Me 328

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The Messerschmitt Me 328 was a prototype pulsejet-powered fighter aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt AG. The Me 328 arose out of design studies for the P.1079 in 1941, having been envisioned as a parasite aircraft that would protect Luftwaffe bomber formations from Allied fighter aircraft. Being largely composed of wood, the Me 328 was forecast to be several times cheaper than the cost of traditional German fighter aircraft, such as the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 or Bf 109. It was proposed to use various forms of propulsion, including a single Jumo 004 turbojet engine, either two or four Argus As 014 pulsejets (as used on the V-1 flying bomb), and even as an unpowered glider. The Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (DFS - "German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight") was also involved in its development. Making its maiden flight in August 1942, the compact fighter was powered by a pair of As 014 pulsejets. However, these engines were fairly unsuitable, producing excessive resonance, asymmetry, and noise; accordingly, the manned flight programme was suspended after only a few test flights. During its protracted development, a wide variety of other roles were explored for the Me 328; at Adolf Hitler's direction, resources were invested into its potential use as a bomber. As the conflict turned increasingly in favour of the Allies, the Me 328 project was resurrected for consideration as a Selbstopfer (suicide weapon) aircraft, but was deemed to be unsuitable even for this purpose. None were ever used in an operational capacity.