Rheintochter ran up against material limits

Rheintochter reached eighty-two test firings, and an air-launched version was also considered. Its multistage solid-fuel design promised rapid acceleration and a large warhead, but its plywood control surfaces exposed the limits of available materials. Plywood could work for the period, although later designers would prefer different materials for a high-performance missile. The underlying idea could emerge long before materials science made the desired performance practical. Even a sound aerodynamic concept could fail when construction methods could not reliably deliver what its designers expected.