| Hs 132 | |
|---|---|
 An airbrushed G. Heumann drawing of the P.132 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Dive bomber andinterceptor aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Henschel Flugzeugwerke AG |
| Status | Never flown |
| Primary user | Luftwaffe |
| Number built | 4 prototypes[citation needed] |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1945 |
TheHenschel Hs 132 was ajet-powereddive bomber andinterceptor aircraft designed and produced by theGerman aircraft manufacturerHenschel Flugzeugwerke AG. It was developed during the latter portion of theSecond World War with the intention of being adopted by theLuftwaffe, but this did not come to fruition.
Work commenced on the Hs 132 in February 1943 in response to a specification issued by theReichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM – the German Aviation Ministry) for a new attack aircraft. Henschel opted for a relatively unorthodox design that, amongst other features, used a top-mountedBMW 003jet engine (identical in terms of make and position to the powerplant used by theHeinkel He 162), a retractablenosewheel undercarriage and thepilot in a prone position. The aircraft intentionally made as little use of strategic materials as possible, such as its use of wooden wings, and had a relatively simplistic structure despite it being designed to withstand 12 g, considerably more than typical dive bombers of the era.
In response to the RLM's approval of the project, construction of three prototypes was started during March 1945. However, two months later, Henschel's plant atSchönefeld was captured by the advancingSoviet Army; accordingly, all of the incomplete prototypes fell intoSoviet hands and their fate thereafter is unknown. At that point,Hs 132 V1 was scheduled to commence flight testing only one month later.
By the mid point of the Second World War, it had become clear that thedive bombers operated by theLuftwaffe, such as theJunkers Ju 87 Stuka, were highly vulnerable to high performance Allied fighter aircraft and thus there was great interest in improving Germany's bombing capability.[1] The level bombing approach was one option, however, due to Germany's lack of suitablebombsights, this was undesirable due to poorer accuracy, especially when flying at increasingly high speeds, achievable via recent advances such as theturbojet. Accordingly, the German aircraft manufacturerHenschel Flugzeugwerke AG conceptualised a turbojet-powered dive bomber.[1]
Separately, there had long been interest in the idea of combat aircraft being flown by pilots in theprone position, which would reduce the effect ofg-forces during manoeuvring. Several aircraft had already experimented with this layout for various reasons, theHorten IIIf had a prone pilot, but this was primarily to reduce drag in this high-performance glider,[2] while theDFS 228reconnaissanceglider also used a prone pilot to make it easier to seal itspressurized cabin. It was not until theBerlin B9 was built specifically to test this arrangement for improvedg-load that any serious effort toward development could be carried out.[3][4]
Starting in early 1943, the Berlin B9 twin-piston engined experimental aircraft demonstrated that it was indeed possible for a pilot to fly the aircraft lying down, and that it did improve his ability to handle high loads. The pilot had an extremely restricted field of view upward or to the rear that made it suitable only for certain roles, includingbombers orfighters orinterceptors with a major speed advantage over their opposition.[5] Based on this research, several late-war German designs followed the B9's lead and used a prone pilot. Betterg-load performance was not the only reason, however, as this layout also reduced the frontal area of the aircraft. This was a serious concern for interceptors attacking theUSAAF'sBoeing B-17 Flying Fortress, as calculations showed that the chance of being hit by its defensive guns was largely a function of frontal area.[citation needed]
On 18 February 1943, theReichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM – the German Aviation Ministry) released a specification that called for a single-seat shipping attack aircraft to counter an expected Alliedinvasion of Europe.[6] A piston-engined aircraft was called for at the time, however, the performance requirements motivated the switch tojet power instead.[5] Henschel opted to produce a response to the specification; the design team favoured the high speeds offered by turbojet propulsion as it was felt that survivability, and therefore viability, of the prospective aircraft would be bolstered by using its high speeds to evade interception by Allied defences.[1] Furthermore, as a consequence of these high speed dive attacks, the aircraft would be subject to highg-forces when pulling out; thus, the resulting aircraft was designed to withstand 12 g (conventional dive bombers of the era were typically designed to withstand 8 g). To enable the pilot to better withstand such g-forces, it was deemed essential for the pilot to by in the prone position.[7][8]
