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Hs 117 Schmetterling Missile
Of all the experimental German antiaircraft missiles of World War II, the Schmetterling (Butterfly) came closest to deployment. It originated in 1941, when Henschel's talented missile designer, Herbert Wagner, proposed several antiaircraft projects. However, the Air Ministry did not authorize the missile's development until 1943. Mass production was ordered in December 1944, with deployment to begin in March 1945 -- an unrealistic timetable but typical of Germany's desperation programs in the war's last year.
Two solid-fuel Schmidding rocket units, missing from this Hs 117, served as boosters. An operator using a telescopic sight and joystick guided the missile by radio control. The Smithsonian obtained this Schmetterling from the U.S. Army in 1988. |