Blohm & Voss BV 40

The Blohm & Voss BV 40 was a prototype armoured German glider initially designed in mid-1943 by Blohm & Voss to attack Allied bomber formations during World War II. The BV 40 would be towed to high altitude by single-engined fighters and then ram the bombers while in a dive, but this concept was rejected before its first flight in May 1944 in favour of using its guns. The Luftwaffe had lost interest in the BV 40's original mission the month prior; development continued as its mission changed to attacking ships with specialized bombs. Blohm & Voss discovered that the prototypes were significantly overweight, and some of the armour and one gun had to be removed to conduct flight testing. The BV 40 was cancelled in August with only 6 gliders completed out of the 21 ordered. All of the aircraft were destroyed in an air raid in October.