored over more conventional aircraft due to their ability to be launched from almost any unprepared area and even platforms on Kriegsmarine ships.
The launching of the interceptor vertically had been explored with designs by Focke-Wulf (Triebflügel) and Heinkel (Wespe & Lerche II) along with development of the rocket-powered Bachem Ba-349 Natter. While the Natter was recoverable, the Fw Triebflügel coleopter and circular-wing Heinkel piston and jet designs were highly vunerable when transitioning back into vertical flight for descent. The Luftwaffe pilots had practically no downwards visibility, which posed a seemingly insurmountable obstacle.
However, one proposal that came in at the last minute by Rheinmetall-Borsig AG looked promising. While their VTOL interceptor design was also to be lauched vertically, it would land horizontally using bicycle landing gears.
Rheinmetall-Borsig AG, known for their artillery designs and MG-42 production, also pioneered German solid fuel rocket boosters and missiles during the war. Among them were the Rheintochter R I and R III 2-stage SAMs, F.25 subsonic and F.55 supersonic Feuerlilie SAMs, and the 4-stage Rheinbote SSM.
Interest in designing a VTOL interceptor arose from the Feuerlilie designs, but did not progress past the initial design phase as time had simply run out.
Rheintochter R I
Postwar 1948 French Parca Missile based on Rheinmetall designs
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