World War 2 In Review

Rheintochter: German Surface-to-Air Missile

Remote-controlled anti-aircraft missile "Rheintochter 1" in flight, 1944.

Rheintochter was a German surface-to-air missile developed by Rheinmetall-Borsig during World War II. Its name comes from the mythical Rheintöchter (Rhinemaidens) of Richard Wagner's opera series Der Ring des Nibelungen.

The missile was a multi-stage solid fueled rocket. It had four small varnished plywood control surfaces, resembling paddles, in the nose, six fins at the after end of the top stage, and four at the end of the main stage. It stood 6.3 m (20 ft 8 in) tall, with a diameter of 54 cm (1 ft 9 in). The sustainer motor, located ahead of the 136 kg (300 lb) warhead (rather than behind, as is more usual) exhausted through six venturis between the first stage fins.

Type: Surface-to-air missile

Place of origin: Germany

Designed: 1942-1943

Manufacturer: Rheinmetall-Borsig

Propellant: multi-stage solid fuel

History

Rheintochter was ordered in November 1942 by the German army (Heer). Starting in August 1943, 82 test firings were made. An air-launched version was also designed. The operational version was intended to be fired from a ramp or converted gun mount.

The project was cancelled on 6 February 1945.

Examples are on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Air Defense Learning Annex at Fort Sill, OK and at the Royal Air Force Museum Midlands, UK.

Variants

R1: The initial R1 variant was powered by a two-stage solid-fuel rocket.

R2: The proposed R2 did not offer any improvement over the R1, and was dropped in December 1944.

R3: The R3 model was developed, which had a liquid fuel engine with solid-fuel boosters ("strap-ons"). Only six trial missiles were fired.

Specifications

Power plant: R1 variant was two-stage solid fuel; R3 was liquid fuel with solid-fuel boosters

Length: 6.3 m (20 ft 8 in)

Diameter: 54 cm (1 ft 9 in)

Wing span: 2.65 m (8 ft 8 in)

Launch weight: 1,748 kg (3,854 lb)

Speed: 1,080 km/h (671 mph)

Warhead: 136 kg (300 lb)

Altitude: R1 8 km

Guidance system: Radio Command

Sources

Christopher, John. The Race for Hitler's X-Planes. The Mill, Gloucestershire: History Press, 2013.

Ford, Brian J., Secret Weapons, Osprey Publishing, 2011.

Rheintochter I air defense missile on its launcher.

Rheintochter I.

Rheintochter R1 missile on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.

Three German WWII missiles: A Rheinbote (right), a Rheintochter R1 (left), and a partial Rheintochter R3 (center, horizontal).

Rheintochter I air defense missile on its launcher.

“Rheintochter” R-1 rear view.

“Rheintochter” R-1
1 – drive.
2 – servos.
3 – gyro autopilot.
4 radio.
5 – accumulator.
6 – solid-propellant sustainer.
7 – nozzle propulsion engine.
8 – wing.
9 – military.
10 – start-up accelerator.
11 – stabilizer.
12 – brace stabilizer.
13 – interchangeable nozzle.
14 – tracer.
15 – igniter.
16 – starter bracket.
17 – brace for mounting of the wings.
18 – brace for mounting stabilizers.

“Rheintochter” R-3F.

Rheintochter R-3's liquid-fuel rocket engine on display at RAF Cosford.

“Rheintochter” R-3

KEY

1 – distance sensor with heat-resistant fairing.
2 – control surfaces (two pairs).
3 – shaft wheel bearing supports.
4 – mechanical servos.
5 – electric motor for steering the machine.
6 – “average case” with equipment.
7 – elastic frame of the gyroscope suspension.
8 – gyroscope.
9 – receiver and battery.
10 – oxidizer tank – Salibi.
11 – rotary inlets of the oxidizer.
12 – warhead with ready-striking elements.
13 – fuel tank – Visol.
14 – ball compressed air.
15 – combustion chamber with the nozzle.
16 – tail fairing tin.
17 – reducing valve for testing program changes in the thrust.
18 – rotary intake of fuel.
19 – wings of glued wood.
20 – tracer.
21 – the cable channel.
22 – a stop for the accelerator.
23 – pyrobolt accelerator.
24 – jet accelerator (axes pass through the CG).
25 – removable cover accelerator with the igniter.
26 – air brake.
27 – bracket for mounting missiles on the launcher.
28 – igniter.
29 – a charge of solid fuel.
30 – grate.
31 – start-up accelerator.

“Rheintochter” R-3.

