Mistel (Mistletoe) was a generic term
adopted for an attack weapon system compris- ing two aircraft. An unmanned bomber, filled with explosives, was guided toward a target by a manned fighter attached via struts to its top. The fighter pilot released the bomber and either left it to dive down or steered it by radio- control onto the target, and then withdrew to
safety—at least that was the theory. The con- cept was initiated in 1941 by Siegfried Holz- bauer, test pilot of the Junkers Company. This scheme was ignored until July 1943 when a conversion was made, joining a pilotless Junk- ers Ju 88 bomber and a manned Messerschmitt 109 fighter. Several prototypes followed, and tests made against a discarded battleship and concrete fortifications were encouraging. It should be noted that the concept had already been developed as early as 1938 by a certain Major R. Mayo, when Imperial Airways flew small floatplane Mercury Short S 20 on top of a larger flying boat, the Maia Short S 21. At
that time this commercial civilian endeavor was more curiosity than practical idea.
The German Mistel military conversions required substantial systems and structural changes to both bomber and fighter. For exam- ple, the lower aircraft was stripped of interior fittings, which were replaced with fuel and explosive; the upper aircraft had duplicate con- trols for the lower bomber, and modifications were carried out to save weight; notably the fighter’s wing-guns were removed. The upper aircraft was attached by several struts placed on the top of the bomber’s fuselage. Control cables were strapped to them and plugged into
Mistel 1 Messerschmitt Bf 109 with rebuilt Junkers Ju 88
the underside of the fighter. The rear strut buckled first when releasing the Mistel, giving the fighter a “nose-up” attitude; the electrically detonated explosive ball joints then deto- nated, releasing the fighter. Conversions were developed and carried out by the Junkers, DFS, Patin and Askania companies. There were a number of possible Mistel combina- tions. The training schemes Mistel S1, code- named “Beethoven,” was composed of a Junk- ers Ju 88 A-4 with a Messerschmitt Bf 109F; Mistel S2, a Ju 88G-1 bomber with a Focke- Wulf Fw190A-8; and Mistel S3A with a Ju 88A-6 and a Fw 190A-6. The first operational version was Mistel 1, composed of a Messer- schmitt Bf 109F guiding a totally rebuilt Ju 88A-4 whose glazed cockpit was removed and replaced with a large 3,800-kg high-explosive (or hollow charge) warhead with a distinctive solid bulkhead fitted with a long extended- contact fuse; the impact fuse was intended to detonate the charge. The penetrative force was exceptionally high, with the capacity to inflict considerable damage to a large installation, destroy a bridge, or even sink a capital ship with one hit.
Other combinations were built. Mistel 2 included a fighter Focke-Wulf Fw 190-A-6 guiding a rebuilt Junkers Ju 88G-1 with a front warhead. Mistel 3C was composed of a fighter Focke-Wulf Fw 190-A-8 on top of a rebuilt Junkers Ju 88H-4 with nose warhead and
enlarged fuselage. Other combination included a Klemm 34 carried by a DFS 230 glider and a Focke-Wulf Fw 56 with a DFS 230 glider.
There were also similar projects using jet airplanes. A combination of two Messer- schmitt Me 262 jet fighters was planned; the unmanned component was full of explosives, with cockpit canopy being faired over. Mistel 5 included a Heinkel He 162 Salamander jet fighter combined either with an unmanned Heinkel He 177 Greif filled with explosives, or an Arado Ar E 377 flying bomb. The Arado Ar E 377 was an unmanned glide-winged bomb with a circular fuselage made of wood. It had a length of 10.9 m (35 ft 9 in), and a span of 14.4 m (47 ft 3 in). The bomb carried 2,000 kg (4,408 lbs) of high explosive in the nose and 500 kg (1,202 lbs) of incendiary liq- uid. The Ar E 377 was carried under the fuse- lage and launched from an Arado Ar 234C or from a Heinkel He 162, and could be guided onto the target by remote control. Take-off of carrier and bomb was done with a large rocket- propelled five-wheel jettisonable trolley. It was planned to motorize the glide bomb (in that case designated Ar E 377A) with two BMW 003 jet engines to be launched from a Heinkel He 162. A piloted version for suicide attack was also envisioned but never built.
Over 250 Mistel combinations were planned, a few of them built. Of these only a few saw combat service and were used to attack tacti-
cal targets such as a bridges and ships. Initial attacks in May 1944 were unsuccessfully con- ducted at night against Allied shipping. Mis- tel 1—flown by 2/KG 101 headed by Haupt- mann Horst Rudat—made a sortie during the invasion of Normandy in June 1944 but, as far as it is known, failed to sink any Allied battle- ship. Plans were made for a mass raid on the Royal Navy fleet base of Scapa Flow in December 1944. Some sixty Mistel combina- tions were to fly from Denmark to make a night attack. The mission was canceled, offi- cially due to bad weather. In the spring of 1945 several attacks were launched against river crossings and bridgeheads. As with most of the Nazis’ last-ditch schemes, the Mistel com- bination made no significant impact on the outcome of the war.