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

Usage

Specifications

	Bachem Ba 349 Natter2	Bachem Ba 349A Natter1 Musterflugzeug2	Bachem Ba 349B2	Bachem Ba 349 B-13
Type	Fighter2	Fighter1		Interceptor3
Crew	12	11		13
Engine (Type)	Walter HWK 509A-2 bi-fuel rocket motor2 2 or 4: Schmidding solid fuel booster rockets2	1: Walter HWK 509C-1 bi-fuel rocket motor1 plus 4: Schmidding solid fuel rockets1		Walter HWK 509 C-13
Thrust	Walter: 3,748 lb2 Schmidding: 2,645 lb2	Walter: 3,748 lb1 Schmidding: 2,640 lb1		4,400 lb3
Dimensions
Span		11' 10"1 3.6 m1	13' 1.5"2 4 m2	13' 1"3
Length		20'1 6.1 m1	19' 9"2 6.02 m2	19' 9"3
Height			7' 4.5"2 2.25 m2	7' 4"3
Wing area		30 ft2 1 2.75 m2 1	50.59 ft2 2 4.7 m2 2
Weight
Empty			2,414 lb2 1,095 kg2
Loaded		4,850 lb1 2,200 kg1	5,004 lb2 2,270 kg2	4,920 lb3
Performance
Speed @ 16,400' / 5,000 m		619 mph1 998 kph1		620 mph3
Speed @ 16,405' / 5,000 m			621 mph2 1,000 kph2
Climb		36,415'/minute1 11,400 m/minute1	42,520'/minute2 216 m/second2
Service ceiling				32,810'3
Combat radius @ 12,000' / 39,400'		25 miles1 40 km1
Range				36 miles3
Range @ 9,840' / 3,000 m			36 miles2 58 km2
Range @ 32,810 ' / 10,000 m			24 miles2 39 km2
Armament
Nose		24: 73 mm Hs 217 Föhn rockets1,2		24: 73 mm rockets3
OR		33: 55 mm R4M rockets2
Production