Submarines and their Weapons - Aircraft of World War II

one in the nose, driving a tractor propeller; the other
in the tail, driving a pusher. The Do 335 'Pfeil'
('Arrow', known unofficially as the 'Ameisenbär' -
'Anteater') was potentially the fastest piston-engined
aircraft ever built, yet still exhibited most of the
manoeuvrability of a single-engined fighter. It
showed no bad manners when flying on only one
engine, and could even take off with one inoperative.
The only drawback to the arrangement was that it
required special measures to abandon the aircraft in
an emergency. The rear propeller and upper tail fin
were jettisoned, then the canopy was blown off before
the pilot could attempt to bale out (though at least one
example was fitted with an ejection seat, the first in
operational service). Initially, there was considerable
resistance to its development from the RLM for the
somewhat inconclusive reason that Dornier built not
fighters but bombers, and the company had to under-
JET AIRCRAFT
Above: Total production of the 'Pfeil' ('Arrow'} remained
small, butthat did not prevent the German Air Ministry
from ordering prototypes in configurations to satisfy a
variety of roles.
take to build an intruder version before permission to
continue with the project was forthcoming. The first
prototype made its maiden flight in September 1943,
powered by two ISOOhp DB 603 engines. By the end
of the war, a version with 2100hp engines was flying.
Several proposals were in process of consideration at
the war's end, including swapping the rear engine for
an HeS 011 turbojet and linking two aircraft together
by means of a short central wing section, like the
Heinkel He 111Z 'Zwilling' (Twin'; see Chapter
Three). Henschel's most important work was to be
done in the Held of guided weapons, though the company
did propose a turbojet-powered dive-bomber,
97