Germany's Bachem Ba 349 Natter (Adder) fighter,
BP 20

Photos

Bachem Ba 349 Natter (Adder) fighter:


Bachem Ba 349 Natter (Adder) fighter:

Bachem Ba 349 Natter (Adder) fighter:

Bachem Ba 349 Natter (Adder) fighter:

Bachem Ba 349 Natter (Adder) fighter:

Design

Erich Bachem proposed his rocket powered interceptor in 1939 but there was no official support.¹

The German Air Ministry asked for a small point interceptor for which four companies submitted designs and Bachem's was selected.¹ This was primarily due to the influence of Heinrich Himmler who was looking for more influence.¹

Because of the economic situation the Natter was to be made from wood and be simply made.^1,2

It was launched from a vertical rail with an autopilot and rocket boosters.^1,3 The Schmidding boosters would provide 10 seconds of boost on takeoff.²

As the Natter got to the level of bombers the pilot would take control.^1,3 He would make a pass using the rockets.^1,3 The Natter then went down to 4,600' / 1,400 m and the nose would separate from the fuselage and the pilot would descend by parachute with the fuselage.^1,3

The pilot was protected by armor on four sides.¹ There was plans for an ejection seat, but there was no room.¹

Prototype

An He 111 carried an unpowered prototype Natter up to 18,000' / 5,500 m and released it.¹ Test launches were done with dummy pilots.¹

Oberleutnant L. Siebert died during the first manned test.¹

The BP 20 M3 was tested on December 14, 1944 by being towed by an aircraft.²

The BP 20 M17 was test launched without a pilot on December³ / December 22, 1944.²

The BP 20 M23 was launched with a pilot on February 28, 1945³ / March 1, 1945.²

Production

Thirty six were built and only 10 became operational.¹ However, these were destroyed when the American forces approached their base.¹

50 were ordered for the Luftwaffe and 150 for the SS.² Only one was completed.²

• Bachem Ba 349B: 3²
• Manufacturer: Bachem-Werke GmbH³

Variants

• Bachem Ba 349 / Bachem BP 20:
• Bachem Ba 349A Musterflugzeug (pre-series) / Bachem BP 20A:
• Bachem BP 20 M3 Musterflugzeugen: Third in the series that was test flown.²
• Bachem BP 20 M17:
• Bachem BP 20 M23:
• Bachem Ba 349B / Bachem BP 20B: Larger model.² Called the Umbau (rebuilt).² Had two 30 mm cannons and 24 Föhn rockets.²
• Bachem Ba 349C / Bachem BP 20C: It was to have a new wing and more fuel capacity.²

Specifications