Towards the end of 1943 consideration was given in Germany to possible use of piloted missiles for precision attacks on targets such as warships and other high profile targets like Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament

Design work was carried out by Deutsches Forschungsinstitut fur Segelfug (German Gliding Research Institute) and the modification of standard V1’s for testing purposes was carried out by the aircraft manufacturer Henschel, under the code name of Reichenberg. Initial test flights were carried out at Larz where the first two aircraft crashed killing the pilots. Test flying was thereafter carried out by Hanna Reitsch and Heinz Kensche.

Two factories were set up to manufacture piloted V1’s, one at Dannenberg and the other at Pulverhof both using slave labour. They produced approximately 175 piloted Fieseler Fi 103R-4’s before production ceased. 70 pilots were under training when the project ceased in October 1944 owing to a shortage of fuel for training & political differences within the German High Command. The operational Fi 103R-4’s were to have been operated by 5/KG200 and was to be known as the Leonidas staffel.

Flying Heritage Museum, Seattle, USA
Leger en Wapen Museum, Delft, Netherlands
Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Canada
La Coupole, St Omer, France
Schweizerisches Militärmuseum, Full, Switzerland

This restoration would not have been possible without the following sponsors:-

Individual Sponsors
Dr Peter Haydn-Smith, Guy Thomas, Chris Samson, Ann and Bob McNae, Robin and Alan Glover, Peter Shepherd, Norman Franks, Trevor aand Caroline Matthews, Dennis and Jean Wickenden, Michael Hukins, Ann and David Wild, Susan Harris

Corporate Sponsors
Headcorn Aerodrome, Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin, Norfolk Line Ferries, Thurston Helicopters, LAWM Trading Ltd, Ramada Hotels Ltd, Skybus Balloons, Luftwaffe Airfield Re-enactment Group, Collection in Memory of Andrew Cresswell

Focke Achgelis Fa 330A-1 Gyro Kite W/nr 100549

Early in 1942 Focke Achgelis at Laupheim were asked to design a simple single seat auto gyro kite which surfaced U boats could tow aloft to extend the observer's range of view. At this time the U boats were being forced away from the dense shipping areas around the coasts of Britain and the United States to hunt further out in the Atlantic, where there was greater safety, but where their low position in the water made searching for, and shadowing the spread out convoys a very difficult task

The principal U boat class to use the Fa 330 was the ocean going Type IX which had a surface displacement of 740 tons, a surface speed of 18 knots and a submerged speed of 7.5 knots. Little is known of actual operational use of the Fa 330. Two or three members of the U boats crew were trained to fly the Fa 330.

Having a 150 metre cable available it was possible to maintain an altitude of 120 metres thereby extending the possible range of vision to 40 km compared to 8 km from the U boat deck. In an emergency the pilot who had telephone contact with the U boat, pulled a lever over his head which jettisoned the rotor and released the towing cable. As the rotor flew away and up, it pulled out a parachute mounted behind the pylon. At this stage the pilot attached to the parachute unfastened his safety belt to allow the remainder of the Fa 330 to fall into the sea while he made a normal parachute descent.

In a normal descent the Fa 330 was winched into the deck of the U boat and upon landing, the rotor brake applied.

There is no doubt that the Fa 330 was unpopular in use, because in an emergency, the U boat had to either delay its dive in order to pick up the pilot or dive and hope to pick him up later.

Pickett Hamilton Fort

Although officially known as the Pickett Hamilton Fort, it was more commonly known as a “Pop Up Pillbox and designed to accommodate two or three men armed with rifles. Made of concrete, access was via a metal hatch on the top. The pillbox was 9ft (2.7m) in diameter with a thickness of 9 to 10in (22 to 25cm).

Buried in the ground, the fort consisted of two concrete cylinders : the outer attached to the base section and the inner, which formed the “pop up” element. The inner section was actuated by a compressed air driven jack. Because it was sometimes unreliable, the jack was backed up by an hydraulic ram worked manually by one of the occupants. The main idea behind the forts was to maximise the element of surprise. At the start of any enemy attack on the airfield, they would rise out of the ground, with an all-round field of fire.

Winston Churchill wrote to General Ismay on the 12^th July 1940 saying that the forts, “appear to afford an admirable means of anti-parachute defence and should surely be widely adopted. Let me have a plan”. Just over 300 were constructed but, of course, never used in anger.

Of the forts that survived, most were flooded but one at Manston was found to be dry and in superb condition in every respect and was thus worthy of saving.

An approach to 36 Engineer Regiment of the Royal Engineers, based in nearby Maidstone, was made enquiring if they would like to treat removal of the fort as an exercise. With a positive response work was under way on the 18^th May 2006 and quickly completed with the fort being subsequently moved to Lashenden. A superb complete restoration was undertaken by Museum members, David Wild and Barry Baker. An important decision was taken not to bury the fort but to site it above ground to enable visitors to gain a better knowledge of how it worked. An observation window was included to allow views of the internal workings of the fort. The top assembly can be raised and lowered by insertion of a £1 coin in a slot machine.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the only complete, restored and working Pickett Hamilton Fort in the country. In addition to David, Barry and 36 Engineer Regiment, special thanks also to our good friend Robin Brooks for his efforts in relation to the acquisition of this fort for preservation.