Archie to SAM: A Short Operational History of Ground-Based Air ...

ANTIAIRCRAFT DEFENSE THROUGH WORLD WAR II
This was the initial route the Germans took that yielded the
spectacularly performing, yet tactically lame, Me 163. In any
case, in September Hitler halted all long-range development
projects. The Germans later lifted the stop order on the program,
and, in April 1942, drew up the specifications for a variety
of flak rockets, both guided and unguided. The Germans
made rockets the “centerpiece” of their development program.
The Luftwaffe’s leader, Hermann Goering, had high expectations.
In September 1942, he authorized work on AAA rockets.
In response, von Braun forwarded a study in November 1942
that mentioned three types of guided flak rockets: a 28-foot,
single-stage solid-fuel missile; a 33-foot, two-stage solid-fuel
missile; and a 20-foot, single-stage liquid-fuel missile. Pushed
by the German antiaircraft chief, Gen Walter von Axthelm, flak
rockets became the core of the 1942 German antiaircraft development
program. 64
Subsequently, the Germans developed a number of guided
flak missiles and two small, unguided ground-launched rockets,
the Foehn and Taifun. The Foehn was designed to combat
low-flying aircraft. It measured less than three inches in diameter
and about two feet in length and weighed 3.3 pounds.
First fired in 1943, the rocket had a 3,600-foot range and was
intended to be fired in ripples from a 35-barrel launcher. The
Germans put three batteries into service and credited them
with downing three Allied aircraft. The rocket’s primary impact
was, however, psychological. 65
The other unguided flak rocket, the Taifun, measured less
than four inches in diameter and 76 inches in length, weighed
65 pounds, and carried a 1.4-pound warhead (fig. 21). The
Germans fired the liquid-fuel rockets in ripples from either a
30-barrel launcher or a 50-barrel launcher mounted on an 88
mm gun carriage. The Taifun had an altitude capability of
46,000 to 52,000 feet. 66
In addition, the Germans developed four guided rockets:
Enzian, Rheintochter, Schmetterling, and Wasserfall. The Enzian
could have passed for an aircraft, albeit a small, radio-controlled
one lacking a horizontal tail (fig. 22). Almost 12 feet in length,
the missile’s sweptback wing spanned 13.5 feet. It weighed 4,350
pounds and was assisted in its launch from an 88 mm gun
35