With Nazi Germany desperate to turn the tide of aerial warfare, two rival firms set about making a jet-powered flying wing fighter a reality. Horten’s offerings are well-known, but the Gotha factory felt its P-60 project was significantly superior

As Allied air supremacy over Germany became ever stronger from 1943 onwards, new, superior fighters were needed to tip the balance in Germany’s favour. Thus it was that radical designs such as the Horten H IX flying wing jet fighter were given a chance by the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM, the German Air Ministry).