Hitler's Stealth Fighter

[BenVK]

http://channel.nationalgeographic.co...-3942/Overview

Just watched this on the national geographic channel. Very interesting. I was aware of the Horton HO 229 but had no idea that it was so ahead of it's time, not only performance but it's stealth capabilities.

Northrop Grumman did a fantastic job building the mock up and their test rig is quite amazing!

[paddywhack]

was ok but i HATE the way they have to be so dramtic with everything in it! they state that the origianl is held in a high security government warehouse!!trying to make it out to be a top secret aircraft still held under wraps by the government when its in storage in the Smithsonian, and how when they went to during the war they had evil demonic music around Goering etc and then of course making a huge thing over the nuclear bomber version of it when the reality was the engines didnt have the endurance to take the aircraft over the Atlantic and the germans were no where NEAR having an atomic bomb in general even by 47 let along a jet powered intercontinental bomber!!!

[paddywhack]

oh and in my opinion the stealth aspect was just a happy accident! iv never heard anything about the norton brothers aiming to have stealth in the design!they just loved their flying wings!!!!

[Mark C. Yerger]

TV education is generally at the moron level. I watch the film and play music since most times facts are wrong and can't pronounce what they're talking about. The important parts of actual good film they're clueless and miss.

It gets worse on SS (love the rank translations) and other topics. The same film of a plane being shot down has been used "over Germany," the Pacific, and 1940 aerial combat over the UK.

Lots of good books on the Horton brothers and their designs, but they actually require reading instead of just idiot box watching.

[BenVK]

Well, I enjoyed watching them build the mock up. That's my kind of job!

[behblc]

I have to agree with paddy and mark on the "what if" / "what might have been" - the idea of Goring actually seeing the potential I found to be out of keeping with what galland and others who knew and had to interface with Goring knew him to be.
The bomb was never going to be and the fighter was well away from production.
I would agree with Paddy W that the radar signature was a by product which was probably accidental.

[hs132]

Try this thread. Bill http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=363585

[münster]

I enkoed it also Ben, I did get a laugh when in the re enactments with Goering when the evilgregorian type chants kicked in.

[stonemint]

I saw it for the first time last nite--actually quite good, and I am surprised that Northrop allowed its facilities to be used for such a project. I was also surprised that the configuration of the plane only reduced its radar profile by 20%. The mock-up looked spectacular.