14. The Nazis invented and constructed a piloted interceptor rocket designed to attack Allied bombers with a barrage of rockets
Over a decade before the United States developed the fully autonomous Nike Zeus anti-ballistic missile, the Nazis designed the first defensive interceptor rocket: the Bachem Ba 349. With German air superiority under assault by the Allies, the Third Reich encouraged several proposals to counteract aerial losses; whilst surface-to-air missiles, such as the “Wasserfall”, were considered and ultimately found to be unachievable, a piloted guided interceptor rocket was selected for active development.
Designed by Erich Bachem, the “Bachem Ba 349 (known colloquially as the “Natter” or “grass snake”) would be guided by autopilot to the proximity of an enemy bomber in a manner similar to a V-2, whereupon control would be granted to a pilot situated in the nose of the missile. The pilot would then aim and fire the payload, proposed to comprise a barrage of 28 55mm caliber R4M rockets, at the target; the pilot would then glide to an altitude of approximately 3,000 feet, before ejecting and landing safely via parachute. Allowing for a verticle-takeoff, eliminating the need for an airfield and removing the requirement to land, thus similarly expanding the operational range and preventing easy Allied targeting on the ground, the weapon was widely regarded as a possible game-changer to obstruct the devastating Allied bombing campaign.
Despite the immense potential of the rocket, the first and only test took place on March 1, 1945; due to an unknown malfunction, the rocket reached an altitude of approximately 5,000 feet before nose-diving into the ground and killing the accompanying pilot, Lothar Sieber. Although plans were made to launch the contingent rockets on Hitler’s birthday, April 20, further testing had not yet verified the competency of the weapon and the war ended without any of the 36 completed Natters ever being deployed in combat.