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The Focke Achgelis Fa 330 Bachstelze ("Wagtail") was a type of rotary-wing kite, known as a Gyroglider or Rotor Kite. They were towed behind German U-boats during World War II to allow a lookout to see farther, giving the submarines a better chance of escape in a war that was becoming increasingly dangerous to them.

Development

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 (Arado Ar 231). In the end, they chose the Fa 330, a simple, single-seater autogyro kite with a three-bladed rotor.

The Fa 330 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 motored 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 farther; 25 nautical miles (46 km) compared to the 5 nautical miles (9 km) visible from the conning tower of the U-boat. In the case of an aircraft attack, the pilot and craft were considered expendable, as 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.

Operational history

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 came into possession of an Fa 330 in May 1944 when they captured the submarine U-852 intact including an Fa 330. 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

Survivors

A number of Fa 330s are on public display including:

• National Museum of the United States Air Force, United States.
• RAF Museum Cosford, England
• Imperial War Museum Duxford, England
• Deutsches Technikmuseum, Germany
• RAF Millom Museum, England

See also

• Autogyro
• Kite mooring
• Kite types
• Kite
• Man-lifting kite
• Kite applications
• Gyroglider
• Rotary-wing hang glider

References

1. Focke-Achgelis

External links

The Fa 330 at NASM

The Bachstelze

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