Towards the end of WWII the Nazi’s had some pretty revolutionary weapons that could have turned the tide of the war if it lasted just a little bit longer. From the first jet fighter the Messerschmitt Me 262 to the The Horten 229 stealth bomber prototype. Well the Nazi’s had another prototype that could helped them turn the tide of the way, jet packs.
Called the Himmelstürmer or the Skystormer, these jet pack prototypes used a pulse jet engine much like the one that propelled the Fieseler Fi 103 rocket, or the V-1 Buzz Bomb. The Himmelstürmer was designed to help Nazi troops jump over an enemy’s defenses such as barbed wires, trenches and minefields. The device had two components, the main engine on the back of the soldier to propel them up and forward and a second engine on the front of the soldier to push him upwards.
The Himmelstürmer used little fuel and did not run very hot, which allowed the soldier to not be bogged down with any special clothing to guard them from heat. It allowed troops to jump 180 feet up to 50 feet high. Not bad for the 1940’s, when the allies were still using Jeeps to get around. This secret weapon arrived too late to help Germany however. There are no surviving images of the Himmelstürmer that are known to exist. The image above is of a recreation made after the war as Bell Aerosystems got their hands on the Himmelstürmer. They modified the design to try and make a jet pack that would make American troops into super soldiers that could fly onto the battle field. It wasn’t reliable enough for combat use and the whole project was ended.
[Source: Gizmodo]
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Fantastic topic, but normally I don’t agree with it.