EMW A-9 German Piloted Rocket Concept (1945)

Scale: 1/72
Initial Release: 1997
Medium: Styrene
Kit Rarity: 3

About the Design

Developed as part of Nazi Germany's "Projekt Amerika," the A-9 was an intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike major cities along America's Eastern Seaboard.  Another outgrowth of Germany's A-4 (V-2) rocket program, the weapon was actually envisioned as a two-stage weapons system with an oversized V-2-like booster and a piloted upper stage/warhead, shown here. As planned, the pilot would be guided along his course by strategically positioned U-boats, then bail out once his craft was near his target. If he survived -- a big "If" -- he would likely become a POW...until Germany's expected triumph. The first prototype of this concept was the winged A-4B, although subsequent wind-tunnel tests revealed that the more streamlined "strake" design seen here would create far less drag and thus increase the missile's range. The A-9 was a project vehicle only; no A-9s were actually built.

About the Kit

Special Hobby, a division of MPM Models, Czech Republic, released this unique kit in 1997. Only the craft's upper stage was included.

​This model was built from an original issue.

Artist: Joshua Hildwine