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

ANTIAIRCRAFT DEFENSE THROUGH WORLD WAR II
Figure 22. Enzian.The Germans also worked on four guided antiaircraft
missile projects. This 4,400-pound Enzian was one of the less successful
of these. (Reprinted from Imperial War Museum.)
two booster rockets, as did Rheintochter III. The third version
used the same first stage, but its second stage was about 3.3
feet longer. It was powered by a liquid-fuel engine and had
slightly better performance than its predecessor, having the
ability to reach an altitude of almost 50,000 feet at a range of
over 20,000 yards. The Germans tested about six of these (none
with radio control) between July 1944 and January 1945 before
canceling Rheintochter in favor of the Schmetterling. 68
The Schmetterling looked like a swept-wing aircraft that
measured 12.5 feet in length and 6.5 feet in span (fig. 24). The
Germans worked on two versions of the missiles that had an
all-up weight of 980 pounds. The Hs 117H was air-launched,
while the Hs 117 was ground-launched from a 37 mm gun
carriage aided by two solid-fuel boosters. The designers originally
intended to use wire guidance but later employed radio
controls. The missile carried a 55-pound warhead to a maximum
effective slant-range of 17,500 yards and to an altitude
37