Henschel Hs 132

Hs 132

An airbrushed drawing of the P.132
Role	Dive bomber and Interceptor aircraft
Manufacturer	Henschel Flugzeugwerke AG
Status	Never flown
Primary user	Luftwaffe
Produced	1945
Number built	4 prototypes

Henschel's Hs 132 was a World War II dive bomber and interceptor aircraft of the German Luftwaffe that never saw service. The unorthodox design featured a top-mounted BMW 003 jet engine (identical in terms of make and position to the powerplant used by the Heinkel He 162) and the pilot in a prone position. The Soviet Army occupied the factory just as the Hs 132 V1 was nearing flight testing, the V2 and V3 being 80% and 75% completed.

Design and development

There had been interest in the idea of a prone pilot for combat aircraft to reduce the effect of g-forces during maneuvering. Several aircraft had already experimented with this layout for various reasons, the Horten IIIf had a prone pilot, but this was primarily to reduce drag in this high-performance glider,^[1] while the DFS 228 reconnaissance glider also used a prone pilot to make it easier to seal its pressurized cabin. It was not until the Berlin B9 was built specifically to test this arrangement for improved g-load that any serious effort toward development could be carried out.

Starting in early 1943, the Berlin B9 twin-piston engined experimental aircraft demonstrated that it was indeed possible for a pilot to fly the aircraft lying down, and that it did improve his ability to handle high loads. The pilot had an extremely restricted field of view upward or to the rear that made it suitable only for certain roles, including bombers or fighters or interceptors with a major speed advantage over their opposition.^[2]

Based on this research, several late-war German designs followed the B9's lead and used a prone pilot. Better g-load performance was not the only reason, however, as this layout also reduced the frontal area of the aircraft. This was a serious concern for interceptors attacking the USAAF's B-17 Flying Fortress, as calculations showed that the chance of being hit by its defensive guns was largely a function of frontal area.

The genesis for the Hs 132 was an 18 February 1943 specification published by the German Air Ministry (RLM) calling for a single-seat shipping attack aircraft to counter an expected invasion of Europe. A piston-engined aircraft was called for at the time, but the performance requirements led to a switch to jet power.^[2] Henschel submitted their design for RLM approval in April/May 1944, by which point they had already started wind tunnel testing the basic layout. The aircraft that emerged had a roughly cigar-shaped fuselage with short-span mid-set wings and a horizontal stabilizer with considerable dihedral ending in twin rounded-front vertical stabilizers.

The BMW 003 engine was mounted on the back of the aircraft above the wing, likely to make servicing easier due to the low ground height of the aircraft that put the engine roughly shoulder-height. The sharply dihedraled 'butterfly'-like twin rudder arrangement kept the tail surfaces clear of the jet efflux. The cockpit was completely faired into the fuselage contour, with a rounded clear nose-cone on the front of the aircraft. Behind this was the actual "window," a large armored-glass plate located some distance behind the extreme nose; the glazing extended almost to the wing root.^[3] The design in terms of engine mounting and tailplane bore a very strong resemblance to the contemporary Volksjäger ("people's fighter") design competition winner, the Heinkel He 162 Spatz (sparrow). The basic A model carried one 500 kg (1,100 lb) bomb; it had no other armament. It was to begin its attack in a shallow dive outside the ships' range of fire, and after reaching a speed of 910 km/h (570 mph; 490 kn), the pilot would "toss" the bomb at the target using a simple computerized sight, and then climb back out of range. The aircraft was designed to withstand 12 g during pullout. The computerized bombsight was not delivered in time to be fitted to the aircraft.

