Enzian anti-aircraft missile

Ground to air radio-controlled anti-aircraft missile. The missile fuselage is of circular section, with a diameter of 900mm, and is primarily constructed of wood. The airframe is in three basic sections.

The first component is the warhead. It is an ogival cone, fabricated from spruce timber, 1050 mm length x 865mm diameter. It detaches from the main fuselage just forward of the wing root. It is fabricated from laminated spruce timber, coopered together in much the manner of a barrel. This form of construction, known as 'Schnittholz', was introduced by Herr Waldemar Bayer of Holzbau Kissing, and had the advantage that it could be manufactured at small woodworking factories, and utilise timber in plentiful supply, rather than metals, which were in short supply. The weapon carried a blast charge of 300kg of explosive.

Behind the warhead is the circular section, monocoque, fuselage section. Length 1443 mm, diameter 870 mm, fabricated from Spruce. Two wings of laminated spruce timber are attached. The wings are swept back at a 30 degree angle and are attached with a central laminated spar. The wings also mount the weapon's only control surfaces. The fuselage section also contains fuel tanks, compressed air tanks and the steering control motors. Four auxiliary solid fuel starting rockets are mounted in two pairs outside the fuselage. These are painted gloss navy blue. The rockets were attached to the main fuselage with explosive bolts. Runners on the lower two booster bodies fit into grooves on the launching platform. The nozzle of each booster is displaced by 30 degrees so that all four lines of exhaust pass through the centre of gravity of the entire unit.

The third component is the removable tail assembly, which contains the combustion chamber and also mounts the upper and lower fins. The power unit has four main elements: compressed air tanks, a reducing valve assembly, fuel tanks and a combustion chamber. The motor is a modified variant of the Ri 203 developed by Helmuth Walter. It combines hydrogen peroxide (T-Stoff) and a liquid catalyst (Z-Stoff) in a combustion chamber, where it is joined by petrol and a small quantity of hydrazine hydrate and water (B-Stoff), which ignites in the hot exhaust, producing a thrust of 3300 lbs for 30 seconds. The fuels are driven to the combustion chamber by compressed air, which is contained in tanks within the Enzian fuselage.

Guidance was via a radio link and joystick control. It was intended that the misile be provided with a proximity fuze which was expected to actuate within 170 yards of the target. Development of the fuse was delayed, and instead, an infra-red fuse was to be used.

The fuselage and wings are painted gloss light grey, with a red nose. The solid fuel boosters are painted gloss royal blue. These finishes were applied over the original scheme at an unknown date in Australia.

The Enzian was an anti-aircraft missile developed during the closing stages of the Second World War. It was intended for use particularly against heavy bomber formations. The basic concept was developed by the Messerschmitt company with the fuselage shape and wing plan form based on the design of the Me 163 rocket fighter. The designer was Dr Hermann Wurster who was chief test pilot at Messerschmitt. The destruction of the Messerschmidt plant at Augsburg led to the transfer of the project to Holzbau-Kissing AG in 1944, although production was later transferred to the Schlosswirthschaft Linderhof, a branch of Messerschmitt near Oberammergau. The design of the rocket commenced in 1943 and the first experimental launches took place in May 1944. About 60 Enzians were built, of which 38 were destroyed during testing. The missile did not enter operational use and development was suspended in March 1945. Many drawings show the missile fitted with a motor based on citric acid - visiol. The Memorial's motor is not of this type, but is a hydrogen peroxide motor.

This Enzian missile was captured by British Forces at the end of the Second World War. It was shipped to Australia aboard the ss Port Lincoln in September 1947, destined for the British Long Range Weapon Establishment (Australia) operating at Salisbury, South Australia.

The nose is constructed entirely of Schnittholz timber, suggesting it is a later production example. The guidance system and control fittings were missing from the rocket at the time of capture but the internal structure shows evidence of modification and the relocation of some equipment. No firm identity has been established for the missile. At the base of the upper fin is the marking ‘V23’ which is believed to be its experimental number. No other markings have been located on the missile.

This particular example is thought to be one of only two extant examples, the other example being held by the RAF Museum at Cosford.