In the last months of World War Two, Nazi Germany tested an experimental fighter more spaceship than aircraft. Only now are we realising how inspired it was. BBC Future looks at the Horten Ho 229, one of aviation’s most futuristic designs.

By Stephen Dowling 2 February 2016 In December, US aircraft maker Northrop Grumman unveiled a revolutionary design for a future fighter aircraft that could, theoretically, fly over the war zones of the coming century. Their concept looks more like a flying saucer than a fighter plane – it is what aviation experts call a ‘flying wing’, a design which ditches the traditional tail fin at the back. This design helps reduce the aircraft’s size, and creates a smoother shape – one less likely to bounce back radar signals being sent out to detect it.

Northrop Grumman's concept for a flying wing fighter has similarities to the Hortens' innovative design (Credit: Northrop Grumman) It looks about as futuristic as fighter aircraft can get, but its genesis goes far further back than you think – to a truly groundbreaking jet fighter design built and flown in Nazi Germany in the dying days of World War Two. That aircraft – the Horten Ho 229 – might be a footnote in aviation history, but it was so far ahead of its time that its aerodynamic secrets are still not completely understood. In fact, there’s a chief scientist at Nasa still working to discover just how its creators managed to overcome the considerable aerodynamic challenges that should have made it unflyable.