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Messerschmitt Me 328

History

The "Parasite" fighter has long been of interest to aircraft engineers, especially when researching and formally testing new propulsion methods. The concept of the Parasite fighter is simple in theory, but has repeatedly proven in practice to be nearly impossible.

The general idea behind this is to equip these bulky bomber formations with capable fighter designs that allow these bombers to carry their own fighter defenses with them wherever they go. Once an enemy fighter jet is spotted, the parasite hunters are released from their host aircraft to engage the enemy. From there, the parasite hunter can be recovered from the host aircraft (using a complex and often dangerous recovery scheme), or the fighter pilot can simply eject friendly territory from his plane, ready to be picked up by a friendly flight.

The Messerschmitt 328 was intended as such a parasitic device, and was envisioned as part of the planned optimistic German "superbomber" inherent defense system. However, the small Me 328 went through an unexpectedly long development period, culminating in a few usable prototypes. Early forms were engineless gliders, while later forms were experimented with "pulse jet" engines.

The third design even fits a single turbojet. Needless to say, the Me 328 didn't actually go into production until the end of the war, mainly due to the lack of airframe mixing with the aforementioned pulse jet engines.

Although the project was shelved, the Me 328 was seriously considered for many of the roles envisaged by the German High Command - it was seen as a good candidate to fill more roles than the Parasite fighter.

Origins

The Me 328 was originally a "P. 1073" project for Messerschmitt sometime in 1941. Messerschmitt cemented its name in the war with its superb fighter design, the Messerschmitt BF 109 - a single-seat, single-engine airframe that could even compete with the spectacular Supermarine Spitfire and North American P-51 Mustang is comparable. The BF 109 became one of the most produced fighter jets of the war.

Messerschmitt was also responsible for the design and final production of the world's first Me 262 "Schwalbe" jet fighter. Like many other prominent German aerospace companies during the war, Messerschmitt was not afraid to broaden its horizons when it came to new aircraft designs that would be powered in various ways.

The P. 1073 in its original form was designed to fulfill the role of bomber escort. German bombers had to make some modifications to their airframes to achieve this, either by launching defenses against the parasites via tow ropes or launch tracks. To keep production costs down, designs were constructed of wood whenever possible, a practice that remained common despite the heavy use of metal-skinned aircraft during World War II. Three main basic shapes were envisaged, the first was expected to be an unpowered glider.

The second is to have a pair of pulse jet engines for its propulsion. A third design of particular note is its intended use of the Junkers Jumo 004 series turbojets.

Development

The Me P. 1073 project was handed over to the German Glide Research Institute for further research, culminating in two capable variants - the Messerschmitt "Me 328A" with fighter capability and the "Me 328A" with bomber capability Me 328B". by 1942. Since the idea was to provide a low-cost solution for the Luftwaffe, the Me 328 airframe would only be slightly modified between the two forms, and was designed to be small enough to still be considered for a parasitic fighter role.

It is estimated that the cost of producing a Me 328 was a fraction of the cost of producing one of the two main German fighter jets of the time - the BF 109 and the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.

Semi-implemented

Two operational glider prototypes were completed and tested at altitudes of 10,000 to 20,000 feet using twin-engine Dornier Do 217 series medium bombers. Other tests include equipping the airframe with rockets for ground self-launch under its own power, without having to rely on the altitude of the mainframe. Progress was considered promising, and seven other prototypes - each equipped with 2 x Argus As 014 series pulse jet engines - soon joined the initial pair of prototypes. Several static tests of these pulse jet airframes followed, but excessive vibration quickly put it on the ground.

Vibration is a concern, often putting pilots at risk of losing control of their mounts or causing the plane to crash completely. This effect was also noticed in the development of the V-1 rocket using the same propulsion method.

Vibration problems with the Me 328 were never fully resolved, and the program ended more or less by mid-1944. The proposed 2 x 20mm MG 151/20 artillery armament was never installed.

Although there is no way to go on the project, progress is limited. A variant of the four-engine pulse jet bomber was developed but, like the Parasite fighter, had never been realized before. Like most other outlandish superweapon ideas, Adolf Hitler himself supported the Messerschmitt project, but largely prevented the miniature Me 328 from becoming a reality.

War materiel and manpower were in short supply as Germany now fought defensive wars on multiple fronts rather than taking full power. Hitler was enthusiastic about such plans, arguing that resources could best be used elsewhere.

The Me 328 was later envisioned as a naval fighter jet launched from submarine submarines. In ground form, the Me 328 would be an inexpensive point defense interceptor that could be deployed in a manner similar to the rocket-powered Me 163 "Komet". The Me 328 is also designed to fulfill the role of a ground attack fighter.

Unfortunately, as with the previously defined characters, all of these visions proved equally futile.

Tour

The Me 328 takes on the appearance of traditional aircraft design in its finished form. It was smaller than the jet-powered Heinkel He 162 "Volksjager" ("People's Fighter"). The He 162s were built in large numbers until the end of the war to defend Germany to the last man, were cheap to build and were expected to be piloted by German youths with little training. Again, the Me 328 is a relatively simple little beast, with a blunt cone at the front and a framed, multi-part canopy at the rear. The plane was originally intended to be flown by a crew, and the controls were likely rudimentary.

The raised "backbone" at the top of the fuselage makes rear visibility fairly poor, but other fields of view are generally considered good. There is a short fin with a round vertical fin, with smaller horizontal planes offset to either side of the fin. The vertical stabilizer is swept along the leading edge only. The bottom of the fin turns up toward the fin.

The main wing assemblies are high-mounted components mounted on both sides of the cockpit wall. There is some sweeping on both the leading and trailing edges, giving it a tapered appearance. Each wing has a V (upward angle) shape away from the fuselage.

Pulse jet engines are submerged along each wing and extend beyond the trailing edge of the wing. These engines are relatively bland, with a bulbous front pod and a sleek tubular rear.

The Me 328 is 27 feet 7 inches long and has a wingspan of 20 feet 6 inches. She measures 7 feet tall. Weight is listed as 4,056 pounds empty and 5,896 pounds fully loaded. Power will be provided by two Argus As 014 series pulse jets with a combined thrust of up to 1,320 lbf.

Top speed would exceed 375 mph, with service capped at 30,500 feetcertainly on par with Allied fighter jets at the time. Range is limited to 352 miles, but that's negligible given the nature of the plane.

Last chance

Finally, the Me 328 will fulfill another role - this time as a manned flying bomb. In this creepy role, the German pilot will drop a 2,000-pound warhead at a designated target and direct his entire aircraftpayload and allto that target. The original design was based on the ill-fated Me 328B bomber model.

The paper design was improved with a Junkers Jumo 004 series turbojet engine to become the Me 328C. Not even the promising jet Me 328C, as one might guess. However, the manned flying bomb program progressed, with the focus falling on the Fieseler Fi 103R ("Reichenberg") design - a manned version of the V-1 terror weapon. These will be used by the suicide squadron "Leonidas" (aka Japanese "Kamikaze"). The Leonidas Squadron operated from 17 to 20 April 1945 with some 35 German pilots who committed suicide for their homeland against the Russian enemy on the Oder River.

The impact of these efforts is minimal (other than psychological).

Like many German marvel projects in WWII, the Me 328 was recorded as a footnote in the history of the Luftwaffe. Pulse engine technology in its current form was never fully fitted into a particular Me 328 airframe.

As before - and much later - the concept of the parasite proved too complex to be a vital part of the battlefield, and Germany's war machine slowly stalled on all fronts until it finally came to a head in 1945 surrendered in May.