Horten Ho 229 Spirit of Thuringia: The Horten All-Wing Jet Fighter [Hardcover]

Andrei Shepelev (Author), Huib Ottens (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2007 | ISBN-10: 1903223660 | ISBN-13: 978-1903223666

The Horten Ho 229, one of the Luftwaffe's legendary secret projects or so-called 'wonder weapons', was one of the most enigmatic aircraft designs to emerge from World War II. In some ways a precursor to the 'stealth' concept, it was clearly ahead of its time when compared to its contemporaries. The Ho 229 was planned as the first of the next generation of German jet fighters to follow on from the Messerschmitt Me262, with the intention to create a high-speed cannon-equipped fighter-bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. Development involved design bureaus such as Goering, Galland, and Lippish, and flight testing began in December 1944. This book covers the Ho 229's development and operational record in detail and includes specially commissioned photographs of a surviving prototype, J3. The authors are both acknowledged experts on Horton aircraft.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Andrei Shepelev lives in samara in remote southern Russia, about 500 miles from the Caspian Sea.
Huib Ottens lives in Clembourg, Holland. 
 

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Classic Publications (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1903223660
• ISBN-13: 978-1903223666
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 8.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,643,161 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing pictures and detailed information, June 9, 2007

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Horten Ho 229 Spirit of Thuringia: The Horten All-Wing Jet Fighter (Hardcover)

I've been fascinated since I saw the first pictures of the Horten jet powered, wooden, flying wing from the Smithsonian collection. The stories I heard was that this was a deliberate attempt on the German's part to build a 'stealth' fighter way back at the end of the Second World War. But there has been very little published about the plane. Therefore I was delighted to find this book that covers this plane in great detail.

Clearly the plane was far ahead of its time, indeed, its design looks so much like the canceled A-12 from McDonnell Douglas/General Dynamics that it's uncanny.

In reading the book, the authors make it clear that the Horten brothers were thinking of aerodynamics and scarcity of materials rather than stealth when they designed the plane. The book points out that the wooden skin of the plane would basically have been invisible to radar, but the metal frame underneath the wood would still reflect radar waves. Designers simply didn't know enough about radar at the time.

The modern American flying wings such as the B-2 bomber are stable only because of sophisticated computer controls. The book reports similar problems with the Horten plane. This might well have prevented its use for its intended use as a fighter, but we'll never know.

The authors have collected an amazing amount of information and a large number of photographs that I don't believe have been published before.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on the topic!, March 8, 2008

By 

Dr. Martin Diewald - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Horten Ho 229 Spirit of Thuringia: The Horten All-Wing Jet Fighter (Hardcover)

This is the best book on the HO229 from the technical perspective. I like the detailled technical drawings. You could almost start building a Ho229 using these!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Horten Ho 229 Spirit of Thuringia: The Horten All-Wing Jet Fighter, February 25, 2008

By 

I. Clark (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Horten Ho 229 Spirit of Thuringia: The Horten All-Wing Jet Fighter (Hardcover)

Shepelev & Ottens make great attempt at making a lot from very little actual information,interviews with people who where there, great photos, excellent diagrams but the brothers Horten remain an enigma.