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The Focke Achgelis Fa-330 Bachstelze ("Wagtail") was a type of rotary kite, essentially an unpowered Autogyro. They were towed behind German U-boats during World War II to allow a lookout to see further, giving the submarines a better chance of escape in a war that was becoming increasingly dangerous to them.
Because of their low profile in the water, the submarines could not see more than a few miles over the ocean. Extremely vulnerable on the surface, the U-Boats often could not escape from destroyers because of the limited warning they had. To solve this, the German admiralty considered a number of different options, including a folding seaplane. In the end, they chose the Fa-330, a simple, single seater Autogyro kite with a three-bladed rotor. It could be deployed to the deck of the submarine by two people and was tethered to the U-boat via a 150 metre cable. The airflow on the rotors as the boat would motor along on the surface would spin them up. The kite would then be deployed behind the U-boat with its observer/pilot aboard, raising him approximately 120 metres above the surface where he could see much further (typically 25 nautical miles, compared to 5 nautical miles visible from the conning tower of the U-boat).
The pilot and craft were considered expendable. In the case of an aircraft attack, the U-boat captain would be forced to abandon them on the surface; the tether would be released and the Fa-330 would descend slowly to the surface.
When not in use, the Fa-330 was stowed in two watertight compartments aft of the conning tower. Recovering, dismantling and stowing the Fa-330 took approximately 20 minutes and was a difficult operation.
As Allied air-cover in other theatres of the war was considered too much of a threat, only U-boats operating in the far southern parts of the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean used the Fa-330. Despite its advantages, the use of the Fa-330 only resulted in a single sinking when U-177 used one to spot, intercept and sink the Greek steamer Eithalia Mari on 6 August 1943.
The Allies first learned of the device when U-852 was scuttled following air attacks. The remains of the U-boat, including an intact Fa-330 came ashore and were taken and inspected by British forces. After the war, the British government did successful experiments towing Fa-330s behind ships and jeeps, but the development of the helicopter quickly drew the focus of the military.
U-boats that deployed Fa-330 kites included at least: U-177, U-181 and U-852
See also
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