Henschel's Hs 132 was a World War II dive bomber and interceptor aircraft of the German Luftwaffe that never saw service. The unique design featured a top-mounted jet engine and the pilot in a prone position. The Soviet Army occupied the factory just as the Hs 132 V1 was nearing flight testing, the V2 and V3 being 80% and 75% completed.
There had been interest in the idea of a prone pilot for combat aircraft to reduce g-forces during maneuvering....
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Henschel's Hs 132 was a World War II dive bomber and interceptor aircraft of the German Luftwaffe that never saw service. The unique design featured a top-mounted jet engine and the pilot in a prone position. The Soviet Army occupied the factory just as the Hs 132 V1 was nearing flight testing, the V2 and V3 being 80% and 75% completed.
There had been interest in the idea of a prone pilot for combat aircraft to reduce g-forces during maneuvering. Several aircraft had already experimented with this layout for various reasons, the Horten IIIf had a prone pilot, but this was primarily to reduce drag in this high-performance glider., while the DFS 228 reconnaissance glider also used a prone pilot to make it easier to seal its pressurized cabin. But it was not until the Berlin B9 was built specifically to test this arrangement for improved g-load that any serious effort toward development could be carried out. Starting in the spring of 1943, the Berlin B9 twin-piston engined experimental...
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