World War II Database

The DFS 230 gliders were manufactured by the German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight, a state-run organization established in 1933 to train future German pilots under the guise of recreational gliding. The design was completed in 1937. These gliders were first introduced into military service in 1938. They could carry 10 equipped soldiers, or a payload of about 1,200 kilograms. Over 1,600 examples were built. They were used in several high-profile operations, including the assault on Fort Eben-Emael in Belgium, the airborne invasion of Crete in Greece, and the rescue of Benito Mussolini in Italy.

SPECIFICATIONS

DFS 230

Armament	1x7.92mm MG 34 machine gun, capacity for 10 soldiers or 1,240kg of cargo
Crew	1
Span	21.10 m
Length	11.30 m
Height	2.80 m
Wing Area	38.10 m²
Weight, Empty	770 kg
Weight, Loaded	2,040 kg
Weight, Maximum	2,100 kg
Speed, Maximum	161 km/h

Photographs

Share this article with your friends:   Facebook   Reddit   Twitter   Digg   StumbleUpon   Delicious Stay updated with WW2DB:   RSS Feeds

Advertisement                    Close

Advertise on ww2db.com

Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Bill says:
   1 Dec 2010 09:23:54 AM
   
   Deutsche Forschungsanstitut Fur Segelflug DFS
   or, German Research Institute For Sailplane Flight.
   
   Established in 1925 the Institute designed and built successful gliders. In 1933 it was
   centralized for all gliding activity in
   Germany.
   
   The institute also worked on various projects
   involving jet propulsion, swept-wing and
   delta-wing aircraft designs pioneered by
   Dr. Dr.Alexander Lippisch.
   
   The DFS 230 assault glider was designed for
   paratroop operations. The glider could carry
   ten troops, its first flight was in 1937.
   The glider was towed by a Junkers Ju 52 which
   flew empty, and could tow as many as three of
   the gliders. The DFS 230 was 38 feet long, and had a wingspan of 72 feet about 455 were
   built.
   Other aircraft were used as tow planes such
   as the Messerschmitt Bf 110. The first use
   of the DFS 230, was during the invasion of
   Belgium May 10, 1940.
   
   In the early morning hours, Ten gliders carring seventy eight troops landed on top of Fort Eben Emael this position was a barrier to the invasion of Belgium & Holland
   
   The garrison of 800 men was defended by Machineguns, Minefields and Artillery, the roof was 1,000 yards long and 800 yards wide
   enough for the gliders to land.
   The fort was taken, the Germans lost six men
   and twenty wounded.
2. Bill says:
   7 Dec 2010 06:20:17 PM
   
   Another DFS project was the DFS-228 rocket plane. This aircraft was designed as a single-seat rocket-powered, high altitude reconnaissance aircraft.
   
   YEARS AHEAD OF ITS TIME:
   
   By the end of the war two aircraft were built
   one was destroyed in a Allied air raid, the
   other was captured by US troops.
   
   In 1946 the second prototype was shipped to
   England for study, by both American and
   British engineers.
   After its design study,the DFS-228 was later scrapped in 1947.
   
   Before the war, ended the DFS-228 prototype had flown unpowered. The DFS-228 would have been powered by One Walter HWK Rocket motor, its estimated speed was about 900km/h or 560 mph. Service ceiling was 25,000 meters or 82,000 feet, range was 1,050 km or 655 miles
   
   The DFS-228 was carried piggy back style, a Dornier Do 217 bomber was used as the launch aircraft. The tests were unpowered and used for flight testing only.
   This concept was years ahead of the future
   American Space Program tests of the
   Boeing 747/Space Shuttle test flights.
   
   POST-WAR:
   
   Post-war developments in ultra high-altitude
   reconnaissance aircraft, that followed were the American Lockheed U-2 & SR-71 Blackbird.
3. John Beales says:
   26 Feb 2011 05:10:03 AM
   
   Some 20 years ago I used to own a series of ROC magazines from the immediate post-war period. In the letters page of one of these was a decription of the Farnborough DFS228 in its original paint scheme of gloss cream.

Posting Your Comments on this Topic

Your Name
Your Email
	Your email will not be published
Your Comments
Security Code

Note: Please refrain from using strong language. HTML tags are not allowed. Your IP address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous. WW2DB site administrators reserve the right to moderate, censor, and/or remove any comment.