Editing Enzian

{{Short description|World War II German surface-to-air missile}}
{{for|the distilled beverage|Gentian liqueur}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2013}}
{{use dmy dates |date=June 2020}}
[[File:Enzian Rakete.JPG|thumb|300px|Messerschmitt "Enzian" E-4]]

The '''Enzian''' was a German [[World War II|WWII]] [[Surface-to-air missile|surface-to-air]] [[anti-aircraft]] missile that was the first to use a [[radio control]]led guidance system.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wehrmacht-history.com/luftwaffe/missiles/enzian-surface-to-air-missile.htm |title=Enzian Surface-to-Air Missile |website=www.wehrmacht-history.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209084827/http://www.wehrmacht-history.com/luftwaffe/missiles/enzian-surface-to-air-missile.htm |archive-date=2011-02-09}} </ref> During the missile's development in the late stages of the war it was plagued by organisational problems and was cancelled before becoming operational.

It was named for a [[genus]] of mountain flower, in English the [[Gentian]].

== Development ==
[[File:Enzian anti-aircraft missile at the Treloar Technology Centre in September 2012.JPG|thumb|300px|The Australian War Memorial's Enzian missile in 2012]]
[[File:RAF Museum Cosford - DSC08609.JPG|thumb|300px|Messerschmitt "Enzian" missile (at the background in yellow and red) displayed at RAF museum Cosford]]

As early as 1943 it was becoming clear that [[Messerschmitt]]'s [[Messerschmitt Me 163|Me 163]] [[interceptor aircraft|interceptor]] would be difficult to use in combat. After flying to the {{convert|25,000|-|30,000|ft|m|abbr=on}} altitude of allied bombers, it had only a few minutes to find them and make an attack before running out of fuel. Even if the aircraft did accomplish this, it then had the additional problem of lacking a weapon that could be aimed effectively while closing on the target at some {{convert|400|mph|km/h kn|abbr=on}}.

Dr. Herman Wurster of Messerschmitt proposed an answer in the form of ''Flak Rakete 1'' (FR-1) in 1943. Instead of tracking down the planes, the rocket would fly just in front of the target and then [[detonation|detonate]] a {{convert|500|kg|lb|abbr=on}} warhead, in the hope of bringing down several bombers at once.<ref>Christopher, John.  ''The Race for Hitler's X-Planes'' (The Mill, Gloucestershire:  History Press, 2013), p.144.</ref> With no human pilot on board, and thus no need to limit takeoff acceleration, the rocket could use solid fuel boosters (four [[Schmidding 109-553]]s, for a total of {{convert|7,000|kg|lb|abbr=on}} of thrust, grouped around the exterior),<ref>Christopher, p.144.</ref> reducing the amount of fuel needed for the rest of the climb by the [[sustainer motor]], a [[Hellmuth Walter Kommanditgesellschaft|Walther]] [[Walter RI-10|RI-10B]].<ref>Christopher, p.144.</ref> The [[liquid fuel]]ed sustainer used a combination of [[Red fuming nitric acid|''SV-Stoff'']] and ''Br-Stoff'' (petrol), catalyzed by an amount of ''[[T-Stoff]]''.<ref>Christopher, pp.144-5.</ref>  The result, even with the heavy warhead, was that a much smaller airframe was needed to carry the required fuel{{Snd}}so small it could be portable and launched from a modified [[88 mm gun]] mounting.<ref>Christopher, p.144.</ref>

The design made as much use of wood as possible,<ref>Christopher, p.144.</ref> due to the need to conserve other "strategic" materials in the rapidly deteriorating war situation. For the same reasons a new type of [[Hellmuth Walter|Walter]] rocket was envisioned, a modification of the engine in the Me 163 that would burn coal-gas ([[benzine]]) instead of the [[hydrogen peroxide]] used in other Walter designs (although a small amount of peroxide was used to drive the fuel pumps). Thrust was also reduced in flight, from {{convert|2000|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}} to {{convert|1000|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}.<ref>Christopher, p.144.</ref>

The missile, which strongly resembled the [[Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet|Me 163]] (with swept wings and [[elevon]]s)<ref>Christopher, p.144.</ref> would be guided primarily under [[radio control]] from the ground. The operator would fly the missile into the vicinity of the bombers, then cut the engine and let it glide. This presented a real problem in the ''Enzian''. Other German missiles were high-speed designs that could be flown directly at their target along the line of sight, which is fairly straightforward even for an operator on the ground. The Enzian would instead be approaching its target from somewhere in front, which is considerably harder for the operator. Many experiments with radio and wire-guided missiles had demonstrated real problems with last-minute ''terminal guidance'' corrections.

