Horten Reimar & Walter @·AIRCRAFTUBE

  • Reimar and<br>Walter<br>Horten Reimar and<br>Walter<br>Horten
    Reimar and
    Walter
    Horten
  • Walter Horten in 1929 Walter Horten in 1929
    Walter Horten in 1929
  • Reimar Horten<br>in the H.1,<br>in 1934 Reimar Horten<br>in the H.1,<br>in 1934
    Reimar Horten
    in the H.1,
    in 1934
  • Walter and Reimar with the Horten I Walter and Reimar with the Horten I
    Walter and Reimar with the Horten I
  • Horten H.II, H.III, H.IV and H.Vc Horten H.II, H.III, H.IV and H.Vc
    Horten H.II, H.III, H.IV and H.Vc
  • H.IV at the Deutsches Museum of Schleissheim (Munich) H.IV at the Deutsches Museum of Schleissheim (Munich)
    H.IV at the Deutsches Museum of Schleissheim (Munich)
  • Reimar and<br>Walter<br>Horten Reimar and<br>Walter<br>Horten
    Reimar and
    Walter
    Horten
  • Horten H.IV Horten H.IV
    Horten H.IV
  • Horten H.V Horten H.V
    Horten H.V
  • Reimar Horten Reimar Horten
    Reimar Horten
  • The H.VII V1 prototype, in May 1943 The H.VII V1 prototype, in May 1943
    The H.VII V1 prototype, in May 1943
  • Horten H.IX V1 Horten H.IX V1
    Horten H.IX V1
  • Horten H.IX V2 Horten H.IX V2
    Horten H.IX V2
  • Walter Horten in his Bf 109 Walter Horten in his Bf 109
    Walter Horten in his Bf 109
  • Horten H.XVIII (Artist view) Horten H.XVIII (Artist view)
    Horten H.XVIII (Artist view)
  • Horten<br>Ho.9 Horten<br>Ho.9
    Horten
    Ho.9
  • Walter<br>and<br>Reimar<br>Horten Walter<br>and<br>Reimar<br>Horten
    Walter
    and
    Reimar
    Horten
  • Horten Ho.9 Horten Ho.9
    Horten Ho.9
  • Horten Ho.9 Horten Ho.9
    Horten Ho.9
  • Horten<br>Ho.9 Horten<br>Ho.9
    Horten
    Ho.9
  • Reimar Horten<br>and<br>Jan Scott<br>(Argentina, 1980) Reimar Horten<br>and<br>Jan Scott<br>(Argentina, 1980)
    Reimar Horten
    and
    Jan Scott
    (Argentina, 1980)
  • Horten Ho 229 V3 Horten Ho 229 V3
    Horten Ho 229 V3
  • Horten Ho 229 V3 (1950) Horten Ho 229 V3 (1950)
    Horten Ho 229 V3 (1950)
  • Ho 229A V3<br>Pressurized suit Ho 229A V3<br>Pressurized suit
    Ho 229A V3
    Pressurized suit
  • Reimar Horten Reimar Horten
    Reimar Horten
  • FMA I.Ae.34 Clen Antu (Horten XVa) FMA I.Ae.34 Clen Antu (Horten XVa)
    FMA I.Ae.34 Clen Antu (Horten XVa)
  • FMA I.Ae.34 Clen Antu (Horten XVa) FMA I.Ae.34 Clen Antu (Horten XVa)
    FMA I.Ae.34 Clen Antu (Horten XVa)
  • Reimar Horten Reimar Horten
    Reimar Horten
  • Walter Horten Walter Horten
    Walter Horten
  • I.Ae.41 Urubu (Horten H.XVc) I.Ae.41 Urubu (Horten H.XVc)
    I.Ae.41 Urubu (Horten H.XVc)
  • Horten H.VI V2<br>NASM Udvar<br>Hazy Center Horten H.VI V2<br>NASM Udvar<br>Hazy Center
    Horten H.VI V2
    NASM Udvar
    Hazy Center

Horten brothers

Walter Horten (born 13 November 1913 in Bonn; died 9 December 1998 in Baden-Baden, Germany) and Reimar Horten (born 12 March 1915 in Bonn; died 14 March 1994 in Villa General Belgrano, Argentina), sometimes credited as the Horten Brothers, were German aircraft pilots. Walter was a fighter pilot on the Western Front, flying a Bf 109 for Jagdgeschwader 26 in the first six months of World War II; he eventually became the unit's technical officer. Reimar was also trained as a Bf 109 pilot; however, later in August 1940, he was transferred to the glider pilot school in Braunschweig. He earned his PhD in mathematics from the University of Gottingen, having resumed his studies in 1946 with help from Ludwig Prandtl. The Hortens designed the world's first jet-powered flying wing, the Horten Ho 229.

