Walter Horten was aware of the performance achieved by the DFS 194 rocket-powered research aircraft, and thus knew that wooden construction methods were suitable for high-performance aircraft. After seeing the Me 262 in March 1943 he set out to acquire information on the Jurno 004 turbojet engine. Further work on the H VII was abandoned and all efforts were concentrated on the H IX, which originated from Goring's 1000 x l000 x 1000 demand, in which the Reichsmarschall specified that no new project would be considered unless it achieved the following performance figures: a speed of at least 1,000 kph and the ability to carry a 1,000 kg bomb load 1,000 kin into enemy territory justifiable deviations from these figures would be accepted.

At that time Walter Horten was a Hauptmann on the staff of Lln3. He managed to obtain a transfer to Gottingen, where he took over command of Luftwaffenkommando IX. Soon afterward, however, the Kommando was officially disbanded, and as a result Lln3 ceased to be the office responsible for development of the Horten projects. New life was injected into the Horten Firm, when, in August, Hermann Goring informed the company that work on the H IX turbojet fighter-bomber was to proceed with all urgency and that it was to construct a flyable, but un powered, example as soon as possible.

Luftwaffenkommando IX, which officially no longer existed, continued to be funded and carried .on its work, but without direct influence from the Technischen Amt of the RLM. The H IX VI was an un powered research glider and received the RLM-Number 8-229.

The aircraft was of mixed construction (welded steel tube and wood) and was covered with several layers of plywood of various qualities, the outer layer being of the best quality. This method of construction made radar detection of the aircraft extremely difficult. The pilot was accommodated in a normal seated position. The first flight of the V1 took place on March 1, 1944, at Gottingen with Heinz Scheidhauer at the controls. Following several towed takeoffs, the aircraft was sent to Oranienburg near Berlin for flight testing, with Scheidhauer as pilot. A brief report submitted by the DVL on April 7, 1944, indicated that the aircraft provided an excellent gun platform.

In order to simulate the stabilizing effect of the engines, which were absent from the VI, the aircraft's main undercarriage legs were faired from the outset; only the aircraft's nose wheel was retractable. On March 5 the nose gear failed after it developed a wobble on Oranienburg's concrete runway. A special pressure suit was to have replaced the absent cockpit pressurization, but was never used in practice.

The machine was sent to Brandis, where it was to be tested by the military and used purposes. It was found there by soldiers of the 9th Armored Division at the end of the war was unfortunately burned in a 'clearing action.'

Computer images by Kancho

Fun Facts about the Horten Brothers ..... During World War II, brothers Walter and Reimar Horten designed a prototype for a German stealth plane that, if completed, could have changed history as we know it. • Walter and Reimar Horten began designing and building their own gliders in the 1930s as part of the Nazi Hitler Youth program. • The only surviving Horten 229 is the V3, which is held in storage in the Smithsonian’s Paul. E. Garber facility. • The Horten brothers in Germany, along with Jack Northrop in the United States, both believed a better aircraft could be built by dispensing with the tail and fuselage. • The only flying wing known to be in military use today is the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit. • Reimar Horten died on August 14, 1993, and his brother Walter died on December 9, 1998. • The Horten brothers had plans to make a Nightfighter version of the Ho-229 using the latest in German radar technology. • Walter Horten secretly flew as wingman for famed German ace Adolph Galland during the Battle of Britain and shot down seven British aircraft. • During the Battle of Britain, Walter Horten was a technical officer for the Luftwaffe. • For successfully completing the Ho-229 prototypes, the Horten brothers received 500,000 Reichsmarks. • The Ho-229 prototype had been initially designed to use the BMW jet engine, but was later modified to use the Jumo-004. • The production version of the Ho-229 was designed to have four 30mm-MK-108 cannons and could carry two 500-kilogram bombs.

See also Horten Ho-IV and Horten Ho-229