“The primary role of the relatively untrained pilot was to aim the aircraft at its target bomber and fire its armament of rockets. The pilot and the fuselage containing the rocket engine would then land using separate parachutes, while the nose section was disposable.”
Eventually, these tactics are not that crazy. In war, lives and machines are expended to reach a goal. If some tactics seem crazy, then only because that fundamental fact is harder to ignore.
I think it is important to add, that, in contrast to japanese tactics, the german pilots were not necessarily expected to die. It was “just” extremely risky and a bunch of them did actually survive.
The pilots were expected to parachute out either just before or after they had collided with their target.
The fighter pilots ramming bombers were expected to bail out. There were survivors.
The pilots of the Leonidas squadron were expected to “self-sacrifice” in their attacks on bridges. They faced rather less social pressure than Japanese pilots, though.
This is missing the manned surface-to-air missile, one of the most batshit concepts of WW2 imo:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachem_Ba_349_Natter
“The primary role of the relatively untrained pilot was to aim the aircraft at its target bomber and fire its armament of rockets. The pilot and the fuselage containing the rocket engine would then land using separate parachutes, while the nose section was disposable.”
I was picturing something more like a Kamikaze.
I gotchu:
That is the Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka, a Japanese kamikaze rocket plane
rocket planehuman-guided missilepotato, missile-o
The flower is very kawaii.
You’re thinking of the Reichenberg-Gerät, although the Nazis were crazy they weren’t crazy enough to actually use it.
IDK the reason they didn’t deploy that thing, but it certainly wasn’t prudence or concern for pilot safety because the Me163 rocket plane was used.
The Me163 was supposed to be reusable, including the pilot, the Reichenberg was one time use only, including the pilot.
The pilot was reusable, if you count fertilizer as a re-use.
There were a small number of kamikaze attacks against Oder bridges in conventional planes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonidas_Squadron#Oder_bridge_attack_missions,_April_1945
There also was a squadron of conventional fighters dedicated to fly ramming attacks against bombers, which was used. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonderkommando_Elbe
Eventually, these tactics are not that crazy. In war, lives and machines are expended to reach a goal. If some tactics seem crazy, then only because that fundamental fact is harder to ignore.
I think it is important to add, that, in contrast to japanese tactics, the german pilots were not necessarily expected to die. It was “just” extremely risky and a bunch of them did actually survive.
The fighter pilots ramming bombers were expected to bail out. There were survivors.
The pilots of the Leonidas squadron were expected to “self-sacrifice” in their attacks on bridges. They faced rather less social pressure than Japanese pilots, though.
The pigeon-guided bombs were more batshit, although paradoxically probably a lot more practical.
Wow! I was just watching the anime, Saga of Tanya the Evil, and it had these in it. I assumed it was anime craziness.
Natter indeed.
Does anyone else remember BF1942: Secret Weapons? This shit was a riot to cruise around in