Several other versions of the basic airframe were proposed as well. The Hs 132B used the Junkers Jumo 004 engine in place of the BMW 003, and added two 20 mm (0.79 in) MG 151/20 cannons. The HS 132C was a more extensively modified version intended for bomber interception, featuring the larger Heinkel HeS 011 engine, two 20 mm (0.79 in) 151/20s and two 30 mm (1.2 in) MK 103 or MK 108 cannons. The HeS 011, intended to power a wide variety of new and existing Luftwaffe aircraft (an example of the latter being the proposed D and P series of the Arado Ar 234 jet bomber), was still in the pre-production phase when the war ended. It was hoped that by the time the HS 132B became available, the Panzerblitz anti-tank missile would be in production and available for use. The Hs 132D included a new wing of increased span. A contract for six prototypes was approved in May 1944, and construction was begun in March 1945. Hs 132V1 was scheduled to have its first flight in June 1945, but the completed wings and fuselage were never mated, and Russian forces captured the intact fuselage in May 1945 while the wings were never moved from their factory in France.

Variants

Hs 132A Dive bomber: BMW 003 turbojet engine, 1 × 500 kg (1,100 lb) bomb
Hs 132B Dive bomber/Anti-tank plane: Jumo 004 turbojet engine, 1 × 500 kg (1,102 lb) bomb, 2 × 20 mm MG 151 cannon, and/or six or eight Panzerblitz anti-tank rockets
Hs 132C Dive bomber: He S 011 turbojet engine, 1 × 500 kg (1,100 lb) bomb, 2 × 20 mm MG 151 cannon and 2 × 30 mm (1.2 in) MK 103 cannon
Hs 132D: Increased wingspan variant

Specifications (Hs 132A)

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 8.90 m (29 ft 2½ in)
Wingspan: 7.20 m (23 ft 7½ in)
Height: 3.00 m (9 ft 10 in)
Wing area: 14.80 m² (159.30 ft²)
Loaded weight: 3,400 kg (7,496 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × BMW 003A turbojet, 7.8 kN (1,760 lb at 9,500 rpm)

Performance

Maximum speed: (780 km/h at 6,000 m (700 km/h with bomb)) (485 mph at 19,685 ft (435 mph with bomb))
Range: (with bomb) 1,120 km (696 miles)
Service ceiling: (with bomb) 10,000 m (32,810 ft)

Armament

up to 500 kg (1,100lb) of disposable stores on external rack

References

Notes

↑ Horten H IIL, H IIIf, H IIIh, H VI V2
↑ 2.0 2.1 Berlin B9 Experimental Aircraft
↑ Christopher, John. The Race for Hitler's X-Planes (The Mill, Gloucestershire: History Press, 2013), p.147.

Bibliography

Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970 (fourth impression 1979). ISBN 0-356-02382-6.
Smith, J.Richard and Kay, Anthony. German Aircraft of the Second World War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1972 (third impression 1978). ISBN 0-370-00024-2.
Wood, Tony and Gunston, Bill. Hitler's Luftwaffe: A pictorial history and technical encyclopedia of Hitler's air power in World War II. London: Salamander Books Ltd., 1977. ISBN 0-86101-005-1.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Henschel Hs 132.

Aircraft produced by Henschel

Hs 117 Hs 121 Hs 122 Hs 123 Hs 124 Hs 125 Hs 126 Hs 127 Hs 128 Hs 129 Hs 130 Hs 132 Hs 293 Hs 294 Hs 295 Hs 296 Hs 297 Hs 298 Hs P.87 Hs P.122

Reich Air Ministry aircraft designations

1 to 100	B 9 Gö 9 Do 10 Do 11 Wn 11 Do 12 Do 13 Do 14 Do 15 Wn 15 Do 16 Wn 16 Do 17 Do 18 Do 19 Do 20 Do 22 Do 23 Do 24 Kl 25 Do 26 Kl 26 M 27 Do 29 Kl 31 Kl 32 W 33 L 33 W 34 Kl 35 Kl 36 HD 37 HD 38 G 38 DFS 39 BV 40 DFS 40 A 40 Fw 42 He 42 Fw 43 HD 43 Fw 44 He 45 He 46 Ju 46 Fw 47 Ju 47 K 47 A 48 He 49 Ju 49 He 50 A 50 He 51 K 51 Ju 52 K 53 NR 54 Fw 55 NR 55 Fw 56 Fw 57 Fw 58 He 58 He 59 He 60 Ju 60 Fw 61 He 61 Fw 62 He 62 He 63 Ar 64 He 64 Ar 65 He 65 Ar 66 He 66 Ar 67 Ar 68 Ar 69 He 70 He 71 He 72 He 74 Ar 76 Ar 77 Ar 79 Ar 80 Ar 81 Ju 85 Ju 86 Ju 87 Ju 88 Ju 89 Ju 90 Ar 95 Ar 96 Fi 97 Fi 98 Fi 99 He 100

