Horten Ho 229 Spirit of Thuringia: The Horten All-Wing Jet Fighter (Repost)

Reaching speeds approaching 800 kph in prototype form, the Horten Ho 229 'Nurflugel' - 'all wing' - was one of the most enigmatic aircraft projects to emerge from World War Two and is redolent of today's 'stealth' concept.
In terms of design, it is seen as a precursor to it. In this book, the authors, who have spent many years researching the Horten brothers and their remarkable designs, examine the Ho 229 in great detail with considerable emphasis on the build and structure of the aircraft, an area which has often been inaccurately and insufficiently portrayed.
Developed from a series of tailless Horten glider designs, the Ho 229 was planned as the first of the 'next-generation' jet fighters for the Luftwaffe, following on from the Messerschmitt Me 262 and - ultimately - as a high-speed, cannon-equipped, all-weather fighter-bomber, heavy fighter, night fighter and reconnaissance aircraft with plans for airfield strike operations over England in late 1944/early 1945. Unlike the Me 262, the distinctive, bat-shaped Ho 229 was capable of operating from grass airfields and of carrying the same armament as the Messerschmitt jet, but also possessing a range comparable to that of the Arado Ar 234 jet bomber/reconnaissance aircraft. It was also to be fitted with the latest radar and radio systems and a pilot ejector seat.