DONE +++ 1:72 Bachem Ba 349 A-1 "Natter", 1./JG.400, mid-1945

[Dizzyfugu]

The kit and its assembly:
This small and simple what-if model was inspired by two things: first of all, there was no operational Ba 349 in real life – there were glide tests and a single launch which ended in a catastrophe. So, what could a late-war service aircraft have looked like? The other factor was the idea to build a mobile launch platform for the tiny rocket fighter – in real life the tests were conducted with stationary rigs in Southern Germany, but a self-propelled device would certainly have improved the Natter's operational value and the survivability of its complex infrastructure. The latter, however, is worth its own post and description, which will follow, together with scenic pics here, so this here is only about the Natter's model.

The kit is the Brengun model of the Natter, and it's quite nice for a short-run IP kit. The cockpit has decent detail, just the fin is IMHO a bit chunky, and it requires some PSR to make the fuselage parts blend together well. I just wonder if there had not been a less complicated and user-friendly mold solution for the rocket booster bottles, which consist of four parts each – two halves for the twin bottles, but also twin halves for the tiny nozzles! What a mess! :-/


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; ,,Weisse 4 (White Four)", s/n 1290097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; ,,Weisse 4 (White Four)", s/n 1290097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; ,,Weisse 4 (White Four)", s/n 1290097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The only thing I changed was the canopy, which was cut into two pieces to present the Ba 349 with an open cockpit on its wooden rack – unlike the Heller kit, which comes with a lower and more delicate rack, the Brengun offering lacks wheels so that it rather looks like a museum display and not a field tool of the Luftwaffe. I must have a Scheuch-Schlepper from an Academy Me 163 kit somewhere, maybe I can adapt that for the Natter?


Painting and markings:
The whiffier aspect of the model: an in-service camouflage for the Ba 349. I took inspiration from late Me 163s and gave the tiny aircraft a camouflage consisting of RLM 76 Lichtblau underneath (Modelmaster 2086) and on the flanks, with RLM 81 and 82 (Braunviolett, Humbrol 251, which is a very brownish interpretation of that tone, and Dunkelgrün, respectively, Modelmaster 2091) on the wings and the spine and sharply edged blotches on the flanks. For better visibility from underneath, as a support for Flak units, the wings and the lower fuselage behind the cockpit were painted black.
After basic painting the model received a light black ink washing and some panel-shading.
As a late-war aircraft the cockpit interior became (very) dark grey while the rocket booster bottles were painted in universal RLM 02.


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; ,,Weisse 4 (White Four)", s/n 1290097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; ,,Weisse 4 (White Four)", s/n 1290097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

As a service aircraft the Natter would IMHO carry standard Luftwaffe national and unit insignia (any model shows the Natter devoid of anything, except the test machines which had some photo calibration and orientation markings), and I adapted late-war markings with simplified white crosses in six positions, a serial number on the lower fin, a unit badge (suitably from a JG 400 Me 163) and white tactical code and squadron marking as a thin ring around the nose. Stencils were generously taken from the Brengun OOB sheet. All quite simple and straightforward, but it works and adds a purposeful look to the wee aircraft.

More to come soon here, and in the related post concerning the launch platform, which will be more "spectacular". ;-)

[NARSES2]

Looking good Dizzy 

Brengun are an interesting producer. Started off with accessories, etch & resin etc, but have move to limited run kits as well. Not had any experience with them myself, so it's good to see your positive comments 

[mat]

My guess would be unpainted wood, as the Ba 349s belonging to SS-Sonderkommando 600 "N" found by the US Army at Waldsee in the spring of 45. The Natter would only be used for one sortie, and only the tailpart with the engine, would land with a parachute for reuse. 
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[PR19_Kit]

Looking at the size of the Natter alongside a Revell paint container, it's SO small it can have only taken you minutes to build it Thomas!   

I'm looking forward to seeing your interpretation of the launcher as the real thing was immensely tall!

Hmmmm, it turns out that Brengun already do a PE launch tower kit for the Natter. It costs £81!!!  

[Dizzyfugu]

Yup, I rather take a more compact and mobile approach. 

