Henschel Hs 293

Henschel Hs 293
Hs 293 on display at the Deutsches Technikmuseum in Berlin, Germany, with added "Kopfring" (lit. "head ring") on the nose for nautical targets
Type	Anti-ship missile
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
In service	1943- 1944
Used by	Luftwaffe
Wars	World War II
Production history
Manufacturer	Henschel Flugzeug-Werke AG
Produced	1942 - ?
Number built	1,000
Specifications
Weight	1,045 kilograms (2,304 lb)
Length	3.82 metres (12.5 ft)
Width	3.1 metres (10 ft)
Diameter	0.47 metres (1.5 ft)
Warhead	explosive
Warhead weight	295 kilograms (650 lb)
Engine	liquid-propellant HWK 109-507 rocket motor, 5.9 kilonewtons (1,300 lbf) thrust for 10 s; subsequently glided to target
Operational range	at 2.2 kilometres (7,200 ft) altitude: 4 kilometres (13,000 ft) at 4 kilometres (13,000 ft) altitude: 5.5 kilometres (18,000 ft) at 5 kilometres (16,000 ft) altitude: 8.5 kilometres (28,000 ft)
Speed	maximum: 260 metres per second (850 ft/s) average: 230 metres per second (750 ft/s)
Guidance system	Kehl-Strassburg FuG 203/230; MCLOS using a joystick

The Henschel Hs 293 was a World War II German anti-ship guided missile: a radio controlled glide bomb with a rocket engine slung underneath it. It was designed by Herbert A. Wagner.

The Hs 293 project was started in 1940, based on the "Gustav Schwartz Propellerwerke" pure glide bomb that was designed in 1939. The Schwartz design did not have a terminal guidance system; instead, it used an autopilot to maintain a straight course. It was intended to be launched from a bomber at sufficient distance to keep the aircraft out of range of anti-aircraft fire. A Henschel team, under Dr. Herbert Wagner, developed it the following year by adding an Walter HWK 109-507 rocket engine underneath, providing 590 kg (1,300 lb) thrust for ten seconds. This allowed the bomb to be used from a lower altitude and at an increased range. Some examples used the BMW 109-511 of 600 kg (1,323 lb) thrust.

The first flight attempts took place between May and September 1940, with unpowered drops from Heinkel He 111 medium bombers used as carrier aircraft; the first Walter rocket motor-powered tests had been conducted by the end of 1940.

The weapon consisted of a modified standard 500 kilogram SC 500 bomb with an added "Kopfring" on the nose for maritime use, to help ensure a relatively perpendicular axis of impact, with a thin metal shell and a high explosive charge inside, equipped with a rocket engine beneath the bomb, a pair of aileron-fitted wings, and a Kehl-Straßburg MCLOS guidance and control system. The elevator was operated with an electrically powered jackscrew as the only proportional control, while the ailerons were operated with solenoids. Remote flight control was provided through the Kehl-Straßburg link, with the Hs 293's control setup having no movable rudder on the ventral tailfin. The rocket provided for only a short burst of speed making range dependent on the height of launch. From a height of 1,400 m (4,600 ft) the Hs 293 had a range of about 12 km (7.5 mi; 6.5 nmi).