The initial plans for solving this problem were rather advanced. The large airframe left plenty of room in the nose, which the designers intended to fill with a self-contained radar unit called ''Elsass''.<ref>Christopher, p.145.</ref> In the short term it was planned to use some sort{{which|date=September 2014}} of [[proximity fuze]] while flying the missile through the bomber stream.{{citation needed|date=September 2014}} The warhead, of which several were studied, was to have a nominal lethal radius of {{convert|45|m|yd|abbr=on}}.

Several elaborations of the basic design were carried out, resulting in the FR-1 through FR-5. The FR-5 was considered to be a reasonable starting point, so development commenced on the newly named ''Enzian'' E.1 (and its engine) in September 1943. By May 1944, 60 airframes were complete, awaiting their engines. In order to gain flight test data they were fitted with [[RATO]] units instead.{{Clarify|What RATO units - Germans had liquid fuel types only(!)|date=April 2010}}<!--were these [[Walter HWK 109-500]]s? [[BMW 109-718]]s?-->

A series of 38 flight tests<ref>Christopher, p.145.</ref> commenced with generally favourable results, but the engine still lagged. Finally Dr. Konrad, the designer of the engine of the [[Rheintochter|Rheintochter missile]], was asked to modify his design for use in the ''Enzian''. On consideration, it appeared this was a much better (and cheaper) solution anyway, and after January 1945 there were no plans to use the Walter design. The resulting E-4 version with the Konrad engine was considered the production version.

Because of difficulties in perfecting the proximity fuze, an infrared homing system, ''Madrid'', was proposed, allowing ''Enzian'' to be flown right to the target.<ref>Christopher, p.145.</ref> However the system was never actually developed beyond a test-bench mockup.<ref>Christopher, p.145, says it was never operational.</ref>

On 17 January 1945, all development projects were cancelled by the ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' in order to concentrate all possible efforts on only two designs, the [[Messerschmitt Me 262]] and the [[Heinkel He 162]]. Although this was the official story, many in the [[Nazism|Nazi]] and ''Luftwaffe'' hierarchy had their own pet projects continue. ''Enzian'' was judged further from completion than [[Henschel|Henschel's]] [[Henschel Hs 117|''Schmetterling'' missile]], so it was cancelled. Messerschmitt engineers continued some low-level work on the project, hoping it would be re-funded, but by March it was clear the cancellation order would not be rescinded (although it had been for other designs) and all development efforts ceased.

== Survivors ==
Only two ''Enzian'' missiles are known to have survived the war. One is on display at the [[Royal Air Force Museum Cosford]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rafmuseum-1.titaninternet.co.uk/cosford/collections/missiles/missile_info.cfm?missile_id=4 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130505084358/http://rafmuseum-1.titaninternet.co.uk/cosford/collections/missiles/missile_info.cfm?missile_id=4 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-05-05 |title=Holzbrau-Kissing Enzian (Gentian Violet) - Surface to Air Missile |publisher=Royal Air Force Museum }}</ref> and the other is in storage at the [[Australian War Memorial|Australian War Memorial's]] [[Treloar Resource Centre]] after being displayed for many years at the [[RAAF Museum|Royal Australian Air Force Museum]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cas.awm.gov.au/item/REL33903/|title=REL33903 - Enzian anti-aircraft missile|publisher=Australian War Memorial|access-date=2012-09-13|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121126223612/http://cas.awm.gov.au/item/REL33903/|archive-date=2012-11-26|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Cultural references==
"Enzian" is the name of the foil character in [[Thomas Pynchon|Thomas Pynchon's]] ''[[Gravity's Rainbow]]'', contrasted against the main character Slothrop's association with the [[V-2]].

==See also==
* [[List of World War II guided missiles of Germany]]
* [[AIM-9 Sidewinder]]
* [[List of missiles]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/enzian.html Enzian E-4]

[[Category:Messerschmitt aircraft]]
[[Category:Surface-to-air missiles of Germany]]
[[Category:World War II guided missiles of Germany]]