Blohm & Voss BV 40

BV 40

Model of a BV 40

Role

Fighter glider

Manufacturer

Blohm & Voss

First flight

6 May 1944

Number built

|} The Blohm & Voss BV 40 was a German glider fighter designed to attack Allied bomber formations during the time of the bombing raids over Nazi Germany.

History

The key features of this small and spartan-looking aircraft were a very narrow and fairly heavily-armored cockpit, and two 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 cannon in the wing roots with very limited ammunition. The undercarriage would be dropped after take-off and the plane would later land on a skid. Owing to war-related priorities, the fuselage was constructed almost entirely of wood in order to save strategic materials. The plane was also designed to be built in as short a time as possible by non-skilled workers.

This aircraft would have been towed in pairs by a Messerschmitt Bf 109 and released above the Allied bomber combat box. Once released, it would glide at a sharp angle towards the enemy bomber fleet. During its short attack time, the BV 40 would fire its weapons, then glide back to earth. The idea of carrying a bomb on a cable behind the glider was briefly considered. By eliminating the engine and positioning the pilot in a prone position (i.e., lying on the front), the cross-sectional area of the aircraft was much reduced, making the BV 40 harder for bomber gunners to hit.^[1]

The first flight was in May 1944. Several prototypes were completed, but the project was stopped later in the year as the end of the war drew near.

Owing to the potential dangers for the pilot inherent in the operation of this precarious aircraft, the BV 40 is sometimes listed as a suicide weapon, but it was not intended as such.^[2]

Specifications

Data from Warplanes of the Third Reich^[3]

General characteristics

Crew: One pilot
Length: 5.70 m (18 ft 8½ in)
Wingspan: 7.90 m (25 ft 11 in)
Height: 1.63 m (5 ft 4⅛ in)
Wing area: 8.70 m² (93.6 ft²)
Empty weight: 838 kg (1,844 lb)
Gross weight: 952 kg (2,094 lb)

Performance

Maximum speed: 900 km/h (560^[4] mph)

Armament

2 × fixed, forward-firing 30 mm (1.18 in) Rheinmetall Borsig MK 108 cannon (35 rpg)

References

Notes

Bibliography

Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War, Volume One: Fighters. London: Macdonald & Co.(Publishers) Ltd., 10th impression 1972, p. 78-79. ISBN 0-356-01445-2.
Green, William. War Planes of the Third Reich. New York: Doubleday, 1972. ISBN 0-385-05782-2..
Green, William and Swanborough, Gordon. The Complete Book of Fighters. New York:Smithmark, 1994. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8.
Smith, J. Richard and Kay, Anthony. German Aircraft of the Second World War. London: Putnam 7 Company Ltd., 3rd impression 1978, p. 84-88. 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, 1977, p. 138. ISBN 0-86101-005-1.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blohm & Voss BV 40.

Good Photos of BV 40V1(German)
Blohm & Voss BV40 Glider aircraft（Russian）

Blohm & Voss/Hamburger Flugzeugbau aircraft

Ha / BV	BV 40 Ha 135 Ha 136 Ha 137 Ha 138 BV 138 Ha 139 Ha 140 BV 141 BV 142 BV 143 BV 144 BV 155 BV 222 BV 237 BV 238 BV 246 P 111 P 144 P 163 P 170 P 175 P 178 P 184 P 188 P 192 P 194 P 196 P 197 P 198 P 202 P 203 P 204 P 207 P 208 P 209 P 210 P 211 P 212 P 213 P 214 P 215 Ae 607 MGRP

HFB	HFB-314 HFB-320

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

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