The Blohm & Voss L 10 ¨Friedensengel¨ was a German, anti-ship, torpedo glider used by the Luftwaffe during World War II. Developed to carry the Lt 950 torpedo, it was launched from a Heinkel He 111 bomber from an altitude of 2,700 meters and it had a range of 9,000 meters (9 km). In the first phase, Blohm & Voss built 270 L 10 gliders, from which 170 were used in field testing in 1943, with the remainder 100 being overhauled and fixed after the testing stage to be used in combat.
Only three seconds after launch, a small kite was deployed from a small container under the left wing of the L 10. This kite was towed along on a 25-m-long cable. When the glider was about 10 meters above the surface of the water, the kite sensed this, sending an electronic signal via a forward-mounted membrane to set off the explosive bolts, which held the Lt 950 to the L 10. The Lt 950 was the torpedo and the L 10 the gliding carrier. When the Lt 950 was released from the L 10, it took an underwater trajectory en route to its target, which was an enemy ship.
Up to the end of the war, 450 L 10 gliders were built. Most of them were employed during the field testing phase, but some of them were actually used in combat, sinking two British merchant ships. A further development of the L 10 was the L 11 torpedo carrier, which was called ¨Schneewittchen¨ (Snow White), which carried the torpedo in two section of its fuselage, dropping the torpedo in a similar manner as the L 10.
Specifications (glider)
Weight: 218 kg
Length: 3.9 m
Boom (fuselage) Diameter: 44 cm
Wing Span: 2.5 m
Propulsion System: none
Launching Platform: aircraft
Below, the Blohm & Voss L 10 already mounted to be used.
The L 10 is about to be attached to the Lt 950 torpedo, which is below. Notice the forward section exposed, showing the installations of its electronic system.
The torpedo glider is about to be attached to a Heinkel He 111 aircraft.
