While for many, the gliders of transport and assault remain intimately related to the Anglo-American operations in Normandy and Holland, it is not necessary to obliterate the use that the Luftwaffe made of these non-motorized planes. One of the main devices of this type is undoubtedly the DFS 230, generally smaller than most of its contemporaries.
In fact since the origins of free flight Germany was a major nation in the study and development of gliders. So much so that the Germans are creating an institute specially dedicated to him: the DFS or Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug, which in French means "German Glider Research Institute". The specialty of the DFS was from its birth in 1933 the design of competitive sports gliders.
So it was at the DFS that the Reichsluftfahrtministerium authorities asked in the spring of 1936 to develop an assault glider for the removal of 10 to 12 fighters in the utmost discretion. In fact the engineers and strategists of the RLM had learned the lessons of the Nazi commitment in Spain against the republican forces. The specifications provided for a maximum load of 2000kg, a maximum towing speed of 320km / h, and a range of action after dropping about 250km. Not to mention that the RLM claimed that it can carry a MG15 machine gun 7.92mm ensuring the self-defense of the glider.
Although very ambitious, the specifications did not really surprise the DFS engineers, who managed to come up with a draft just three months after receiving the contract. A prototype was officially ordered under the designation DFS 230. It made its first flight in March 1937, towed from the ground by a specially modified Henschel Hs 123 ground attack biplane. The tests showed good qualities, even if they were slightly below the expectations of the RLM. A serial order was launched. For reasons of ease, its serial production was entrusted to the famous aircraft manufacturer Gotha, even if the glider retained its original designation.
Externally, the DFS 230 was in the form of a high-wing monoplane built of both wood and metal. Its piloting required only one crew member who took a seat in a rudimentary cockpit. The cabin accommodated between six and eight serviced soldiers or a dismantled sidecar. The machine-gun, firing from a side window, was served by the second crew member, usually a Luftwaffe infantryman. The DFS 230 did not have a real landing gear but a double pad, however some versions were equipped with two fixed wheels added above it. The first serial DFS 230A-1 went into service in September 1938.
Quickly the Luftwaffe ordered some copies of a two-seater training version, designated DFS 230A-2. Unable to carry out troop transport missions, they were nevertheless weighted with rudimentary manikins filled with sand. In fact until the outbreak of the Second World War the Allies were unaware of this small glider assault.
It was May 10, 1940 that the German glider entered history. Towed two by two by Junkers Ju 52 / 3MG trimoteurs about twenty gliders attack the Belgian fort of Ében Émael not far from Liège, thus causing the entry of the kingdom in the Second World War. On board the DFS 230 is a commando belonging to the Fallschirmjäger, the famous "green devils". With impressive audacity the German elite troops take control of the hotspots of this fortification of prime importance, allowing the infantry to enter and take it quickly.
Afterwards the DFS 230 will be of all the most special and difficult operations that the German paratroopers and commandos had to deal with. From the Peloponnese hills to the snow-covered alleys of Stalingrad the little gliders were everywhere. With more or less success.
But History has mainly retained two major feats of arms. The first was Operation Eiche, which on September 12, 1943 led to the liberation of Benito Mussolini by Otto Skorzeny's Waffen-SS. It was aboard DFS 230 towed by Junkers Ju 87R that the gliders stormed the mountainous plain of Campo Imperatore on which was imprisoned the fascist dictator. Once there, the soldiers were able to extract themselves and quickly become masters of the area. Mussolini extracted from his cell was then embarked on a Fieseler Fi 156 aircraft.
In France the DFS 230 is sad memory too. Several dozen of these were engaged for the recovery of the Vercors massif between 21 and 23 July 1944. After several bombings by the Luftwaffe the gliders deposited Green Devils who took the fighters of the French Forces of the Interior . By their discretion the DFS 230 allowed the German soldiers to control the area at night, without being heard or seen by French watchers.
Today partly fallen into oblivion the DFS 230, was however one of the main gliders of assault of the Second world war. Few copies are preserved today. In France, however, the carcass of one of the two is exposed in the town of La Mure (38) in memory of the Vercors Resistance.
Specifications :
Wingspan: 21.98 m
Length: 11.24 m
Height: 2.74 m
Capacity: 9 equipped troops Plus 270 kg.
Armament: 1 MG15 mobile machine gun 7.92mm
Max takeoff weight : 2100 kg
Max speed : 290 km / h towing.
Practical ceiling: 4350 m
Max distance : 120 Km after stalling the tow plane.
Crew: 2
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