Early lives

Between the World Wars, the Treaty of Versailles limited the construction of German military airplanes. In response, German military flying became semi-clandestine, taking the form of civil "clubs" where students trained on gliders under the supervision of ex-World War I veterans. As teenagers, the Horten brothers were involved in these flying clubs.

This back-to-the-basics education, and an admiration of German avant-aircraft designer Alexander Lippisch, led the Hortens away from the dominant design trends of the 1920s and 1930s, and toward experimenting with alternative airframes — building models and then filling their parents' house with full-sized wooden sailplanes. The first Horten glider flew in 1933, by which time both brothers were members of the Hitler Youth.

The Hortens' glider designs were extremely simple and aerodynamic, generally consisting of a huge, tailless albatross-wing with a tiny cocoon of a fuselage, in which the pilot lay prone. The great advantage of the Horten designs was the relatively low parasitic drag of their airframes.

During World War II

By 1939, with Adolf Hitler in power and the Treaty of Versailles no longer in effect, Walter and Reimar had entered the Luftwaffe as pilots. (A third brother, Wolfram, was killed flying a He-111 bomber over Dunkirk.) They were also called upon as design consultants, though Germany's aeronautical community tended to regard the Hortens not as part of the cultural elite. However, both were members of the NSDAP.

Walter participated in the Battle of Britain, secretly flying as the wingman for Adolf Galland, and shot down seven British aircraft.

In 1937, the Hortens began using motorized airplanes, with the debut of the twin-engined pusher-prop airplane H.VII (an earlier glider had a mule engine). The Luftwaffe, however, did not actually use many of the Hortens' designs until 1942, but gave enthusiastic support to a twin-turbojet-powered fighter/bomber design, designated under Luftwaffe protocols as the Horten H.IX. For their completion of the three Ho 229 prototypes (V1, V2, V3), the Horten brothers were awarded 500,000 Reichmarks (approximately US$2–3 million in 2021 terms).

Securing the allocation of turbojets was difficult in wartime Germany, as other projects carried higher priority due to their rank in the overall war effort. Although the turbojet-equipped Ho 229 V2 nearly reached a then-astonishing 800 km/h (500 mph) in trials, the production of the third prototype V3 was given over to the coachbuilder Gothaer Waggonfabrik, subsequently called Gotha Go 229. The Go 229 was captured by the U.S. Army at the end of World War 2, and the nearly complete V3 third prototype aircraft was shipped to the US to be studied. It is presently stored at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

The Ho 229 had potential, but it was simply developed too late to see service. The Horten brothers also worked on the Horten H.XVIII, an intercontinental bomber that was part of the Amerikabomber project, and a prototype for a smaller version was ordered for the 1000 x 1000 x 1000 contest, for a bomber capable of flying at 1,000 km/h (620 mph) with 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) bombs with a 1,000 km (620 mi) range.

Among other advanced Horten designs of the 1940s was the supersonic delta-wing H.X, designed as a hybrid turbojet/rocket fighter with a top speed of Mach 1.4, but it was only tested in glider form as the Horten H.XIII.

Post World War II

As the war ended, Reimar Horten emigrated to Argentina after failed negotiations with the United Kingdom and China, where he continued designing and building gliders, including one experimental supersonic delta-wing aircraft and the four-engined flying wing DINFIA IA 38 Naranjero, intended to carry oranges from producers to Buenos Aires. Walter remained in Germany after the war and became an officer in the post-war German Air Force. Reimar died on his ranch in Argentina in 1994, while Walter died in Germany in 1998.

In the late 1940s, the personnel of Project Sign, the U.S. Air Force's flying saucer investigation, seriously considered the possibility that UFOs might have been secret aircraft manufactured by the U.S.S.R. based on the Hortens' designs.

Aircraft

Horten Ho I

This wing is a delta of 12.4 meters wingspan, an aspect ratio of 7.3 meters, having a central elevator, ailerons, symmetrical wing profiles twisted at 7°. Built by the Horten brothers when they were still young, without economic aid, it was presented at the Rhön competition in 1934. It hovered at altitudes of 150 to 300 feet, at a maximum speed estimated at 170 km/h . The glider had numerous stability issues. Offered to Alexander Lippisch in exchange for towing, the wing was eventually burnt.