[PR19_Kit]

....and more economical I bet! 

[Wardukw]

I love that PE launch tower ..I do not love the price however 
Interested in this I is Thomas mate 

[Dizzyfugu]

Now there's also some information about the Natter's mobile launch platform and its WiP: https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=53479.0 

[NARSES2]

I love that PE launch tower ..I do not love the price however 

It almost classifies as a work of art 

[Wardukw]

I love that PE launch tower ..I do not love the price however 

It almost classifies as a work of art 

So so very true 👍 😀😀

[Beermonster58]

Well, I like the launch tower but, NOT (a) the price and, (b) especially not that it's p/e.

I hate p/e parts with a passion. What a pity that the tower was not produced in I M styrene with a Ba-349 attached 😉😊. I could live with it being a bit over scale!

[sandiego89]

Online sources seem to differ on the status of the Natter units.  Some imply they were "operational" for maybe a week or two and ready for use, but were never launched.  Some sources say only the one (fatal) launch, others say perhaps another 2-3 manned launches occurred, but records were sparse/destroyed as the units were on the move.  Surely one of the shortest operational/quasi operational type programs. Temped to buy some of the full histories. 

Great build of an intriguing program. 

[Dizzyfugu]

After some delays (water main break AND heating malfunctions last weekend and on 24th of December, even unrelated!) I was able to conclude a photo session for the model combo. 

[Dizzyfugu]

Pics have been selected from the shooting and editing has started, too. 

[Dizzyfugu]

Here we go, part 1 of the model combo's background, for the Natter:

Some background:
The Bachem Ba 349 Natter (English: Colubrid, grass-snake) was a World War II German point-defence rocket-powered interceptor, which was to be used in a very similar way to a manned surface-to-air missile. In 1943, Luftwaffe air superiority was being challenged by the Allies over the Reich and radical innovations were required to overcome the crisis. Surface-to-air missiles appeared to be a promising approach to counter the Allied strategic bombing offensive; a variety of projects were started, but invariably problems with the guidance and homing systems prevented any of these from attaining operational status. Providing the missile with a pilot, who could operate a weapon during the brief terminal approach phase, offered a solution.
Submissions for a simple target defense interceptor were requested by the Luftwaffe in early 1944 under the umbrella of the Jägernotprogramm, literally "Emergency Fighter Program". The Natter was one of several design proposals, first conceived by Dr Erich Bachem in August 1944, after witnessing an American bombing raid on a major German city. He believed there ought to be a way to break up these large formations of bombers. His BP-20 ("Natter") was a development from a design he had worked on at Fieseler, the Fi 166 concept, but considerably more radical than the other submissions.


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; 'Weisse 4 (White Four)', s/n 120097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; 'Weisse 4 (White Four)', s/n 120097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; 'Weisse 4 (White Four)', s/n 120097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The Natter was designed to be built by unskilled labor with poor-quality tools and inexpensive material. Various stringent economies were imposed on an already frugal design. The Natter had no landing gear, which saved weight, expense, and construction time. It was built using glued and nailed wooden parts with an armor-plated bulkhead and bulletproof glass windshield at the front of the cockpit. The initial plan was to power the machine with a Walter HWK 109-509A-2 rocket engine; however, only the 109-509A-1, as used in the Me 163, was available. It had a sea level thrust variable between 100 kg (220 lb) at "idle" to 1,600 kg (3,500 lb) at full power, with the Natter's intended quartet of rear flank-mount Schmidding SG34 solid fuel rocket boosters used in its vertical launch to provide an additional 4,800 kg (10,600 lb) thrust for 10 seconds before they burned out and were jettisoned. The experimental prototypes slid up a 20 m (66 ft)-tall vertical steel launch tower for a maximum sliding length of 17 m (56 ft) in three guideways, one for each wing tip and one for the lower tip of the ventral tail fin. By the time the aircraft left the tower it was hoped that it would have achieved sufficient speed to allow its aerodynamic surfaces to provide stable flight.

