The Rheintochter (Rhine Maiden) R I was an experimental German two-stage anti-aircraft missile tested in the last year of World War II. It was also one of the largest solid-fuel rockets of the war and produced the largest thrust, although for a very short duration. Due to its inadequate altitude ceiling, it was to be supplanted by the R III model, a liquid-fuel missile with two side-mounted solid-fuel boosters, but only six of those were ever launched.
This section is the steel nose with fin-mounting brackets for an incomplete Rheintochter, as the missile lacks a guidance section. The Smithsonian acquired it as part of the massive gift of World War II artifacts from the U.S. Air Force in 1949.
This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.