NIEMIECKI SZYBOWIEC DESANTOWY DFS-230B-1

Construction works on the glider designated DFS 230 were carried out by Eng. Hans Jakobs. It was supposed to be a machine of conventional construction. The wooden structure of the wings was in the front part covered with aviation plywood, and in the remaining two-thirds with canvas, long ailerons with balancing flaps were also covered with canvas, covering more than half of the span. The glider was a dorsal wing and the wings were additionally connected to the fuselage by two metal supports. The hull was constructed of a steel truss covered with linen. A landing skid is attached under its front and middle part. A two-wheeled ejector trolley was used for take-off. The loading capacity of the glider was estimated at 1200 kg, which corresponded to the command of a pilot, nine soldiers with equipment and additional equipment up to about 300 kg. A large cargo loading door is located on the port side just behind the lobe. The Ju 52 / 3m was planned as a towing plane, but during the war, mosaics of various types were used for this purpose, e.g. Ju 87, He 46, Hs 126, Avia B-534, Do 17, and even an attempt was made to tow a fully loaded DFS 230 behind a pair Hs 72 planes. Usually rope was used for towing, but rigid tow was also attempted. Such a flight took place, for example, for a Ju 52 / 3m on the Darmstadt-Hamburg-Munich-Darmstadt route. From the very beginning, DFS worked closely with the Gothaer Wagonfabrik, which was to carry out the serial production of these machines. The first DFS 230 V1 prototype was flown at the end of 1937 by Hanna Reitsch. Soon after, Hanna Reitsch performed demonstration flights in front of a body of high-ranking Luftwaffe officers. In the fall of 1938, as part of the 7th Aviation Division, a gliding division commanded by 2nd Lt. Weiss. At the beginning of 1940, I./Luftlandegeschwader 1 (air landing regiment) was formed. The first operation of this unit took place on May 10, 1940. Between 4.30 am and 4.40 am, forty-two Junkers Ju 52 / 3m each with one DFS 230 glider in the haul took off from the Ostheim and Butzweilerhof airports near Cologne. On the decks of the gliders there were parachute soldiers organized in the so-called Sturmabteilung Koch (SA Koch, Koch's Assault Division). By the end of 1940, 455 DFS 230A-1s had been produced. A version of the DFS 230B-1 was also produced, equipped with a braking parachute to shorten the landing distance. For self-defense, the MG 15 machine gun was mounted in this version, mounted just behind the pilot's cockpit. In 1942, tests were carried out with the type of lifting the DFS 230 gliders into the air, instead of the tow, the so-called Mistelschlepp. Mistelschlepp meant mounting on the back of the glider on a special scaffolding of the plane, the propulsion unit of which was used to propel the entire set. Initially, the DFS 230 and Klemm Kl 35 sets were used. The Klemm Kl 35V engine was however too weak to allow both machines to start and the Ju 52 / 3m was used as a towing unit during take-off. Soon Kl 25B was replaced in trials by the Fw 56 and then by the Messerschmitt Bf 109E-1; this last composition was to be final. Despite successful attempts, the Mistelschlepp method was not put into operational use. One of the methods that the DFS company used to shorten the stopping distance was the use of brake rockets from the rheinmetall-Borsig company. As the pilot approached the landing site, he dived just before touching the ground, he released the braking parachute and when the skid touched the ground, he fired the first of the three rockets. The rest were fired automatically in short time sequences. The action of the braking rockets was so effective that they limited the launch by an average of 16 meters. Especially for the release of Benito Mussolini, imprisoned in a mountain hotel at the top of the Gran Sasso massif, several DFS 230B-1 were converted into a C-1 version equipped with brake rockets. The action was a success, and the successful use of brake rockets led to the development of the DFS 230D-1 version, which featured a standard B-1 airframe with a rebuilt fuselage nose that housed three rockets. A total of 1022 DFS 230 gliders were produced.