
HISTORY:
** The Natter, a rocket-powered vertical take-off interceptor, was born in the closing months of the Second World War, when Germany was on the defensive on all fronts. The Natter, which was designed to clear the German skies from enemy bombers, was one of the “wonder weapons” that Third Reich propaganda claimed would save the country from defeat.
An autopilot would guide the Natter to Allied bomber’s altitude. To have control during the first few seconds of flight, before the aircraft had reached sufficient speed, guide vanes connected to the four control surfaces were positioned in the main engine exhaust plume. The Natter would reach the bomber’s altitude in seconds, putting the pilot within striking distance of one of them. The pilot would then fire all his 24 rockets in a single shot. His fuel now running out, he would guide the aircraft at high speed to a lower altitude, at which point he would trigger the plane to break up, a large parachute opening at the rear, popping off the nose and the pilot with it. The pilot and the tail with the Walter rocket engine would then land under their separate parachutes, while the disposable nose, fuselage and wings would crash to the ground.
The Natter was unquestionably as exciting aircraft in technical terms, and the fact that many were built and several were launched clearly sets it apart from the many, and equally exciting, paper projects produced by Third Reich engineers in the closing months of the Second World War. **
** Quoted from inside the book’s dustjacket.
THE BOOK:
Pen & Sword Books has released First Manned Rocket Launch, Natter, The Luftwaffe’s Vertical Take-off Interceptor as part of their Then and Now titles in the After the Battle series. It is a 96-page hardcover book, 6.75 x 9.75 inches in size. Included with the text are black and white and full color photographs. The book has a 2024 copyright, a publication date of August 6, 2024, and the ISBN is 978-1-0361-0128-2.
CONTENTS:
Introduction
First manned Rocket Launch
Mission Profile
Development
First Manned Flight
Operation ‘Krokus’ – Towards Operational Launches
Final Production and Capture
THE TEXT:
Author Jean Paul Pallud provides a well written and informative text detailing Erich Bachem's Ba 349 Natter (Viper), Germany’s manned rocket vertical-take-off interceptor during World War II. There are a total of 38 pages containing text. The remainder of the book is dedicated to the photographs and the detailed captions associated with them. Even with the limited number of pages of text, Jean Paul Pallud provides a wealth of information on the Natter starting with the introduction of the proposed aircraft, design and development, the intended use and actions of the Natter, the location and details of the factory where they were constructed, the building of the prototype and its testing and the results, the location and construction as well as the testing and use of the different types of launching platforms, the test flights of the prototypes as well as the actions taken by the Natter team members as the war ended and the investigation of the Natter aircraft and program by the allies. In addition to his own words, Jean Paul Pallud.has also provided quotes from one of the members of the German ground crew as well as excerpts from the official report from June 1945 that was written by the US Navy investigation team that researched the Natter program and interviewed key Germans associated with it. As a reader that knew nothing of the Ba 349 Natter, I found myself to be well informed on Germany’s manned rocket vertical-take-off interceptor upon finishing this book. I feel that Jean Paul Pallud.has covered the Ba 349 Natter well and has provided the information in an easy-to-read format which the detailed oriented reader will benefit from. Jean Paul Pallud did not use what I refer to as fluff writing where a large amount of non-essential extra text is provided just to help fill the pages. As I read through the text, I didn’t notice any spelling or grammatical errors. Grammar and spelling might not be an important factor to everyone however it is something that I take notice of and pass on my findings.
THE PHOTOGRAPHS:
A total of 144 black and white photographs and 15 color photographs are included in this volume. Author Jean Paul Pallud chose subject-specific photographs and did not include photographs that strayed from the main subject of the book. Several of the photographs are period photographs while there are also modern photographs taken at various places of interest such as former Natter launch sites as well as photographs taken at museums. There are several photographs of the Natter in various stages of construction that are a great source of various internal components. Also included are photographs of the Natter prototypes and the Natter transportation trailers. Numerous photographs have been provided of the Natter being prepared to launch, photographs taking as the Natter is being launched and after being launched and these also include several photographs of the different launching towers, poles and pads. There are also photographs taken of Natters being inspected by the allies after they were captured at the end of the war. Other photographs include images such as Axis and Allied military personnel to include officers, pilots and groundcrew personnel and their uniforms and weapons as well as period civilian clothing. Most of the photographs are clear and easily viewable; however, a few of them are somewhat blurry and a few of them appear to be too dark, while others appear to be too light. This can be typical for the discussed period of history and the quality of the photographs is of no fault of the author and they do not take anything away from the book. The majority, if not all, of the photographs will prove to be excellent reference material for the scale aviation modeler due to the details they contain. The military historian and the enthusiast of German aircraft of World War II will also benefit from the excellent photographs as will anyone that is interested in Germany’s Ba 349 Natter manned rocket vertical-take-off interceptor.
THE CAPTIONS:
The captions make up a large portion of the book’s text and they are well written and explain the accompanying photographs nicely and provide a great deal of information. The captions go into very specific detail as to the actions taking place in the photographs, the dates and locations, individual’s names, both military and civilian, as well as their military rank, military units and their fates. Also specified is information on the Natter such as their length, width, weight, their armament, fuel capacity, amount of thrust, combat speed, reachable altitude, combat time once launched, start to finish flight/mission details, the colors that the Natters were painted and why as well as the color designation, prototype numbers and project numbers assigned as well as project failures, what caused them and the corrections that were made. Also provided is information on the facility where the Natter was constructed, the specific buildings and their purposes and the Natter components that are being built and assembled and their purpose. The same type of information is detailed regarding the Natter launchers and launching pads and other such information. As I read through the captions, I didn’t notice any spelling or grammatical errors. As the captions make up the majority of the book’s text, they are very helpful to the reader due to their detailed content as opposed to other captions that can be lacking in detail.
THE AUTHOR:
Jean-Paul Pallud graduated as a physicist at Grenoble in 1973. Since 1976 he has written many articles on the Second World War. A regular contributor to After the Battle magazine, he was technical advisor for their book Panzers in Normandy, and author of their monumental work The Battle of the Bulge: Then and Now. He flies light aircraft as a hobby. Jean-Paul Pallud currently lives in France with his wife and three children.
CONCLUSION:
As with the other volumes of the Then and Now titles in the After the Battle series from Pen & Sword Books, I was impressed with this book. This is a very nice reference book that contains a well written informative text, subject specific photographs, well detailed captions and more, all detailing Erich Bachem's Ba 349 Natter (Viper), Germany’s manned rocket vertical-take-off interceptor during World War II. As with the other Pen & Sword Books titles, I would have no hesitation in recommending this book to others as it will be a welcome addition to one’s personal military reference library.
PRICE
UK £20.00 / US $34.95
https://www.casematepublishers.com/
This book, from Pen & Sword Books, was provided to me by Casemate Publishers. Please mention that you saw the book reviewed here on the KitMaker Network when making your purchase. Thank you.






