Editing DFS 230 (section)

{{Short description|German WWII transport glider}}
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{{Infobox aircraft
 |name = DFS 230
 |image =Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-567-1519-18, Italien, Lastensegler DFS 230 auf Flugplatz.jpg
 |caption =[[Luftwaffe]] soldiers loading the DFS 230 in preparation for deployment.
 |type = Troop glider
 |manufacturer = [[Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug|DFS]]
 |designer = [[Hans Jacobs]]
 |first_flight = 1937
 |introduction = 1939
 |retired = 1945
 |status =
 |primary_user = [[Luftwaffe]]
 |more_users =
 |produced = 1939-1943
 |number_built =1,600+
 |unit cost =
 |variants =
}}

The '''DFS 230''' was a German [[Military gliders|transport glider]] operated by the [[Luftwaffe]] in [[World War II]]. It was developed in 1933 by the [[Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug]] (DFS - "German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight") with [[Hans Jacobs]] as the head designer. The glider was the German inspiration for the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[General Aircraft Hotspur|Hotspur]] glider and was intended for airborne assault operations.

In addition to the pilot, the DFS-230 glider had room for nine men who sat close together on a narrow bench located in the middle of the fuselage (six facing forward, and four backward<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/classics-dfs-230-assault-glider/ | title=The DFS 230 Assault Glider }}</ref>). Entry and exit to the cramped interior was by a single side door. The front passenger could operate its only armament, a machine gun. It was an assault glider, designed to land directly on top of its target, so it was equipped with a parachute brake. This allowed the glider to approach its target in a dive at an angle of eighty degrees and land within {{convert|60|ft|m|-1|order=flip}} of its target. It could carry up to {{cvt|1200|kg}} of cargo.

It played significant roles in the operations at [[Fort Eben-Emael]], the [[Battle of Crete]], and in [[Unternehmen Eiche|the rescue of Benito Mussolini]]. It was also used in North Africa. However, it was used chiefly in supplying encircled forces on the Eastern Front such as supplying the [[Demyansk Pocket]], the [[Kholm Pocket]], [[Battle of Stalingrad|Stalingrad]], and the defenders of ''[[Siege of Budapest|Festung Budapest]]'' (until February 12, 1945). Although production ceased in 1943, it was used right up to the end of the war, for instance, supplying Berlin and Breslau until May 1945.

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-567-1523-35A, Italien, Lastensegler DFS 230, Ju 87.jpg|thumb|Two DFS 230s flying over Italy, towed by a pair of [[Junkers Ju 87B]] tugs]]
By means of a cable running along the tow rope the pilots of the tow-plane and of the freight glider were able to communicate with each other which made blind flying possible, when necessary. The towing speed of the DFS-230 was approximately {{convert|116|mph|-1|order=flip|abbr=on}}. It dropped its landing gear as soon as it was safely in the air, and landed by means of a landing skid. The DFS-230 could be towed by a [[Junkers Ju 52|Ju 52]] (which could tow two with difficulty), a [[Heinkel He 111|He 111]], a [[Junkers Ju 87|Ju 87]], [[Henschel Hs 126|Hs 126]], a [[Messerschmitt Bf 110|Bf 110]], or a [[Messerschmitt Bf 109|Bf 109]]. The [[Junkers Ju 52|Ju 52]] towed the glider using a {{convert|131|ft|order=flip}} cable or, in bad weather, a much shorter rigid bar connected by an articulated joint to the tow aircraft. The DFS-230 had the highest glide ratio (8:1) of any World War 2 military glider other than the [[Antonov A-7]]. This was because it was thought that the glider had to be capable of a long approach during landing, so that it could be released a greater distance from the target so the sound of the towing aircraft did not alert the enemy.