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Dfs 228

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David Myhra gives us the history here of the Nazi DFS 228 sailplane that was concieved in the 1930's, and was not used to any great extent as a spy plane in World War 2 as the end of the war came. This aircraft was carried aloft piggyback fashion on top of a Do 217 K3 two engine carrier. The single pilot then lit the rocket engine to enable flights to altitudes as high as perhaps 100,000 feet, well above the service ceilings of that eras fighters and enemy flak. The DFS 228 is a little known aircraft, an amazing technological achievement. This book contains many photographs and drawings and most of the text is interviews Myhra has had with the designers of this aircraft, mostly from the 1980's. One page gives the specifications for the DFS 228, fascinating indeed. Various rocket engines from this time are also discussed.

Several other aircraft also not widely known are briefy mentioned here as well, such as the DFS 346 V1 which was a swept wing rocket powered aircraft built to exceed the speed of sound, it was never finished by the DFS and fell into the hands of the Soviets after the war. They eventually flew it, read the story here about that. What struck me most about this book was all the talented engineers who created these great machines in a time of war, just imagine a world without wars and how much we could advance as a species as a result!