Bachem Ba 349 - Development

Development

In 1943 with Luftwaffe air superiority being challenged by the Allies even over the Reich, radical innovations were required to overcome the crisis. Surface-to-air missiles appeared to be a promising approach to counter the Allied strategic bombing offensive and a variety of projects started, but invariably problems with the guidance and homing systems prevented any of these from attaining operational status. Providing the missile with a pilot, who could operate a weapon during the brief terminal approach phase, offered a solution. Submissions for a simple target defence interceptor were requested by the Luftwaffe in early 1944 under the umbrella of the "Emergency Fighter Program". A number of simple designs were proposed including the Heinkel P.1077 Julia, in which the pilot had a prone accommodation (lying on his stomach) to reduce the frontal area. The Julia was the front-runner for the contract. The initial plan was to launch the aircraft vertically, but later this concept was changed to a conventional horizontal take-off from a tricycle-wheeled trolley, similar to that used by the first eight prototypes of the Arado Ar 234 jet reconnaissance bomber.