Bachem Ba 349 - Testing

Testing

Construction of the first experimental prototype Natter, Versuchsmuster 1, was completed on 4 October 1944. V1 was subsequently referred to as Baumuster1 (BM1) and later still the "B" was dropped and the machine became known as M1. Most subsequent prototypes were known by ‘M’ codes, as the later prototypes of the Heinkel He 162 were. Manned glider flights began on 3 November 1944. The first glider M1 was towed to around 3,000 m by a Heinkel He 111 bomber with a cable ("Tragschlepp" mode) at Neuburg an der Donau. The pilot was Erich Klöckner, who made all four documented Tragschlepp flights. After carrying out the test programme of M1, he bailed out and the machine crashed into the ground. Unfortunately it was found that the towing cable, and in the case of M3 the undercarriage, interfered with the flight characteristics of the gliders and consequently the results were difficult to interpret. To clear any lingering doubts about the Natter in the glider mode, Hans Zübert made a daring free flight in M8 on the 14 February, and showed that the Natter was indeed a very good flying machine.

The vertical take-off (VTO) trials were conducted on high ground called the Ochsenkopf in the Truppenubungsplatz (military training area) Heuberg near Stetten am kalten Markt. The first successful unmanned vertical take-off from the experimental launch tower occurred on 22 December 1944. The distance between the Bachem factory at Waldsee, Württemberg and the Heuberg test site was approximately 60 km. The test machine M16 was powered by four solid boosters only, without the Walter motor, as were all the early VTO trials. Up to and including 1 March 1945, 16 prototypes had been used, eight in glider trials and eight in VTO trials.