The Bachem Ba 349 Natter was a secretive, vertical take-off, single-seat
rocket interceptor intended to offer high-speed defense of key targets.
This radical aircraft offered Luftwaffe an inexpensive means with which
to intercept and attack Allied heavy bombers using a
vertically-launched, semi-expendable machine built of wood and armed
with a nose-mounted "honeycomb" battery of spin-stabilized air-to-air
rockets, as well as cannon armament. Launched vertically at 36,000 feet
per minute, the pilot was expected to fly within range of the enemy
bombers, fire his rockets at them, ram another bomber, eject, and
parachute to the ground.
Illustrated with contemporary photographs and stunning commissioned
artwork, this study examines this inventive yet ultimately unsuccessful
attempt by the Luftwaffe to defend against the tide of Allied aircraft
that was bombing German cities into the ground.