This Nazi Aircraft Designed For Bombing New York Was Also A Space Shuttle – SlashGear

Sänger and Bredt theorized that their if their plane could get into suborbital space it could glide back down, enter the Earth’s atmosphere at just the right angle and basically skip along the surface indefinitely, much like a flat rock does over water. Thus, it could conceivably reach New York, drop its bombs, and return to Germany as Goering requested.

The Silver Bird would weigh some 100 tons, nearly all of it (90 tons) allotted for fuel, while five tons was designated for life support and four for its bomb payload, according to Jalopnik. Each bomb could be controlled by remote television with the hope that it would come within 400 miles of its intended target.

Since the front would bear the brunt of the pressure and heat during the multiple re-entries, a window wasn’t practical. Instead, it would be equipped with a periscope type television system so the lone pilot could see where he was going, and with simple flight controls steer the plane accordingly. The pressurized cabin would hold one pilot, and have enough storage for food and water. It would also be surrounded by cooling tubes to keep the heat at bay as it bounced across the atmosphere.