German Wheels & Tracks in View

Steyr-RSO Skijäger-Brigade 1.

Sd.Kfz. 232 (Rad 8) with a coat of white-wash over Dunkelgrau. Notice that you can clearly see how it was applied with a brush or rag by hand, rather than applied via air spraying.

Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 15, 1940.

StuG IV with Schürzen painted in the MAN/MNH ‘disc’ pattern Hinterhalt-Tarnung. It seems like there are also some dots applied between the bigger ‘discs’, and indicates that someone spent a lot of time painting this vehicle.

Sturmmörserwagen 606/4 mit 38 cm RW 61 Sturmtiger in a field applied Hinterhalt-Tarnung. This is a Sturmtiger that was captured in 1945.

Sturmtiger.

Sturmtiger firing.

German infantry and motorized vehicles at what seems to be a staging area. The most interesting thing about this photograph (which must have been taken sometime after the 1943 order) is the extremely wide variety one finds in all the camouflage applications and colors. Some clearly use Dunkelbraun, for instance, whereas others seem to eschew all brown colors and go for green, and the vehicle in the lower right corner is painted in what could be a desert pattern. This sort of variation was also reflected in how tanks were painted by the maintenance crews.

PzKpfw VI Tiger Ausf. E and battalion vehicle belonging to the 508th Schwere Panzer Abteilung, taking a rest at the Italian front. Notice the hasty camouflage on the car and the carefully applied camouflage on the Tiger.

Observation ports were priority targets for infantry.

Marder III self-propelled gun.

PzKpfw III, Voronezh, Russia, summer 1941.

SdKfz 233 (8 Rad).

SdKfz 233 with 7.5 cm StuK 37, North Africa.

Ferdinand Number 623 of the schwere Panzerjäger Abteilung 654.

Zugkraftwagen 18 t mit Kran (Sd.Kfz. 9/1).

Two Zugkraftwagen 18 t (Sd.Kfz. 9) towing a Panzer VI "Tiger I", near Nettuno, Italy, March 1944.

Repairing a Panzer III (possibly of the 11th Panzer Division) using a Zugkraftwagen 18 t mit Kran (Sd.Kfz. 9/1), Soviet Union, January 1943.

Wehrmacht soldiers are transporting an electric transformer with a Sonder-Kraftfahrzeug 9 halftrack and a tank trailer Sd. Ah. 116 (Tiefladeanhänger für Panzerkampfwagen 22/23t), in Kharkiv, Ukraine on str. Kuznechna, 1942. In this photo: Turn from Kharkiv bridge to Kuznechny lane. In the distance to the right is the recognizable facade of school No. 30 (Kharkivska naberezhna, 4).

Sonder-Kraftfahrzeug 9 halftrack and a tank trailer Sd. Ah. 116 (Tiefladeanhänger für Panzerkampfwagen 22/23t), in Kharkiv, Ukraine on str. Kuznechna, 1942. This photo: End of the street Kuznechnoi. Power plant building.

Sd.Kfz. 9 Famo with Sd.Ah 116 transport trailer.

Three Sd.Kfz. 9 18t Famos towing a 38-cm gun barrel for Batterie Todt in a double composition of Culemeyer-Strassenroller 24 wheel heavy trailer, Calais, France.

Sd.Kfz. 9 18t Famo towing a Panzer III on a Sd.Ah 116 transport trailer.

Sd.Kfz. 9 18t Famo under construction.

Sd.Kfz. 9 18t Famo.

Sd.Kfz. 9 Famo.

Sd.Kfz. 9 Famos under construction.

Sd.Kfz. 9 Famo at the factory.

35-S 739(f) was the designation given to captured French SOMUA S35 cavalry tanks in German service. This particular vehicle is #111, part of the 204th Panzer Regiment (part of the greater 101st Panzer Brigade—formed on July 5th, 1941 using captured French tanks), pictured in Crimea, 1942. Around 297 SOMUA S35s were captured by German forces in the wake of the Battle of France in 1940. Captured vehicles were modified to suit German needs—primarily by cutting off the commander's cupola and replacing it with a simple hatch (apparently not done on this vehicle). 35-S 739(f)s were still in active service in 1944, and at least twelve were still in service by December of that year.

VK 30.02 (M) prototype medium tank—one of the direct prototypes of the famous Panther tank.

