'Hitler's Stealth Fighter' on National Geographic

[Butters]

This looks like it might be fun. The folks at Northrop Grumman built a full-scale model of the Go 229 for RCS testing. The producer/director of the show is the same guy who did 'The Battle of the X-Planes', so chances are it will be a good one.

Stealth Shooter | Avenue

JL

 

[sturmer]

im actually looking forward to this show, it would be great to actually see how advanced the german technology was and it would even create more 'what if' scenario's.
and all that on a request of a dying friend, thats friendship my friends

 

[Trebor]

looks like it's gonna be lotsa fun to watch! I'll keep a watch on this thread to remind me to set a reminder. lol

 

[Matt308]

Fun to watch, but historically silly. The Horton was not designed with Stealth as a high level requirement. It just happened to be a byproduct of the tailess design. Same as that of Jack Northrop's designs.

So reading the article where the primary thrust is determining if "...Nazi Germany invented the world's first stealth fighter, beating the U.S. to the skies by 40 years with the development of radar-resistant aircraft?" is utter Hollywood revisionist history.

 

[Trebor]

yeah, good point, Matt. that got me too. I believe it's the way the F-117, B-2, and F-22 are designed. they look kinda like folded paper, almost. but I also think it's some kind of top secret material used by the government

 

[gumbyk]

they look kinda like folded paper, almost. but I also think it's some kind of top secret material used by the government

From what I've heard, its more the paint/surface coatings used that absorb radar.

When they visited New Zealand, one of our guys (no-one knows who it was, obviously) put a squadron sticker on one. Apparently they had to repaint the whole aircraft!

 

[A4K]

With Matt.

The Horten brothers designed their flying wings with aerodynamics in mind - nothing to do with 'Stealth technology' at all.

 

[Wurger]

I agree with Matt and A4K.No advanced german technology at all.Simply a shape made with the aerodynamics rules.

 

[GrauGeist]

The Hortons (and Lippisch) had been working with a delta shape for quite some time, long before radar was effectively used as a wartime countermeasure.

I think the producers of this show went with this because of the sensationalism more than any historical coincidence.

 

[Vassili Zaitzev]

Sounds like it's entertaining, but historically inaccurate. I've found more info on WW2 aircraft here then the revisionit stuff Hollywood cranks out.

 

[Soren]

I'd still love to see the show, but I don't have the channel sadly.

Is it possible that someone could provide it for me ? I'd be most thankful

As for the Go-229, it was from the beginning designed for maximum lift, minimal drag, high ceiling maximum endurance. The radar signature of the a/c wasn't even thought off to begin with. However I do remember reading that during one of the first flights of the jet powered prototypes the Horten brothers suddenly discovered, almost by accident, that the a/c had close to no radar signature at all. After this discovery some sort of radar absorbing material was to be fitted on the production model, which was 90% finished by the time the Allies captured it.

 

[Butters]

Yeah, yeah...I know that stealth was not a criteria behind the Go 229's design. And I suspect that the creators of the show know it as well.

Someone has gotta pay to make these shows, and given that the percentage of the population that is interested in late-war Luftwaffe projects is probably pretty small, it was natural to go for a wider audience with the 'Stealth' schtick...

Remember, what really counts is that WE get to see lots'a nice shots of a very cool little flying-wing fighter.

JL

 

[RabidAlien]

Remember, what really counts is that WE get to see lots'a nice shots of a very cool little flying-wing fighter.

JL

Heh. I'm with ya there!!!

 

[GrauGeist]

I'd still love to see the show, but I don't have the channel sadly.

Is it possible that someone could provide it for me ? I'd be most thankful

As for the Go-229, it was from the beginning designed for maximum lift, minimal drag, high ceiling maximum endurance. The radar signature of the a/c wasn't even thought off to begin with. However I do remember reading that during one of the first flights of the jet powered prototypes the Horten brothers suddenly discovered, almost by accident, that the a/c had close to no radar signature at all. After this discovery some sort of radar absorbing material was to be fitted on the production model, which was 90% finished by the time the Allies captured it.

Another thing the Ho229/Go229 had in it's suggested "stealth" favor, was that it was made from a large percentage of non-metallic composite materials, much like the He162.

Early radar technology was more sensative to metallic materials than modern radar, which is why the early radar counter-measures were bundles of foil strips, wire peices or other metallic material (called Window or Düppel).

 

[Soren]

Roger that GrauGeist.

I wonder if this baby would've shown on radar :

 

[sturmer]

im pretty certain on that one mate

 

[Soren]

Yeah, just fly two of those over German territory and you'd blind any radar

 

[GrauGeist]

 

[DataBoy]

Let me say that I respect everyone rights to have an opinion. What does it matter if the Horten's were trying to build a stealth aircraft or not? It's irrelevant. The fact is Northrop Grumman - the team that invented the first all aspect stealth aircraft (TACIT BLUE), the YF-23 and the B-2 ran a battery of tests on the skin of the H0 229 V3 skin at the Garber Facility. They also tested it ib their RCS lab and at their Tejon Radar Range and proved its a stealth aircraft. These are not fly by night engineers but the guys who helped invent modern stealth! If the data supports their claim and the Ho 229 is stealthy - decades ahead of its time than "opinion" or emotion on this seems to be even sillier........

 

[GrauGeist]

DataBoy, I'm sure that you're aware of the fact that radar was in it's very early stages during WWII. The advanced concept of radar stealth technology was still years away.

The fact that the Go229/Ho229 and subsequent variations of the wing (Lippisch's included) show stealth properties are coincidental.

The aircraft's shape combined with the fact that the wing and fuselage componets were made from a non-metallic composite (wood polymer) are major factors in this case.

In a modern battlefield situation, the Go229/Ho229 would show up like a neon sign.