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AEG KUGELWAFFEN AND SEIFENBLASEN (1941-1945) By Rob Arndt
In the fall of 1944 work was hurriedly carried out by the SS Technical Branch on a radical disc craft that had absolutely nothing in common with any aircraft ever produced up to that time. The unmanned interceptor VTO disc was to be the product of the Wiener Neustadter Flugzeugwerk (WNF) under SS control. The project was started in 1941 but stalled by technical difficulties with both the propulsion system and the development of a primitive field weapon. The craft was being developed by the SS Technical Branch awaiting an experimental electrostatic field weapon being developed at Messerschmitt's secret The aeronautical establishment at Wiener Neustadt (with help from the F.F.O.) developed the first of what WNF named the "Feuerball" (Fireball) in total secrecy. The very first primitive Feuerball weapons were simple, small silver jet-powered discs launched off catapults and remote-controlled from the ground. These were psychological test weapons to gauge the Allied bomber crews response to the strange machines that defied explanation and which could out-maneuver the Allied aircraft at will. If they were destroyed it was no loss, yet most of them were brought back down to earth for retrieval and re-use. On a bombing mission over The incendiary tests were run with a number of possible substances to see what would cause aluminum to catch fire in such a manner. Allied Intelligence felt this might be some new device or technique to break up bomber formations. Obviously, such a report of a new weapon received high level attention. However, neither the USAAF nor RAF could classify what type of weapon they were dealing with until after the D-Day invasion of The first generation production Feuerballs were equipped with Klystron tubes operating on the same frequency of Allied radar, eliminating their radar blip from Allied radar screens and allowing them to approach Allied bomber streams and other intruder aircraft with complete radar invisibility. The Feuerballs, which were remote-controlled upon take-off were fitted with plume sensors to detect engine exhaust that guided them to Allied bombers. A highly advanced flattened turbojet pushed the Feuerball to speeds of 500-600 mph in the interception phase of flight. Once the target was detected the Feuerball slowed to employ Messerschmitt's electrostatic field weapon which burned high concentrations of chemicals with additives (Myrol, acetylene, vinylic ethers, and aluminum powder) to produce a fiery “halo” around the weapon as well as a high strength electrostatic field that affected the working cycles of aircraft engines and aircraft radar systems. As a direct result of contact, the bomber radar ceased to function and the pilots struggled to maintain control of the aircraft as the engine ignition systems failed one by one. But to accomplish this, the early Feuerballs had to slow to match the bombers speed and approach them often as close as 30 meters of the aircraft, right into the sights of the bomber gunners.
To improve chances of success two "other" weapons were also deployed with the Feuerballs. These were "Seifenblasen" (Soap Bubbles) which were weather balloons with a metallic coating and carrying metal strips to confuse Allied radar. When spotted in the daylight sun or moonlit night the reflecting Seifenblasen gave the appearance of a Feuerball. They were derived from the Kriegsmarine’s U-boat secret weapon “Afrodita” (Aphrodite) anti-radar balloons, used as a decoy against patrolling Allied anti-submarine aircraft.
Since the Afrodita balloons worked with some measure of success, the ground-launched Seifenblasen were developed for use against Allied bomber and intruder aircraft radar.
These probes were much smaller than the Feuerball (roughly the size of a medicine ball) and at first were tested unarmed which meant they were “non-burning“; hence, the December 1944/January 1945 newspaper reports comparing them to shiny Christmas tree balls. Later models carried a smaller version of the electrostatic field weapon that required the small craft to approach bombers much closer than the Feuerballs, usually in groups ranging from 3-10 for effectiveness. Allied bomber and intruder aircraft could not tell the difference between the three weapons and as such Allied Intelligence labeled all mysterious burning, reflecting, and ball-shaped aerial weapons launched against them as "Foo Fighters".
