A German Weapon System from World war II: Mistel and Vapi Composite Bomber
The Second World War brought forth new weapon systems, some of which were a success and some have just become part of history.In mid 1943, the Luftwaffe introduced a new composite bomber to strike at enemy shipping and special targets. The weapon system though good, however came late as at that time the Allied Air Forces had attained complete superiority over the Luftwaffe. The weapon system was thus not very effective and after the actual analysis of results, can be termed a failure.
The Luftwaffe engineers thought of an ingenious device that could be lethal as well as create an element of fear in the Allies camp. They decided on a combination bomber which was referred to as the Mistel and Vapi. In German it meant father and son. The German engineers used a stripped down JU-88 and stuffed its nose with high end explosives. This plane was attached to a German Messerschmitt twin engine fighter by struts. The plan envisaged flying this contraption towards a target and then releasing the JU-88, which was then guided to its target. The JU -88 was supposed to strike the target and the Germans expected good results. Unfortunately the Mistel and Vapi weapon system was not perfectly tested as after the Battle of Stalingrad, the German armed forces came under pressure. The weapon system was thus rushed into combat without proper testing and their was no way the system could be fine tuned.
One drawback was the use of the Messerschmitt 109, which was a slow plane and was a sitting duck for the enemy fighters. In case the Germans could have developed the Me 262 the worlds first jet fighter earlier, teh results could have been better. The Me 262 however came only at the fag end of the war, when teh war was all bust lost.
The Mistel and Vapi was however a revolutionary concept and deserves mention as a significant weapon of war. many writers of military history compare it with the Kamikaze fighters of the Japanese. There is however a significant difference as the Kamikaze were suicide planes which the pilots crashed on the US Navy ships, while there was no element of suicide in the Mistel and Vapi.
The Mistels had some success against the advancing Russian armies in 1944 and 45. But their numbers were few and they could not stem the Russian advance. They wee also planned to be used against the Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow, but the sinking of the Tirpitz, the german battleship aborted this plan.
Despite its failure as a weapon system, the Mistel and Vapi is the forerunner of the modern drone and as such its importance as a weapon system cannot be underrated.
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