Jnewboy wrote:I was always amazed that the Luftwaffe had full scale RC planes at the end of the war and were going to use them as guided bombs in the Mistel program. 1946 would have been a wild year if the war had continued.
The Mistel entered service in 1943 if the Wikipedia article is to be believed? In any case, the likelyhood of them having any discernable effect on the outcome of the war has 2 inescapable facts:
1) The pilot aicraft has to get close to the target to release the Mistel and guide it in, which would be impossible in the west unless using one of the proposed jet combinations (and in which case you'd likely see the Meteor rushed up to the front line in the event that this became a serious issue)
2). The Allies had already figured out how to jam the radio guidance system of the Fritz X and HS293 by early 1944, and would likely have countered the Mistel's terminal guidance the same way if the need arose.
Untitled by jon newsom, on Flickr