VK 30.01 (P) prototype medium tank. The VK 30.01 (P) was a design submitted by Ferdinand Porsche for a 33-ton (30 tonne) breakthrough tank. The German military requirements, issued in 1939, asked for provisions for a 105 mm gun, or compromising at 75 mm. In 1941, the armament was changed to an 88 mm cannon--the main armament later mounted on the Tiger I heavy tank. Porsche's design used a turret designed by Krupp. Armor was planned to be up to 3.15 inches (80 mm) thick. Power was supplied by two 210 PS V-10 gasoline engines connected to a gasoline-electric drive (essentially engine power going through an electric generator which would ultimately power the sprocket wheels). The tank would run on torsion bar suspension, with the torsion bars mounted length-wise along the side of the hull (a design unique to Porsche, also seen on the Ferdinand tank destroyer). Two VK 30.01 (P) prototypes were constructed in 1941. The project lost steam with the 88 mm requirement. This modification would eventually lead to the Tiger I heavy tank project (VK 45.01).

Sd.Kfz. 139 Marder III tank destroyer. The Sd.Kfz. 139 was the first variant of the German Marder III tank destroyer series. It combined a Panzer 38(t) light tank chassis with a captured Soviet 76.2 mm M1936 gun (F-22)—the Germans had captured many F-22s by 1942 (redesignated the Pak 36(r)). From April to November 1942, 344 Sd.Kfz. 139s were produced. The primary scene of action for the 139 was the Eastern Front, however a few saw service in North Africa—specifically Tunisia.

Landwasserschlepper. The Landwasserschlepper was developed in the late-1930s into 1940. Designed by Rheinmetall-Borsig, it was intended for both land and water use, operating around bridges, rivers, or towing trailers. The vehicle had a boat-like hull, mounted on tracks. Two propellers were mounted at the back for travel in the water. It was hoped that Landwasser¬schleppers could be used in Operation Sea Lion, planned for September 1940. This was the Axis invasion of England across the English Channel. Production issues, as well as the cancellation of Sea Lion, meant that the vehicle never saw service in 1940. It was only until 1942 when the Landwasserschleppers first saw service—in North Africa and the Eastern Front. The vehicle stayed in service until 1945.

Infanterie Panzer Mk.II 748(e). The Germans captured a handful of British Matilda II infantry tanks during the North African Campaign. They were deployed in the same campaign and received good reviews by their crews. Amusingly, however, their captured use often confused troops on both sides.

Panzer I Ausf. B ohne Aufbau (utility vehicle).

Sturmpanzer I Bison SPG built on the Panzer I chassis.

Panzer I Ausf. A light tank. The Ausf. A was the first armed variant of the Panzer I light tank. The vehicle was armed with twin machine guns and used the shorter wheelbase (later variants added an extra road wheel). A total of 450 were produced and saw service between 1934 and 1941.

7.62 cm FK 36(r) anti-tank gun mounted on a Sd.Kfz. 6 half-track. The 7.62 cm FK 36(r) was a German conversion of captured Soviet 76 mm M1936 (F-22) anti-tank guns. This conversion included replacing the gun shield and sights with German equipment. The FK (r) designation stands for Feldkanone (russisch).

3.7 cm Flak 36 anti-aircraft gun mounted on the back of a Sd.Kfz. 6 half-track (the combination variant was known as the Sd.Kfz. 6/2). .The Flak 36 was introduced in 1936 as a further development of the 3.7 cm Flak 18 AA gun which was produced in limited numbers in 1935. The Flak 36 replaced the gun's dual-axle mount with a lighter single-axle carriage. Rate-of-fire was also increased to 120 rounds per-minute.

Sd.Kfz. 251/21 half-track. The Sd.Kfz. 251/21 was armed with triple 15-20 mm (caliber varied by weapon variant) MG 151 autocannons. Although the triple cannons were technically quite effective, their high rate of fire meant they used up their ammo very quickly.

Panzer IV Ausf. J medium tank. The Ausf. J was the last variant of the famous German Panzer IV medium tank. It was designed to help fill the gap in Germany's tank losses and so it was heavily simplified in order to speed up production; the variant was introduced in 1944. The Ausf. J saw the removal of the Panzer IV's electric turret motor, pistol ports, extra turret vision ports (including the gunner's), "Zimmerit" coating, and a few return rollers. The first removal on this list meant that the turret had to be manually hand cranked. Other modifications included the installation of an auxiliary 53 gallon (200 liter) fuel tank (in place of the turret motor), a slight increase in hull roof thickness, a transition from a single muffler to two small stacks (pictured here, damaged), a switch to rolled homogeneous armor, and a switch from solid metal "Schürzen" to wire mesh plates.

