- Blohm & Voss BV 246
The
Blohm & Voss Bv 246 "Hagelkorn" ("Hailstone") was a guidable glide bomb developed to bomb specific targets (bridges, ships, etc.) once it was released.This glider was designed by Dr. Richard Vogt, at first under the designation of Bv 226, which was later changed to its definitive designation Bv 246 on December 12, 1943.
It was usually attached to the lower part of a bomber, like a
Heinkel He 111 , and was released at high altitude close enough to its target. This allowed the carrier aircraft to stay out of anti-aircraft fire range.The construction of the Bv 246 was very simple, and therefore it was mass produced. It had simple aerodynamics, with large aspect ratio wings that made possible a
glide ratio of 25:1. It had a cross section tail "+" in an early version and a double vertical tail mounted in the sides of a wide horizontal stabilizer in a later version.When released from a height of 10,500 m, it could achieve a range of 210 km.
Its total weight was 730 kg, and 435 kg of it were explosives.
ee also
*Blohm & Voss Bv 40, glider interceptor
References
Notes
Bibliography
* Smith, J. Richard and Kay, Anthony. "German Aircraft of the Second World War". London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 3rd impression 1978, p. 664-666. ISBN 0-370-00024-2.
External links
* [http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/rpav_germany_bv.html Remote Piloted Aerial Vehicles]
* [http://www.luft46.com/missile/bv246.html Luft '46]
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