Horten Ho II

This wing was built in 1935, in three copies, one of which was motorized.

Horten Ho III

Two Ho IIIs were built for the Rhön competition in 1938, piloted by Rudi Blech and Heinz Scheidhauer. An accident during the Rhon competition on August 6, 1938, solely due to a weather disturbance, cost Rudi Blech his life. Several evolutions were built, named Ho IIIb, Ho IIId (motorized), Ho IIIf and Ho IIIg (two-seater). One of the exemplars is in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.

Horten Ho IV

This wing, with a wingspan of 24 meters, was built between December 1940 and December 1941 in several copies, one of which can be seen at the Deutsches Museum in Munich.

Horten Ho V

This wing, the first to be built using composite materials, such as the Mipolan and the Astralon, was built in 1944. It was powered by two propellant propeller engines. Its only copy was destroyed during a takeoff, when an engine broke down, throwing it off balance.

Horten Parabola

The shape of this wing, which has never flown, is inspired by the seed Alsomitra macrocarpa, which is found in Southeast Asia. When it is ripe, this seed falls, hovering to a new place. The parabolic shape of the glider made it very difficult to build, and after being deformed during winter storage, it was burnt.

Horten Ho VI

This wing was built in 1944 in two copies. It was built for speed and is very streamlined. The second copy, which did not fly, is in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

Horten Ho VII

This wing was a test aircraft requested by the Luftwaffe, powered by two propellers and a pulsejet to be tested. It is a derivative of the Ho V (offered for testing, but not strong enough for the reactor), which flew in 1944, but ultimately never fitted with the reactor. Ho VIIe, Ho VIIf (with pilot lying down) and Ho VIIg (two-seater) versions were built.

Horten Ho VIII

This wing, whose construction was interrupted in 1945 by the arrival of the Allies in Göttingen, should have been a bomber of 30 meters wingspan, four engines, flying at 900 km/h at 10 km altitude with a range of 3,000 kilometers.

Horten Ho IX

The Ho IX wing, also called Go 229, was the first twin-engine flying wing. It was designed as a fighter-bomber. On March 1, 1944, the first version of the Ho IX made its first glide in Göttingen, but the construction of the next version which was to receive reactors was delayed: the engines delivered were 20 centimeters in diameter more than expected. The reactors having to be integrated in the mass of the wing, this anomaly requires to review the whole wing. The motorized model will fly on February 2, 1945, or December 18, 1944 depending on the sources.

Its construction materials, wood covered with a special coating, could have made it the first stealth plane, but having flown very little, this claim was never verified.

Horten Ho X

The Ho X was a project of plane with swept wings, with a significant vertical drift, and propelled by a propeller, even a reactor. The prototype glider has not been completed.

Horten Ho XI

This wing was an acrobatic glider of 8 meters wingspan, only one built.

Horten Ho XII

This wing was a light, motorized two-seater, with a wingspan of around 10 meters and weighing 700 kg.

Horten Ho XIII

The Ho XIII was a glider designed to test the concept of a swept-back flying wing, in preparation for the Ho X construction.

Horten Ho XV

This wing was a competition glider..

Horten XVa, Horten XVb, Horten XVc

They were designed by Reimar when he was in Argentina.

  • I.Ae. 34 Clen Antu single-seater wing built in 1949, with 20 to 30 HP propeller engine.
  • I.Ae. 34 two-seater wing built in 1951, including a 50 HP motorized version.
  • I.Ae.41 Urubu, four were built in Germany by Walter Horten.

NB : Some sources use the Horten notation, in which the I.Ae. 34 is the Horten XVa, the I.Ae. 34 M is the Horten XVb and the I.Ae. 41 the Horten XVc.

Heinz Scheidhauer will make the first crossing of the Andes in a glider, on October 30, 1956, aboard a Urubu. The flight will be made in both directions (Argentina and Chile): take off from Bariloche, going to Ensenada and back to Bariloche.

Horten Ho XVIII

The construction of this wing will hardly have time to be started in 1945. It should have been a long range bomber equipped with six reactors.

IAME I.A.28

This wing named Naranjero is a large transport glider built in a single copy, in Argentina, between 1951 and 1953. It was a four-engine aircraft with a payload capacity of 23 m³ or 6 t, powered by 750 HP engines. each allowing it to cover 1,250 km at a speed of 215 km/h.

Horten Ho 33

Derived from the Ho III, two examples were built after the war.

— — — = = — — —

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Source : Article Horten brothers of Wikipedia ( authors )
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Reimar & Walter Horten : Your comments on this subject
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