101 to 200	Al 101 Al 102 Al 103 Fi 103 Fh 104 Kl 105 Kl 106 Kl 107 Bf 108 Bf 109 Bf 110 He 111 He 112 He 113 He 114 He 115 He 116 Hs 117 He 118 He 119 He 120 Hs 121 Hs 122 Hs 123 Hs 124 Hs 125 Hs 126 Hs 127 Hs 128 Hs 129 Hs 130 Bü 131 Hs 132 Bü 133 Bü 134 Ha 135 Ha 136 Hü 136 Ha 137 BV 138 Ha 139 Ha 140 BV 141 BV 142 BV 143 BV 144 Go 145 Go 146 Go 147 Ju 147 Go 149 Go 150 Kl 151 Ta 152 Kl 152 Ta 153 Ta 154 BV 155 Fi 156 Fi 157 Fi 158 Fw 159 Ju 160 Bf 161 He 162 Bf 162 Bf 163 Me 163 Me 164 Fi 166 FK 166 Fi 167 Fi 168 He 170 He 172 He 176 He 177 He 178 Bü 180 Bü 181 Bü 182 Ta 183 Fl 184 Fl 185 Fw 186 Ju 186 Fw 187 Ju 187 Ju 188 Fw 189 Fw 190 Fw 191 Ao 192 DFS 193 DFS 194 Ar 195 Ar 196 Ar 197 Ar 198 Ar 199 Fw 200

201 to 300	Si 201 Si 202 DFS 203 Si 204 Fw 206 Me 208 Me 209 Me 209 (1943) Me 210 Hü 211 Do 212 Do 214 Do 215 Do 216 Do 217 Hs 217 He 219 He 220 BV 222 Fa 223 Fa 224 Ao 225 Fa 225 BV 226 Ho 226 FGP 227 DFS 228 Ho 229 DFS 230 Ar 231 Ar 232 Ar 233 Ar 234 Do 235 BV 237 BV 238 Fw 238 Ar 239 Ar 240 Go 241 Go 242 Go 244 BV 246 Ju 248 BV 250 Fw 250 Ho 250 Ho 251 Ho 252 Ju 252 Fi 253 Ho 253 Ta 254 Ho 254 Fi 256 Sk 257 Fw 261 Me 261 Me 262 Me 263 Me 264 Fl 265 Me 265 Fa 266 Ho 267 Ju 268 Fa 269 He 270 We 271 Fw 272 He 274 He 275 He 277 He 278 He 280 Fl 282 Fa 283 Ta 283 Fa 284 Fl 285 Ju 286 Ju 287 Ju 288 Ju 290 Me 290 As 292 Hs 293 Hs 294 Hs 295 Ar 296 Hs 296 Hs 297 Hs 298 Fw 300

301-	Me 309 Me 310 Do 317 Do 318 He 319 Me 321 Ju 322 Me 323 Me 328 Me 329 Fa 330 DFS 331 DFS 332 Fi 333 Me 334 Do 335 Fa 336 Fl 339 E.340 WNF 342 He 343 Rk 344 So 344 Go 345 DFS 346 Rk 347 Ba 349 Ju 352 Me 362 Me 364 Ju 388 Ju 390 Fw 391 Ar 396 Ta 400 Me 409 Me 410 Do 417 He 419 ZMe 423 Ar 430 Ka 430 Ar 432 Do 435 Ar 440 Ju 452 Me 462 Ju 488 Fw 491 Me 509 Me 510 He 519 ZSO 523 Ar 532 Do 535 E.555 Me 609 Ar 632 Do 635