3-D: 314.3 × 24.1 × 1.3cm (10 ft. 3 3/4 in. × 9 1/2 in. × 1/2 in.)
Type:
ARMAMENT-Weapons Parts
Country of Origin:
Germany
Physical Description:
2 tapered high-aspect ratio wings, welded steel core covered by cement and doped fabric covering, dark gray/green camouflage paint, white markings
Summary:
The Bv 246 Hagelkorn (Hailstone) was a German air-to-surface glide bomb, using guidance systems developed for other missile projects. It was to be released by a carrier aircraft (among the possibilities were the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the Heinkel He 111, or the Junkers Ju 188), at a safe range, whereupon it would glide to its target. Stability was attained by gyroscopic autopilot, while in some versions guidance was to be by a radio beam transmitted from the parent aircraft or by a RF homing device in the nose. The high aspect ratio of the wings provided a very large 1:25 gliding angle, which permitted a missile release as far as 210 km (130 miles) from the target, with a release altitude of 35,000 ft.
These wings were the ones originally mounted on the Smithsonian's Hagelkorn, which was a gift of the U.S. Naval Supply Center, Cheatham Annex, Williamsburg, Virginia.
Credit Line:
Transferred from the U.S. Navy, Naval Supply Center, Cheatham Annex, Williamsburg, Va.