Under operational conditions, once the Natter had left the launcher, it would be guided to the proximity of the Allied bombers by an autopilot with the possibility of an added beam guidance similar to that used in some V2 rocket launches. Only then would the pilot take control, aim and fire the armament, which was originally proposed to be a salvo of nineteen 55mm R4M rockets. Later, 28 R4Ms or a number of the larger, 73mm Henschel Hs 297 Föhn rockets were suggested, with either variety of unguided rocket fired from the Natter's nose-mounted cellular launch tubes. Alternatively, a pair of 30 mm (1.181 in) MK 108 cannon with 30 rpg were proposed, but the lack of resources did not allow this to be realized or even tested.


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; 'Weisse 4 (White Four)', s/n 120097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; 'Weisse 4 (White Four)', s/n 120097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; 'Weisse 4 (White Four)', s/n 120097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; 'Weisse 4 (White Four)', s/n 120097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The Natter was intended to fly up and over the bombers, by which time its Walter engine would probably be out of propellant. Following its one-time attack with its rockets, the pilot would dive his Natter, now effectively a glider, to an altitude of around 3,000 m (9,800 ft), flatten out, release the nose of the aircraft and a small braking parachute from the rear fuselage. The fuselage would decelerate, and the pilot would be ejected forwards by his own momentum and land by means of a personal parachute.

In an early proposal in August 1944, the Natter design had a concrete nose; it was suggested that the machine might ram a bomber, but this proposal was subsequently withdrawn in later Project Natter outlines. Bachem stated clearly in the initial proposal that the Natter was not a suicide weapon, and much effort went into designing safety features for the pilot. The design had one decisive advantage over its competitors – it eliminated the necessity to control and land an unpowered gliding machine at an airbase, which, as the history of the Me 163 rocket aircraft had clearly demonstrated, made an aircraft extremely vulnerable to attack by Allied fighters and required a trained pilot – a resource the Luftwaffe was running out steadily.

Wind tunnel testing on a wooden model, scaled to 40% of full size, was performed at the Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt (DVL), the Institute for Aerodynamics at Berlin-Adlershof in September 1944 at speeds up to 504 km/h (313 mph). Results from these tests were reported in January 1945 to the Bachem-Werk. Further model tests were carried out at the Luftfahrtforschungsanstalt Hermann Göring (LFA) facility in Völkenrode-Braunschweig, at speeds close to Mach 1. In March the Bachem-Werk simply received a statement that satisfactory flying qualities should be expected with speeds up to 1,100 km/h (680 mph).


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; 'Weisse 4 (White Four)', s/n 120097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; 'Weisse 4 (White Four)', s/n 120097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; 'Weisse 4 (White Four)', s/n 120097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; 'Weisse 4 (White Four)', s/n 120097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


After a rather fast and troublesome development phase the Natter was rushed into production. The SS ordered 150 Natters, and the Luftwaffe ordered 50, and the first serial production aircraft, now designated Ba 349 A-1, reached operational status in April 1945 with the Erprobungskommando (EK) 349. An operational launch site under the code name Operation Krokus was being established in a small, wooded area called Hasenholz, south of the Stuttgart to Munich autobahn and to the east of Nabern unter Teck. Around the end of February and the beginning of March the Organisation Todt had been in action, constructing each set of the trios of concrete foundations (or "footings") for the stationary launch towers. These three launch pads and their towers were arranged at the corners of an equilateral triangle, 120 m per side. At the same time mobile launch rigs were developed, the so-called "Meillerwagen II", which was based on repurposed Königstiger battle tank hulls that had their engine moved into a mid-chassis position behind the driver's compartment and carried an erectable ramp on the rear section with a vacuum-powered launch sled. This device could, beyond the Natter, also be used to start the unmanned Fieseler Fi 103 "V1" cruise missile and the Messerschmitt E-4 "Enzian" anti-aircraft missile.