An Sd.Kfz. 10 towing a 21-cm Nebelwerfer 42.

The disk type pneumatic-tired front wheels are fitted on a conventional type axle suspended by a single semi-elliptic spring. The half-tracks in the background are mittl. Zugkraftwagen 8-ton (SdKfz 10) 3-ton prime mover towing 10.5 cm le FH (light field howitzer).

SdKfz 251/1 II: Rocket launcher (called "Stuka zu Fuß" (Walking Stuka) or Wurfrahmen 40) equipped with six side mounted frames for launching 280 mm or 320 mm Wurfkoerper rockets. In action in Russia.

SdKfz 251 half-track, right.

SdKfz 10 leichter Zugkraftwagen 1t half-tracks in use as tractors for the 5cm PaK 38 anti-tank gun.

Towing the 5 cm Pak 38 L/40 was another task for the much utilized 1-ton prime mover.

Leichter Zugkraftwagen 1t Typ D7 (SdKfz 10) pulling a 3.7-cm Pak 35 on the eastern front.

SdKfz 10 half-track of an Afrika Korps anti-tank gun unit on the move.

SdKfz 10 towing a 5-cm Pak 38.

Same SdKfz 10 as the previous photograph, with a missing road wheel. The crew dismounts the vehicle (easily done due to the low sides) to bring the anti-tank gun into action.

Luftwaffe panzergrenadier man a SdKfz 10, while an SdKfz 11 (right) tows a 5-cm Pak 38.

28cm K5(E) long-range railway gun on its firing turntable.

Nebelwerfer (rocket projector) units also utilized the 1-ton Demag to tow the mobile 28/32 cm Nebelwerfer 41 which weighed approximately 2,500 pounds.

From a Russian pamphlet showing the weak spots of the Ferdinand (Elefant) self-propelled gun.

Weak spots of the PzKpfw III from a Soviet training manual.

Weak spots of the PzKpfw 38(t) from a Soviet training manual.

Weak spots of the Tiger I from a Soviet training manual.

Weak spots of the Panther tank from a Soviet training manual.

Bovington Tiger.

Captured Panther in Guards Armoured Division

SdKfz 234/1 abandoned and on fire near Saint Charles de Percy. Calvados, Normandy, France, 1944.

Hummel and SdKfz 251.

Elefant and two Kubelwagens.

Hummel.

Hetzer.

Panzer IV.

Interior view of gunner's position in a Tiger I tank.

PzKpfw IV Ausf F2, Russia.

A DAK SdKfz 232 in Africa.

SdKfz 232 of the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking, Waffen-SS.

An Afrika Korps SdKfz 232 under a couple of palm trees.

SdKfz 234/3 “Puma.”

Bergetiger recovery vehicle.

Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. B Tiger II.

American engineers check the area next to a knocked out PzKpfw V Ausf A Panther tank. St. Lo, France, 1944.

PzKpfw VI Tiger I, Tunisia, North Africa. This picture shows the first unit, an early production model, captured by allied forces. It now resides at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds Museum.

Armored vehicles of an Aufklärungs Abteilung of the Panzer Grenadier Division Grossdeutschland are passing Schützenpanzerwagen (SdKfz 250) of the same division during the early months of the Russian Campaign, August 1941. The lead vehicle is a light armored vehicle SdKfz 260 followed by a Panzerfunkwagen (8 Rad) (SdKfz 263) mounting a medium range frame aerial.

SdKfz 221.

Panzerjäger-Abteilung 39, Kampfgruppe Gräf, 21st Panzer Division, Afrika Korps, 1942.

Forward elements on the move. Accompanied by a medium car and a motorcycle with a sidecar, this SdKfz 263 acts as the communications link between the commander of this long-range patrol and the regimental headquarters further in the rear.

AB 41 armored car in Afrika Korps service, Libya.

SdKfz 221 mounting a 2.8 cm sPzB 41.

SdKfz 221 followed by an SdKfz 222, North Africa.

SdKfz 222.

SdKfz 223 with a PzKpfw II.

SdKfz 231 (6 Rad).

SdKfz 231 (6 Rad) passing a column of motorcycle/sidecar combination.

SdKfz 231 (6 Rad).

SdKfz 231 6-rad during maneuvers, 1935.

SdKfz 231 (6-rad).

SdKfz 231 armored car, knocked out, France, 1940.

SdKfz 231 (8-rad), Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler.

SdKfz 231 (8-rad), North Africa.

SdKfz 231 (8-rad).

