Henschel Hs 132

The Henschel Hs 132 was the last Henschel design to reach hardware form during the Second World War and in many ways mirrors the design of the Heinkel He 162 Salamander (but with glazed nose and angled tailplanes containing fins on the end). It was an attempt to create a diver bomber with a terminal speed so high that interception would be nigh impossible. This suggested a pull-out so severe that the pilot would black out from the resultant g-forces in a conventional cockpit, so Henschel adopted a design that had the pilot more-or-less lying stomach down to accept higher forces. The Hs 132 was planned with ease of manufacture and operation in mind and minimised use of strategic alloys by adopting wooden wings. The first of prototype was almost ready for flight at the end of the war when all three prototypes were captured by the Soviets.