HORTEN HO 229
The Horten Ho 229 was a German prototype fighter/bomber initially designed by Horten brothers to be built by Gothaer Waggonfabrik late in World War II. It was the first flying wing to be powered by jet engines.
The design was a response to H. Göring’s call for light bomber designs capable of meeting the “3×1000” requirement; namely, to carry 1,000 kilograms of bombs a distance of 1000 kilometres with a speed of 1000 kph. Only jets could provide the speed, but these were extremely fuel-hungry, so considerable effort had to be made to meet the range requirement. Based on a flying wing, the Ho 229 lacked all extraneous control surfaces to lower drag. Its ceiling was 15,000 metres.
The design was a response to H. Göring’s call for light bomber designs capable of meeting the “3×1000” requirement; namely, to carry 1,000 kilograms of bombs a distance of 1000 kilometres with a speed of 1000 kph. Only jets could provide the speed, but these were extremely fuel-hungry, so considerable effort had to be made to meet the range requirement. Based on a flying wing, the Ho 229 lacked all extraneous control surfaces to lower drag. Its ceiling was 15,000 metres.
