Mistel

Mistel (German for "mistletoe"), was the larger, unmanned component of a composite aircraft configuration developed in Germany during the later stages of World War II. The composite comprised a small piloted control aircraft mounted above a large explosives-carrying drone, the Mistel, and as a whole was referred to as the Huckepack ("Piggyback"), also known as the Beethoven-Gerät ("Beethoven Device") and Vati und Sohn ("Daddy and Son").

The most successful of these used a modified Junkers Ju 88 bomber as the Mistel, with the entire nose-located crew compartment replaced by a specially designed nose filled with a large load of explosives, formed into a shaped charge. The upper component was a fighter aircraft, joined to the Mistel by struts. The combination would be flown to its target by a pilot in the fighter; then the unmanned bomber was released to hit its target and explode, leaving the fighter free to return to base. The first such composite aircraft flew in July 1943 and was promising enough to begin a programme by Luftwaffe test unit KG 200, code-named "Beethoven", eventually entering operational service.

Other Mistel composites included the Ta 154/Fw 190, Ar 234/Fi 103, Do 217K/DFS 288 and Si 204/Lippisch D-1. Projects included the Ju 287/Me 262 and Ar 234C/Arado E.377.

The first such experiments in Nazi Germany concerning composite aircraft of any type were performed with the DFS 230 troop glider as the "lower" component and using established, engine-powered Luftwaffe aircraft, such as the Focke-Wulf Fw 56 or the Messerschmitt Bf 109E, as the upper component in an attempt to provide the troop glider with a longer range than if it was simply towed in the conventional manner.

Later, the technique became more refined, and the bomber component (which was often a new aircraft rather than surplus) was fitted with a specialised 1,800 kg (3,960 lb.) warhead. The final stage of Mistel development was of specialised purpose-built jet-powered bomber components, including ones developed from the Messerschmitt Me 262, the Junkers Ju 287 and the entirely new Arado Ar 234. None of these ambitious schemes had left the drawing board before the end of the war.

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