Gotha Go 229 / Horten Ho 229

Gotha Go 229 / Horten Ho 229

Role:Fighter/Bomber
Manufacturer:Gothaer Waggonfabrik
Designed by:Horten brothers
First flight:1 March 1944
Status:Cancelled at the end of World War II

General characteristics
Crew: 1 (2 in V5 and V6)
Length: 7.47 m (24 ft 6 in)
Wingspan: 16.76 m (55 ft 0 in)
Height: 2.81 m (9 ft 2 in)
Wing area: 50.20 m² (540.35 ft²)
Empty weight: 4,600 kg (10,141 lb)
Loaded weight: 6,912 kg (15,238 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 8,100 kg (17,857 lb)
Powerplant: 2 x Junkers Jumo 004B turbojet, 8.7 kN (1,956 lbf) each

Performance
Maximum speed: Mach 0.92, 977 km/h (607 mph) at 12,000 m (39,370 ft)
Combat radius: 1,000 km (620 mi)
Ferry range: 1,900 km (1,180 mi)
Service ceiling: 16,000 m (52,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 22 m/s (4,330 ft/min)
Wing loading: 137.7 kg/m² (28.2 lb/ft²)
Thrust/weight: 0.26

Armament
2 × 30 mm MK 108 cannon
R4M rockets
2 × 500 kg (1,100 lb) bombs

The Horten Ho IX (often called Ho 229, or Gotha Go 229 due to the identity of the chosen manufacturer of the aircraft) was a late-World War II prototype flying wing fighter/bomber, designed by Reimar and Walter Horten and built by Gothaer Waggonfabrik. It was the first pure flying wing powered by a turbojet and also the first aircraft designed to incorporate stealth technology.


The War ended before the massive production of this Wonder Weapon, the lack of supplies that Germany was also facing at the time also slowed the construction of the few prototypes that were retrieved at the end of the war.
During the final stages of the war, the U.S. military initiated Operation Paperclip, which was an effort by the various intelligence agencies to capture advanced German weapons research, and to deny that research to advancing Soviet troops. A Horten glider and the Ho 229 V3, which was undergoing final assembly, were secured and sent to Northrop Corporation in the United States for evaluation.


This aircraft by reverse engineering and re-engineering by Northrop lead the way to creation of the B-2 Spirit Bomber.