Horten Ho-229, the avant-garde German plane that was 44 years ahead of the B-2 flying wing

Blue Paw Print has published an excellent video dedicated to this aircraft

Horten Ho-229, the avant-garde German plane that was 44 years ahead of the B-2 flying wing

@DefAviation Esp 10·13·2024 · 21:37 0

During the years of the Second World War, aviation experienced a very important leap, with some very innovative aircraft.

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Specifically, Germany made several aircraft that were truly revolutionary, such as the Messerschmitt Me-262 Schwalbe (the first jet fighter used in combat), the Arado Ar-234 (the first operational jet bomber), and the Messerschmitt Me-163 Komet (the first fighter to exceed 1,000 km/h in level flight and the only one of its kind to use a rocket engine). Another innovative aircraft made during Nazi Germany was the Horten Ho-229, a jet aircraft that was one of the first flying wings and the first with jet engines.

The unfinished Ho-229 V3 prototype in a 1945 photo (Photo: National Air and Space Museum).

The Ho-229 was the brainchild of two brothers, Reimar and Walter Horten, following a Luftwaffe requirement for a new fast, long-range fighter-bomber. Only two prototypes (the Ho IX V1 and the Ho IX V2) were ever completed and flown, both with wooden fuselages and metal frames. The second of these was fitted with two Junkers Jumo 004 turbojets, the same engines as the Me-262 and the Ar-234. The Ho-229 made its first flight in January 1945, and the difficulties Germany was going through at the time ended up hampering the design of the aircraft, especially its engines, made of low-grade steel, with high fuel consumption and which had a maximum service time of about 20 hours.

The Ho-229 V3 prototype in a photo taken in 1950. This aircraft is the only surviving example of the Ho-229 (Photo: National Air and Space Museum).

Only one Ho-229 survives today, the Ho-229 HV3 prototype, which never flew and was captured by General Patton’s American Eighth Army. It is on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Suitland, Maryland. The Ho-229 was 44 years ahead of the V-2 flying wing, but the lack of flight control computers at the time made it a very difficult aircraft to fly. Blue Paw Print has posted an excellent video today analyzing this plane, how it was built, and how it flew:

You can see some screenshots from this great video here. My congratulations to Blue Paw Print for the excellent quality of the content they publish. I recommend subscribing to their YouTube channel.