054: Mistel towing trials with Dfs 230 using Fw 56
HM0054

Most of the narrative surrounding the Mistel concept centers around its use later in WWII to deliver warhead-armed lower component as a guided missile against ships and other heavily fortified targets. The concept was initially developed for a different reason: an alternative to towing troop gliders using long tow lines and slow-flying tow aircraft. Coupling two aircraft in a piggy-back configuration was not new and Hugo Junkers filed a patent application for use of such an arrangement in 1927. A group of designers at DFS, led by Fritz Stammer, undertook to prove the feasibility of the concept in the Fall of 1942. The initial testing was designed to evaluate the flight characteristic of the piggy-back combination and to test separation during flight, so the ability to take off under its own power was not important. For this, a Dfs 230 glider and Klemm Kl 35 was used. Several successful tests were completed with this configuration (it was towed into the air using a Ju 52). As the Klemm Kl 35 lacked enough power to maintain combination’s horizontal flight, Fw 56 was substituted as the upper component, again towed into the air by Ju 52. Additional tests using He 111 as a tow aircraft were performed, with mixed results. Finally, Bf 109E was used as the upper component, allowing the combination to take off under its own power. These tests paved the way for later development of the Mistel into an offensive weapon under the project code-named “Beethoven”.