Enzian | EPFL Graph Search

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The Enzian was a German WWII surface-to-air anti-aircraft missile that was the first to use a radio controlled guidance system. During the missile's development in the late stages of the war it was plagued by organisational problems and was cancelled before becoming operational. It was named for a genus of mountain flower, in English the Gentian. As early as 1943 it was becoming clear that Messerschmitt's Me 163 interceptor would be difficult to use in combat. After flying to the altitude of allied bombers, it had only a few minutes to find them and make an attack before running out of fuel. Even if the aircraft did accomplish this, it then had the additional problem of lacking a weapon that could be aimed effectively while closing on the target at some . Dr. Herman Wurster of Messerschmitt proposed an answer in the form of Flak Rakete 1 (FR-1) in 1943. Instead of tracking down the planes, the rocket would fly just in front of the target and then detonate a warhead, in the hope of bringing down several bombers at once. With no human pilot on board, and thus no need to limit takeoff acceleration, the rocket could use solid fuel boosters (four Schmidding 109-553s, for a total of of thrust, grouped around the exterior), reducing the amount of fuel needed for the rest of the climb by the sustainer motor, a Walther RI-10B. The liquid fueled sustainer used a combination of SV-Stoff and Br-Stoff (petrol), catalyzed by an amount of T-Stoff. The result, even with the heavy warhead, was that a much smaller airframe was needed to carry the required fuel - so small it could be portable and launched from a modified 88 mm gun mounting. The design made as much use of wood as possible, due to the need to conserve other "strategic" materials in the rapidly deteriorating war situation. For the same reasons a new type of Walter rocket was envisioned, a modification of the engine in the Me 163 that would burn coal-gas (benzine) instead of the hydrogen peroxide used in other Walter designs (although a small amount of peroxide was used to drive the fuel pumps).

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Related concepts (3)

Enzian

Surface-to-air missile

A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft, ground targets or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft system; in modern armed forces, missiles have replaced most other forms of dedicated anti-aircraft weapons, with anti-aircraft guns pushed into specialized roles. The first attempt at SAM development took place during World War II, but no operational systems were introduced.

Anti-aircraft warfare

Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air, anti-air, AA guns, layered air defence or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action". It includes surface based, subsurface (submarine launched), and air-based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements, and passive measures (e.g. barrage balloons). It may be used to protect naval, ground, and air forces in any location.