Several other factors were taken into consideration during the design phase. As Germany's position declined sharply during the latter portion of the war, there were shortages of both key materials and skill labourers.[4] Accordingly, the aircraft was intentionally designed to minimise its use of strategic materials and to be as simplistic as possible. The structure was not only designed to be simple but also relatively easy to maintain.[4][6] TheBMW 003 engine that powered the aircraft was mounted on the back of the fuselage above the wing and was positioned at roughly shoulder-height as a result of the low ground height of the aircraft. While this placement of the engine was suboptimal in terms of intake performance, incurring increaseddrag at high speeds due to interference from the engine-fuselage fairing junctions, the design team were aware that theHeinkel He 162, the winners of the contemporaryVolksjäger ("people's fighter") design competition, had a similar engine layout and thus were encouraged as to its viability.[4][6]
The Hs 132 had a roughly cigar-shapedfuselage with short-span mid-set wings and a retractablenosewheel undercarriage.[4] Thehorizontal stabilizer possessed considerabledihedral ending in twin rounded-frontvertical stabilizers; this'butterfly'-like twinrudder arrangement kept the tail surfaces clear of the jet efflux.[6] Thecockpit was completely faired into the fuselage contour along with a rounded clear nosecone on the front of the aircraft.[4] Directly behind was the actual "window," a large armored-glass plate located some distance behind the extreme nose; theglazing extended almost to thewing root.[9] Every flight control surface was fitted withtrim tabs. Due to the intended shallowness of the aircraft's dive attack, there were nodive brakes fitted.[4] Despite the similarity of appearance to the He 162, the Hs 132 was intended to perform dive-bombing and ground attack missions rather that fighter duties. In terms of its construction, the airframe made extensive use of non-strategic materials, notably in the wings, which were of wooden construction.[10][4] The basic Hs 132A carried a single 500 kg (1,100 lb) bomb and lacked any other armament.[11] It was to begin its attack in a shallow dive outside the ships' range of fire, and after reaching a speed of 910 km/h (570 mph; 490 kn), the pilot would "toss" the bomb at the target using a simple computerized sight, and then climb back out of range. This computerizedbombsight was not delivered in time to be fitted to the aircraft.[citation needed]
During April or May 1944, Henschel submitted their proposal to the RLM, by which pointwind tunnel testing of the basic layout had already commenced. A contract for six prototypes was approved in May 1944. Construction of three prototypes commenced at the company'sSchönefeld facility during March 1945.[12] Hs 132 V1 was scheduled to have its first flight in June 1945, however, advancing Soviet forces captured it along with the other two incomplete prototypes during May 1945.[13] Allegedly, while the wings and fuselage of He 132 V1 had been completed, they were never mated and the wings had never been transferred from their factory outside ofDresden.[14]
Several other versions of the basic airframe were proposed by Henschel. TheHs 132B was to have been powered by a singleJunkers Jumo 004 engine in place of the BMW 003; it also would have added a pair of 20 mm (0.79 in)MG 151/20 cannons. TheHS 132C was a more extensively modified version that was intended for bomber interception; it featured the largerHeinkel HeS 011 engine, two 20 mm (0.79 in) 151/20s and two 30 mm (1.2 in)MK 103 orMK 108 cannons.[13] The HeS 011, intended to power a wide variety of new and existingLuftwaffe aircraft (an example of the latter being the proposed D and P series of theArado Ar 234jet bomber), was still in the pre-production phase when the conflict ended. It was hoped that by the time the HS 132B became available, thePanzerblitzanti-tank missile would be in production and available for use. TheHs 132D included a new wing of increased span.[citation needed]
Data fromGerman aircraft of the Second World War[15]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