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; 'Weisse 4 (White Four)', s/n 120097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; 'Weisse 4 (White Four)', s/n 120097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


As EK 349 commenced small-scale combat operations with the Ba 349 A-1 in April 1945, the aircraft's velocity and small size were something Allied fighter pilots were at a loss to counter. The Natter attacked singly or in pairs, often even faster than the intercepting escort fighters could dive. A typical tactic was to fly vertically upward through the bombers at 9,000 m (30,000 ft), climb to 10,700–12,000 m (35,100–39,400 ft), then dive through the formation again, firing as they went. Most of the flight to the Allied bombers was to be controlled by an autopilot. The primary role of the relatively untrained pilot was to aim the aircraft at its target bomber and fire its armament, a single salvo of unguided Henschel Hs 297 Föhn 73mm rocket shells. The pilot and the fuselage containing the rocket engine would then land using separate parachutes, while the nose section was disposable.


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; 'Weisse 4 (White Four)', s/n 120097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; 'Weisse 4 (White Four)', s/n 120097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; 'Weisse 4 (White Four)', s/n 120097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


By August 1945, 91 aircraft had been delivered to EK 349 and the first operational unit, the JG 400, into which the test unit was soon integrated. But a persistent lack of fuel, staff and maintenance resources kept most of them grounded. It was clear that the original plan for a huge network of Ba 349 bases that protected important locations would never be realized. Up to that point, only six aircraft had been lost due to enemy action, though, but nineteen Ba 349 A-1s had been lost to other causes, mostly due to explosions of the highly volatile fuel in the start phase, but also because of material failures on the rocket engine and the wooden airframe. Plans to field an upgraded version of the Natter, with more armament options and a rocket engine with two chambers that would allow a longer operational time in the air, so that two or even three attack runs could be made before the small aircraft would have to land again, never materialized.


General characteristics:
    Crew: 1
    Length: 6 m (19 ft 8 in)
    Wingspan: 4 m (13 ft 1 in)
    Height: 2.25 m (7 ft 5 in) (without fins)
    Wing area: 4.7 m² (51 sq ft)
    Empty weight: 880 kg (1,940 lb), with fuel expended
    Gross weight with boosters: 2,232 kg (4,921 lb)
    Gross weight boosters jettisoned: 1,769 kg (3,900 lb)
    Fuel capacity: 650 kg

Powerplant:
    1× Walter HWK 109-509A-1 bi-fuel rocket engine, 15.7 kN maximum thrust
    4× Schmidding SG 34 solid fuel booster rockets, 4.9 kN (1,100 lbf) thrust each

Performance:
    Maximum speed: 1,000 km/h (620 mph, 540 kn) at 5,000 m (16,404 ft)
    Cruise speed: 800 km/h (500 mph, 430 kn)
    Range: 60 km (37 mi, 32 nmi) after climb at 3,000 m (9,843 ft)
                  55 km (34 mi)after climb at 6,000 m (19,685 ft)
                  42 km (26 mi)after climb at 9,000 m (29,528 ft)
                  40 km (25 mi)after climb at 10,000 m (32,808 ft)
    Endurance: 4.36 minutes at 6,000 m (19,685 ft)
                        3.15 minutes at 9,000 m (29,528 ft)
    Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,000 ft)
    Rate of climb: 190 m/s (37,000 ft/min)
    Time to altitude: 62 seconds to 12 km (7.5 mi)

Armament:
    24× 73 mm (2.874 in) Henschel Hs 297 Föhn 73mm rocket shells, or
    33× 55 mm (2.165 in) R4M rocket shells
    (Alternatively/proposed) 2× 30 mm (1.181 in) MK 108 cannon with 30 rpg


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; 'Weisse 4 (White Four)', s/n 120097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; 'Weisse 4 (White Four)', s/n 120097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; 'Weisse 4 (White Four)', s/n 120097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Bachem Ba 349 'Natter'; 'Weisse 4 (White Four)', s/n 120097, of the Deutsche Luftwaffe's JG 1./400; Nabern unter Teck (Southern Germany), August 1945 (Luft '46/What-if/Brengun kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


A quick build, but only part of a much bigger project, the respective mobile launch platform (based on a Jagdtiger and a Japanese aircraft steam catapult kit!). The late-war Luftwaffe colors and markings suit the Natter well, adding a very convincing touch to this desperate attempt to fight off incoming Allied bombers.