Ba 349 Natter: Germany’s Strangest Aircraft From WWII

[venomballistics]

While the Natter is certainly an intimidating aircraft to fly, when I visited the Deutsches Museum I was most impressed by this airplane. It's totally homebuilt, using two motorcycle engines for power, and was designed for a single one-way flight to carry an East German man, his wife, and their kids, to West Germany.

I spent a lot of time staring at that airplane...and thinking about how desperate that guy had to be to escape the East that he would trust his and his family's lives to such a contraption.

If I remember the story correctly, it did have a happy ending: the man was discovered and arrested when he test-flew the airplane...and the Communists then deported him and his family to West Germany.

Looks like a derivative of a Schweitzer sailplane design.
I think he knew how to place his bets

 

[lihpster]

and was designed for a single one-way flight to carry an East German man, his wife, and their kids, to West Germany.

I spent a lot of time staring at that airplane...and thinking about how desperate that guy had to be to escape the East that he would trust his and his family's lives to such a contraption.

There was a famous story about 2 families who gathered cloth bits and sewed together a hot air balloon which they used to escape to the west. Apparently, no food, no work and human rights violations really get that inventor spirit working.

 

[Warren Sear]

Hands down, the ME 262 was the ***-kickingest aircraft of WWII, IMHO.

I was fortunate enough to see one in a Berlin museum.

 

[S-W4EVER]

Hands down, the ME 262 was the ***-kickingest aircraft of WWII, IMHO.

I was fortunate enough to see one in a Berlin museum.

JV44, led by Gen. Adolf Galland.

 

[Warren Sear]

JV44, led by Gen. Adolf Galland.

Info below:

Jagdverband 44 - Wikipedia

 

[Rudi]

One of their problems. They kept inventing and building really cool stuff. But that took time and resources they did not have. While the Soviets were cranking out 25,000 T34s to drive to Berlin.

 

[oldbrownhat]

JV44, led by Gen. Adolf Galland.

From Wikipedia:

...In Spain, Galland first displayed his unique style: flying in swimming trunks with a cigar between his teeth in an aircraft decorated with a Mickey Mouse figure. When asked why he developed this style, he gave a simple answer:

I like Mickey Mouse. I always have. And I like cigars, but I had to give them up after the war...
​

 

[sjmjax]

The Germans weren't the only ones with weird aircraft designs.
Look up the USAF XF-85 "Goblin" prototype.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

Then there are the airplanes that were adopted and produced, and you wonder what they were thinking. Read about the Curtiss SB2C. And there's Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose.

 

[Retired W4]

British thoughts in the early days.