SdKfz 231 8-rad.

Italian Fallschirmjäger ride on a SdKfz 231 8-rad of the Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 115, Panzergrenadier-Division 15.

SdKfz 232 (6-rad), 1939.

SdKfz 232 armored car, knocked out, France, 1940.

SdKfz 232 in North Africa.

SdKfz 232 (8-rad), 1941.

SdKfz 232 (8-rad).

SdKfz 232 (8-rad) in the Ardennes forest (Battle of France) in May 1940.

SdKfz 232 8-rad on the SS-Division “Wiking,” Russia, 21 June 1941.

SdKfz 233 with 7.5 cm StuK 37, North Africa.

SdKfz 234/1.

SdKfz 234/2 Puma armored car, “1111”, 1st troop, 11th company (the unusual number being the result of panzergrenadier or SS divisions having additional heavy companies with “10” and “11” company numbers).

SdKfz 234/2.

SdKfz 234/3.

SdKfz 234/4 with 7.5 cm Pak 40.

SdKfz 260, North Africa.

SdKfz 261 with an SdKfz 222.

SdKfz 263 (6 Rad).

SdKfz 263 (8 Rad).

Captured Pantserwagen M36 (Swedish Landsverk L-181) in German service, Ordungspolizei, Holland, February 1941.

Captured Dutch Pantserwagen M39 (DAF P.T.3) in German service, 18th Infantry Division, Western Europe, 1940.

Sturmtiger captured by American troops.

The 38cm shell of the Sturmtiger in flight.

Captured Soviet SU-122 in German service.

Flakpanzer T-34.

Captured Soviet SU-152 in German service.

Knocked out German Sturmgeschütz assault gun, France.

10.5 cm K 18 auf Panzer Selbstfahrlafette IV.

10.5cm leFH 18/3 (Sf) auf Geschützwagen B2(f).

The contradictions of the German Army in the blitzkrieg period. In the foreground are 8-ton SdKfz 7 half-track prime movers towing 15cm guns, but in the background teams of horses and limbers can be seen with 10.5cm le FH 18 howitzers.

SdKfz 8 during driving practice of a future prime mover driver.

Tiger I.

PzKpfw I unloaded in North Africa.

PzKpfw I on the dock in North Africa.

SdKfz 251 radio half-track, North Africa.

Maus super heavy tank prototype.

Captured Char B1 bis in German service.

Captured T-34 in German service.

General Heinz Guderian, 2nd Panzer Army commander, talks to NSKK-Transportbrigade Todt personnel, Russia, 1941. In the background, two NSKK officers with blank right hand collar patches.

Soviet infantrymen armed with submachine guns near a burning Tiger I tank in Russia.

British Sherman tanks move along a road in Normandy past a knocked out Tiger I tank. Serial on Sherman tank at left of picture is T-262894.

Italian light tank in German service.

Maus super heavy tank.

A German column enters an unidentified town in Libya. The column consists primarily of soft-skinned vehicles, but is led by a Leichter Panzerspähwagen (MG) SdKfz 221.

A Panzerspähwagen (SdKfz 221) mounting a 2.8 cm anti-tank rifle in the open turret. This vehicle belongs to a s.Aufklärungs Kompanie of the SS Division “Reich” near Lemberg, July 1941.

Light armored car SdKfz 221 with 2cm gun.

A German reconnaissance unit checks for signs of enemy activity near Gazala, April 1942. The vehicle is the Leichter Panzerspähwagen (MG) SdKfz. 221 armored car. The vehicle was light in weight, which gave it a good cross country performance, but its single 7.92mm MG 34 armament meant that it was usually operated alongside the 2cm-armed SdKfz 222 armored car.

SdKfz 221.

Panther “II01”.

Panthers.

Maus captured by Soviets.

Albert Speer inspecting captured Russian T-34.

SdKfz 221.

SdKfz 221, Polish Campaign.

SdKfz 221 with 28mm sPzB41.

SdKfz 221.

SdKfz 221, 6th Panzer Division, Russia.

SdKfz 221, Eastern Front.

SdKfz 221 with sPzB 41, North Africa.

SdKfz 221.

SdKfz 221 with 2.8cm heavy anti-tank rifle.

Two leichte Panzerspähwagen (light armored scout cars) (SdKfz 222) during a reconnaissance operation during the Polish Campaign, September 1939. The SdKfz 222 had a 2 cm KwK L/55 as its main armament with a 7.9 mm MG 34 coaxial machine gun in the open turret.