Bachem Ba 349 Natter

[generalderpanzertruppen]

Hi, I have posted this on a couple of sites, and was wondering if anyone here had a view on it. Was the Natter (Viper) really such a bad concept? As a point defence fighter, like the Me 163 Komet, I think the concept was sound. Sure it was a desperate measure, but the Luftwaffe was faced with desperate times. With huge armadas of B-17s and B-24s roaming the skies escorted by a veritable plethora of P-51s and P-47s (the mighty 8th Air Force could routinely put up for one mission, 800 four engined bombers with an escort of 1,200 fighters), apart from surrender, what else could they do? With a vertical launch as the endless bomber stream passed overhead, it could soar at tremendous speed, over 620 mph, making it virtually impervious to Allied fighter attack, launch its 24 73mm Hs 217 or 33 55mm R4M rockets. The R4Ms, on the few times they were used operationally, exceeded all expectations of their potential, and the bigger Hs 217 Föhns could possibly do even more damage. Leaving aside the proposed ramming finale, the pilot could probably make it back to the ground safely, barring being shot in his parachute, and could maybe do another mission. The construction of the Natters was designed to be cheap and quick, why couldn't it have been an effective point defence system? Thanks for reading this!

Troy