German Henschel He-298 Missile

By Crusader1307

The German Henschel He-298 Missile was a late World War II weapon which was specifically designed to be launched by Medium to Heavy Bombers. The Missile was planned to destroy the increased Allied Bombing Campaigns of 1944. Wing (4-feet each) stabilized, The He-298 was mounted on special external rails under the aircraft wings (with several versions attempted from underneath the fuselage). The Missile was 7-feet long and weighed 265-pounds. An average warhead carried 50-pounds of High Explosive. A rocket motor was used for propulsion which gave the He-298 roughly a 490-mph rate of speed. They could travel 1-mile operationally.

Reflection (line of sight) guidance was accomplished with radio wave carrier (controlled inside The Bomber). The He-298 was an early candidate in the later Cruise Missile Family. Over 300 Missiles were produced. The He-298 was held ''in reserve'' until the increased Allied Bombing Campaigns over Germany in 1944. They were to used to protect Hitler's Hard Water processing Plants (Atomic Weapons Testing) as well as his Submarine Bases. While successful in testing, The He-298 was a failure in actual combat deployment. None were effective against Allied Bombing, with most failing to hit their targets (exploding prematurely).