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The Henschel Hs 293 was a World War II German anti-ship guided missile: a radio controlled glide bomb with a rocket engine slung underneath it. It was designed by Herbert A. Wagner.

History

The Walter 109-507 rocket motor unit with propellant tanks, removed from its nacelle under the Hs 293.

The Hs 293 project was started in 1940, based on the "Gustav Schwartz Propellerwerke" pure glide bomb that was designed in 1939. The Schwartz design did not have a terminal guidance system; instead, it used an autopilot to maintain a straight course. It was intended to be launched from a bomber at sufficient distance to keep the aircraft out of range of anti-aircraft fire. A Henschel team, under Dr. Herbert Wagner,[1] developed it the following year by adding an Walter HWK 109-507 rocket engine underneath, providing 590 kg (1,300 lb)[2] thrust for ten seconds. This allowed the bomb to be used from a lower altitude and at an increased range. Some examples used the BMW 109-511 of 600 kg (1,323 lb) thrust.[2]

The first flight attempts took place between May and September 1940, with unpowered drops from Heinkel He 111 medium bombers used as carrier aircraft; the first Walter rocket motor-powered tests had been conducted by the end of 1940.

The weapon consisted of a modified standard 500 kilogram SC 500 bomb[3] with an added "Kopfring" on the nose for maritime use, to help ensure a relatively perpendicular axis of impact,[4] with a thin metal shell and a high explosive charge inside, equipped with a rocket engine beneath the bomb, a pair of aileron-fitted wings, and a Kehl-Straßburg MCLOS guidance and control system. The elevator was operated with an electrically powered jackscrew as the only proportional control, while the ailerons were operated with solenoids. Remote flight control was provided through the Kehl-Straßburg link, with the Hs 293's control setup having no movable rudder on the ventral tailfin. The rocket provided for only a short burst of speed making range dependent on the height of launch. From a height of 1,400 m (4,600 ft) the Hs 293 had a range of about 12 km (7.5 mi; 6.5 nmi).

The Hs 293 was intended to destroy unarmoured ships,[2] unlike the unpowered, armour-piercing Fritz X, which used the same Kehl-Straßburg system. Five coloured flares were attached to the rear of the weapon to make it visible at a distance to the operator. During nighttime operations flashing lights instead of flares were used.[5]

One drawback of the Hs 293 was that after the missile was launched the bomber had to fly in a straight and level path at a set altitude and speed parallel to the target so as to be able to maintain a slant line of sight and it could thus not manoeuvre to evade attacking fighters without aborting the attack.

Source Wikipedia.