Ar 234C w/ArE381 Julia

From the DML instructions: The Ar 234c four-engined bomber carried a pair of BMW003A engines combined in a cleanly designed pod under each wing in place of a single Jumo 004B engine of the B2 version. Plans called for the Ar 234 to carry the Fi103 (v1) Flying Bomb (see my album - Ar234C-2 "Blitz" w/Fi-103 Flying Bomb | Album by BigBill (1:72)) mounted on the back of the plane or the Ar E-381 "Julia" carried under the fuselage, as depicted in this album. The Ar E-381 "Julia" was a manned rocket fighter.

From Wikipedia: The Arado E.381 (Kleinstjäger – "smallest fighter") was a proposed parasite fighter aircraft. Conceived by Arado Flugzeugwerke in December 1944 for Germany's Luftwaffe during World War II, the E.381 was to have been carried aloft by and launched from an Arado Ar 234 "mother" aircraft. It would then have activated its rocket engine, which would have propelled it to attack Allied (mainly American and British) bombers. There were three proposed variants; each had fuel capacity for only two target runs, after which the pilot would have been required to glide without power to a landing on underbelly skids.[3] To survive close pursuits, the E.381 was designed with the narrowest frontal cross-section possible to increase its chances of surviving shots from the front. This also forced the pilot to lie in a prone position. The cross-section was 0.45 square meters (4.8 sq ft), or approximately a quarter of the cross-section of the Messerschmitt Bf 109."

I would not want to be the pilot of one of these aircraft, nor do I think I would even fit. 🙂 See the sideview picture in the album.