Destroying Bombers By Intentionally Missing: Sombold So 344

Video Description

In this video, we take a look at the Sombold So 344, along with the Blohm & Voss P 214, Junkers Ju 268, Arado E.377, Junkers Ju 287 Mistel, and Messerschmitt Me 262 Mistel, a group of German bomber destroyer projects from World War II. We first talk about aerial defense, the more advanced state it is currently in, and the more primitive form it was in in WW2, with manned AA turrets and barrage balloons and the like. We then talk about Germany's poor war situation going into 1944, and how they needed more destructive weaponry to take out Allied bombers, which led to several concept planes that utilized air-burst explosives. We talk about the value in such a concept, being able to take out multiple aircraft with one explosive, how it would be accomplished, and how difficult it would be to use effectively. We talk about various attempts at the concept, with the So 344 and its nose-mounted rocket, and the rest of the designs with their carried payloads. We end by talking about their inevitable failure.