MISTEL — German Composite Aircraft and Operations 1942-1945 — (N°7 CLASSIC) — (First published)
Prix régulier 79,00 € TTC 6%
Characteristics
| ISBN | 9781903223093 |
| Book cover finish(es) | Hardcover ( square back binding ) Dust jacket |
| Condition | Like NEW |
| Author(s) |
Robert Forsyth with Eddie J.Creek, Stephen Ransom, Werner Stocker |
| Publisher | Classic |
| Number of pages | 288 |
| Published date |
First published in Great Britain in 2001 by Classic Publications Limited www.classic-books.co.uk Published under licence in the United States of America by AIRtime Publishing Inc., 120 East Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06851. © 2001 Classic Publications and Robert Forsyth © 2001 Drawings and Colour Illustrations - Arthur Bentley, Eddie J. Creek, Dennis Davison and Thomas Tullis |
| Language(s) | English |
| Collection / Series | CLASSIC |
| Size | 23 x 31 cm |
Description
“It had grown dark. West of Le Havre, I noticed a British night fighter and I became conscious of the fact that I had no means of defending myself — my guns had been removed... I decided to make a direct attack on the numerous landing craft saturating the coastline. Something would definitely be destroyed... After aiming the Ju 88, I separated and immediately turned inland to escape the night fighter...”
Oberleutnant Horst Rudat, 2./KG 101
“Each pilot was assigned a target... Since we received regular reconnaissance updates on British shipping movements, we knew exactly where my target ship was anchored. The real prize was to be assigned an aircraft carrier. It was felt that if the Mistel had been introduced earlier and in greater numbers, its effect against certain pinpoint targets — such as ships — could have been far more decisive. Any ship — no matter what size — if hit by a Mistel, would have gone under. There were to be twelve aircraft — no reserves...”
Feldwebel Rudi Riedl, 6./KG 200
“As it began to turn dark, so I saw the River Rhine glittering below us in the moonlight. Meanwhile, our Beleuchter aircraft had dropped their signal flares, but still, I could not recognise the bridge. I flew a full circle to orientate myself, but as I did so, I ran into heavy American anti-aircraft fire. In order to locate the target, I descended to 1,500 m and then — bang! — I was hit. My Mistel lurched to port and went into a spin on its back. As I was no longer able to control the machine, I decided to separate my Fw 190 while simultaneously diving away from the Mistel.”
Leutnant Alfred Lew, 6./KG 200
“With sufficient speed, the stick could be pulled back and the undercarriage and flaps retracted. You then throttled back, adjusted the airscrews and made a steady climb. After reaching combat altitude, I could see the front, the fires and the impact of mortar explosions... The Oder river was easy to make out as a silvery band. The bridge that I was looking for was a dark line across this band. I was ‘welcomed’ by heavy anti-aircraft fire, but I put the Mistel into a dive, switched on the fully automatic control system, pulled down the cross hair sight and aimed at the bridge. When the target drifted out of the cross hair sight, I corrected and the automatic control system put the target squarely into the cross hair again. At about 1,000 metres, I squeezed the trigger that automatically armed the warhead and separated the Mistel. My Fw 190 climbed as it released itself from the heavy weight of the Ju 88. As I pulled away, I noticed a lightning flash in the river bed below me that quickly went out...”
Oberfähnrich Georg Gutsche, I./KG(J) 30
At the close of World War II, Germany developed a desperate weapon, the Mistel or 'Mistletoe' composite aircraft. Comprising a manned fighter mounted on the back of an unmanned bomber carrying a massive warhead, the idea behind the Mistel was the fighter pilot would guide the bomber to the target before disengaging and returning to base. The bomber would then continue on its terminal path to destruction. This book explores the operational and development history of the Mistel program from its origins through to its deployment in the last months of the war. Among the targets it was planned to use the Mistel against were the British fleet at Scapa Flow and bridges over the Oder River. Most spectacularly, the Luftwaffe planned to use the Mistel to attack the Soviet generating stations at Rybinsk, near Moscow, in Operation Eisenhammer (Iron Hammer).