Blohm & Voss BV 950

BV 950
BV 950
Type	Glide torpedo
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Production history
Designer	Richard Vogt
Designed	from 1942
Manufacturer	Blohm & Voss
No. built	several hundred
Variants	L 10 Friedensengel; L 11 Schneewittchen;
Specifications
Mass	220 kg (490 lb)
Length	3.9 m (150 in)
Wingspan	2.5 m (98 in)
Launch; platform	L10:Heinkel He 111, Junkers Ju 88; L11:Arado Ar 234;

The Blohm & Voss BV 950 was an anti-shipping air-launched glide torpedo developed in two variants, the L 10 Friedensengel and L 11 Schneewittchen.

Although several hundreds were manufactured during development and trials conducted, neither type entered service.

Design[]

The device comprised a small upper body with wings and tail, clamped on top of an air-launched torpedo.^[1]

In operation, it was dropped by an attacking aircraft from a safe altitude and distance, gliding down towards the target vessel and, as it approached the target, a timed fuse opened a small parachute which was attached to the glider body. It continued down and impacted the water a short distance from the target. When the torpedo met the surface of the water, the glider body automatically detached and was pulled back out of the way by the parachute, while the torpedo motor started and drove it to impact its target.

The L 10 was designed for a propeller powered aircraft cruising at around 310 km/h (190 mph; 170 kn). The L 11 was developed for launch aircraft speeds up to 500 km/h (310 mph; 270 kn)

L 10 Friedensengel[]

Development of the L10 Friedensengel (Angel of Peace) began in 1942.^[2]

The main launch aircraft for the L 10 were the Heinkel He 111 and the Junkers Ju 88.

The L 10 was put into production and many hundreds built, but was eventually cancelled before it could be used operationally.^[1]

L 11 Schneewittchen[]

The L 11 Schneewittchen (Snow White) was designed to be launched from the Arado Ar 234.^[1] This required a much higher airspeed than the L 10, so an additional braking parachute was deployed immediately after launch, to slow it down to its target approach speed.^[3]

It had the same wing span as the L 10 but was shorter, at 3.43 metres (11.3 ft).

The L 11 was also put into production but cancelled in December 1944. It was never used operationally.^[1]

References[]

Notes[]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Pohlmann, Hermann (1982). Chronik eines Flugzeugwerkes, 1932-1945 : Blohm u. Voss Hamburg, Hamburger Flugzeugbau GmbH (in German) (2. Aufl. ed.). Stuttgart: Motorbuch-Verlag. pp. 195–198. ISBN 978-3879436248.
^ "Blohm & Voss L10 Friedensengel". wehrmacht-history.com. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
^ "Blohm & Voss L11 Schneewittchen". wehrmacht-history.com. Retrieved 10 September 2017.

[pohlmann-1] Pohlmann, Hermann (1982). Chronik eines Flugzeugwerkes, 1932-1945 : Blohm u. Voss Hamburg, Hamburger Flugzeugbau GmbH (in German) (2. Aufl. ed.). Stuttgart: Motorbuch-Verlag. pp. 195–198. ISBN 978-3879436248.

[wehrmacht-history-2] "Blohm & Voss L10 Friedensengel". wehrmacht-history.com. Retrieved 10 September 2017.

[wehrmacht-history1-3] "Blohm & Voss L11 Schneewittchen". wehrmacht-history.com. Retrieved 10 September 2017.

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v t German aerial weapons of the Second World War
Machineguns	MG 15 MG 17 MG 81 & 81Z MG 131
Autocannons	MG FF MG 151 MK 101 MK 103 MK 108 MK 214A Schräge Musik
Anti-tank autocannons	BK 3.7 BK 5 BK 7.5
Unguided rockets	Panzerblitz R4M rocket Werfer-Granate 21
Guided bombs and missiles	Fritz X Hs 117H Hs 293 V-1 flying bomb
Anti-personnel bombs	SD 1 SD 1 FRZ SD 2 SD 10 A SD 10 FRZ SD 10 C SD 15 SBe 50 SD 50 SD 70 SBe 250 SD 250 SD 1700
Armor-piercing bombs	PC 500 PC 1000 PC 1400 PC 1600 PC 500 Rs PC 1000 Rs PC 1800 Rs PD 500 SC 10 SC 10 DW SD 4 HL
Cluster bombs	AB 23 AB 250-2 AB 250-3 AB 500-1 AB 500-1B AB 500-3A AB 70-D1 BDC 10
High-explosive bombs	SB 1000 SB 2500 SC 50 SC 250 SC 500 SC 1000 SC 1200 SC 1800 SC 2000 SC 2500
Experimental weapons	Blohm & Voss BV 143 Blohm & Voss BV 246 Blohm & Voss BV 950 Henschel Hs 294 Henschel Hs 298 Jagdfaust MG 213 MK 112 MK 214A MK 115 Ruhrstahl X-4 [de]