The origin of this name is a play on the French word for fire (Feu) where the first French encounters took place and a mild reference to the popular The first documented attack of the "Foo Fighters" came on November 23, 1944. A Bristol Beaufighter of the 415th NFS based in
Highly complicated and prone to failure, that engine was replaced by another radical engine that burned a gelatinous organic/metallic fuel - a total reaction turbine. Proposals to adapt the Walter hydrogen peroxide turbine were rejected as impractical. The Messerschmitt electrostatic weapon was retained but now was added an experimental ejector gun that could spray a concentrated gaseous explosive first tested in
The first Zeppelin Werk named "Kugelblitz" (Ball Lightning) attacks were made in 1945 when the end was in sight. At least one group of Allied bombers were downed by using the gaseous weapon which Allied Intelligence had reported as "the use of antiaircraft bombs of firedamp against bomber formations over
While this was inaccurate, the Germans did develop the first aerosol bombs - what we call today "fuel-air explosives“ or FAE. Several were discovered by the British in 1945 while the first concept of using firedamp rockets against the Allied bomber streams was illustrated in the October 1943 issue of the German magazine SIGNAL, launched by a pair of Me Bf 110 heavy fighters. However, as the Russians advanced towards Although the German deployment of the Feuerball and Kugelblitz had ended with the collapse of the Third Reich in May 1945 the Germans did manage to technology transfer by U-boot at least a few of the Feuerball weapons to Japan, possibly many more based on photographic evidence and documentation of encounters. The "Foo Fighter" attacks then resumed in August 1945 with an attack on a B-29 bomber of the 20th Bomber Command based in
Intelligence quickly wrote-off the incident as a test of the Japanese Funryu-2 missile, not eager to bring the "Foo Fighter" scare to the PTO. Nevertheless, at least two more attacks occurred in August 1945, the last on August 28, 1945 after VJ Day. Sightings by the 20th AF were made by many crews even when attacks were not pressed. The Japanese, however, actually feared this weapon. Not understanding how such a machine like the Feuerball flew, the Japanese panicked when the Feuerball was ignited, attributing its flight operation as supernatural in nature. They referred to it as a "Demon Thing" and apparently chose to dynamite the last of them in a pit sometime AFTER VJ Day. But after Although the Japanese showed little interest in designing nor developing disc craft during the war, Dr. Giuseppe Belluzzo of Italy worked closely with the SS on the Schriever disc re-design as well as his own jet-powered flying bomb - the Turbo Proietti. The operation and turbine engine design of Belluzzo for the Turbo Proietti is very similar to a Feuerball in appearance. It may well be that the Italians had a part in developing the early Kugelwaffen and Feuerball. Is it just coincidence that the lone Kugelblitz attack recorded came from the Riva Del Garda area? Nevertheless, the USAAF never gave an explanation for the "Foo Fighters" which seems hard to believe given the hundreds of documented encounters and sightings with this weapon which were launched from the ground by all three Axis nations. Only recently in the early 21st century has declassified information revealed that the USAAF knew the weapons were German - they were classified under the designation “Phoo Bombs” . |
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(1942-1945)
The classic Allied “Foo Fighter” description was one of a “luminous rounded flying object” which was reported by hundreds of Allied aircrews between 1943-1945 in the skies over all three Axis nations- The basic description of these objects varied in diameter from six inches, to the size of small soccer balls and basketballs. But they were in fact closer to the size of a large medicine ball. Colors reported most often were a bright white followed by reds, yellows, and oranges. These unusual “lights in the sky” were given various nicknames like “Gremlins” or “Kraut Meteors”, but the one name that seems to classify them best was the USAAF name of “Foo Fighter” which was both a play on the French word for fire (Feu) and a mild reference to the popular US comic “Smokey Stover” about a bumbling fireman who referred to himself as a “Foo Fighter” instead of a firefighter! The development of this term originates with the first encounters with the weapon(s) over occupied Yet Allied Intelligence could not discern that the “Foo Fighter” term was actually describing four separate weapons developed by the Germans: the pure attack weapon WNF Feuerball (Fireball), its enlarged version the Zeppelin Werk Kugelblitz (Ball Lightning), the spherical AEG Kugelwaffen (Ball Weapons), and a decoy called the Seifenblasen (Soap Bubbles). In appearance, they all seemed to be related but in function they were quite different. The WNF Feuerball was the first weapon developed, initiated in 1941. It was supervised by the SS and at first consisted of small, remote-controlled silver discs that were launched by catapult into the sky operating with a small turbojet engine. These were used to test bomber crews response to the weapon- especially the gunners. WNF then built an oval-shaped machine with a flattened turbojet that was a VTO disc still under limited remote control until it approached the bombers. At that time a plume sensor helped guide the weapon onto target which were the aircraft engines and radar systems. At a close distance the Allied radar would cease to function, but to get at the engines the Feuerballs had to approach the wings of the bombers as the chemically-induced electrostatic weapon carried had a very limited range. This weapon was developed by Messerschmitt at its secret The second weapon started in 1942 was the purely spherical AEG Kugelwaffen (Ball Weapons). Under the AEG project “Charite Anlage”, which involved plasma physics, the company was awarded the “Kriegsentscheidend” (Decisive for War) category in July 1942. Work was carried out immediately, led by Dr. Richard Kramer and many other plasma physicists. The project involved the use of tremendous voltages and spinning containers of mercury at fantastic speeds within a ceramic bell-shaped object to create an anti-gravity effect. In effect, the engine was a mercury-plasma gyro. Others believe the propulsion was ion-plasma; regardless, it was some form of plasma engine. The first unarmed versions of the Kugelwaffen were tested in 1942 and some were even transported to What is known is that the Kugelwaffen are seen in But after D-Day, the first attacks occurred in the skies over Too add to Allied Intelligence confusing regarding these weapons, a third object was introduced - the Seifenblasen. These were large metallic-coated meteorological balloons that trailed foil strips to confuse Allied radar. Seen in the daylight sun or moonlit night the eerie slowly ascending Seifenblasen looked like a “Foo Fighter’ due to its reflection. But the Allies soon discovered what they were because they could be destroyed or either eventually destroyed themselves at high altitude.
In After the war, Kugelwaffen were seen in a few reported
Artist's Impression of Armed Kugelblitz Disc |
