Construction of a prototype He 319 high-speed bomber and night fighter, developed from the He 219 was begun in 1942, but work was abandoned following an air attack on Heinkel’s Marienehe factory in November of that year.
Aircraft
Heinkel He 280
When work on the He 178 was discontinued in the autumn of 1939, effort was transferred to a more advanced twin-engined design which was to be powered by pairs of two new Heinkel turbojets, the HeS 8 and HeS 30. Design of the He 280, which started before the end of 1939, included a low wing with twin underslung turbojets tricycle landing gear and twin fins and rudders. Neither engine was ready for flight when the Heinkel He 280 prototype airframe was itself complete and first trial flights, which began on 22 September 1940, were unpowered, the aircraft being towed to release height behind a Heinkel He 111.
Despite the obvious need for low diameter engines, Dr von Ohain succeeded in developing the centrifugal flow HeS 8 (or 109 001) to produce 700 kg (1,543 1b) thrust installed in March 1941, and a pair of these engines powered the He 280 VI on its first powered flight on 2 April l941. For this first flight the engines were kept uncovered as during test runs fuel had gathered in the cowlings.
Fritz Schafer piloted the first powered flight, and the engines were producing little more than 500kg thrust, however, and although available thrust had risen to some 600kg by early 1943 when the second and third prototypes were flown, in April of that year BMW 109-003 engines were adopted.
A total of nine prototypes flew, including the He 280 V2 and He 280 V3 with HeS 8 engines (the former also being re engined with Jumo 109 004s). The He 280 V4 had BMW 109 003s and later with six Argus 109 014 pulsejets. The He 280 V5 flew first with HeS 8s and later with 109 003s. The He 280 V6 (as well as the V5) with three MG 151 20 mm can¬non, the He 280 V7 with 109 004s (and later tested as a high speed glider for aerodynamic research), the He 280 V8 with 109 004s and a V type tail unit, and the He 280 V9 with 109 003s.
Although production of the He 280 was planned, recurring complaints (which included structural weakness in the tail, together with tail flutter, and inadequate fuel and armament provision) caused the design to be abandoned in favour of the Messerschmitt Me 262,
It was from the He 280 V1 that the first ever bale out using an ejector seat was made when Argus test pilot Schenk abandoned the aircraft on 13 January 1942 when his controls locked from icing up during a towed test flight. This seat was powered by compressed air.
He 280 V5
Engines: two 750 kg (1,653 1b) thrust HeS 8A (109 001A) turbojets
Maximum short burst speed 900 kph (559 mph) at 6000 m (19,685 ft)
Normal max-speed 820 km/h
Initial climb rate 1145 m (3,755 ft) per minute
Estimated service ceiling 11500 m (37,730ft)
Range 650 km (404 miles)
Empty weight 3215 kg (7,088 lb)
Maximum take off weight 4310 kg (9,502 lb)
Wing span 12.20 m (40 ft 0 in)
Length 10.40 m (34 ft 1.5 in)
Height 3.06 m (10 ft 0.5 in)
Wing area 21.50 sq.m (231.5 sq ft).
Armament: three nose mounted 20¬mm MG 151 cannon.
Heinkl He 277
In an effort to overcome the problems being experienced with the coupled DB 606 engines of the He 177, Heinkel suggested in 1940 that four separate DB 603s should be substituted. Although the Reichsluftfahrtsinisterium rejected the plan, work continued unofficially under the designation He 177B and the design was resurrected in response to Hitler’s May 1943 demand for a heavy bomber to facilitate effective strikes on London. Converted from an He 177A-3/R2 airframe, with four DB 603A engines, the first Heinkel He 277 prototype flew at Vienna-Schwechat in the closing months of 1943, followed by the second aircraft on 28 February 1944. Directional instability resulted in the fitting of a twin fin and rudder tail unit to the third prototype. Eight 1305kW DB 603A-powered He 277B-5/R2 production models were completed before the priority given to fighter production in July 1944 brought the programme to an end.
Heinkl He 274 / S.N.C.A.C AAS 1
A four engine bomber, the Heinkel He 274 was the detail design responsibility of Societe Anonyme des Usines Farman’s Suresnes factory in occupied France. Fitted with a pressurised cabin in the nose, the aircraft was powered by four 1305kW Daimler-Benz DB 603A-2 engines and featured a lengthened version of the He 177A-3 fuselage, with a new high-aspect-ratio wing and twin fins and rudders.
Two prototypes were ordered in May 1943, together with four He 274A-0 pre-production examples, which were to have 1417kW DB 603G engines. Despite an unsuccessful German attempt to destroy the almost-complete first prototype when they retreated from Paris in July 1944, the aircraft was finished by the French after the liberation. The first flight was from Orleans-Bricy on 30 December 1945 as the AAS 01 A.
Two prototypes were built in France by the S.N.C.A.C.
It was used later to test-fly models of such aircraft as the Aerocentre NC 270 and the Sud-Ouest SO 4000.
He 274
Engines: 4 x Daimler-Benz DB-603A2, 1850 hp
Propellers: metal three-bladed variable pitch
Wingspan: 44,20 m
Length: 23,80 m
Height: 5,50 m
Wing area: 142,00 sq.m
Aspect ration: 13,2
Fuel: 10130 lt
Empty weight: 21300 kg
Max weight: 38000 kg
Wing loading: 267,605 kg/sm.m
Power loading: 5,135 kg/hp
Max speed: 580 km/h
Cruise speed: 180 km/h
Ceiling: 14300 m
Range: 4250 km
Endurance: 7 hours 45 min
Heinkl He 270
The He 270 was essentially a private venture improvement of the He 70, in which a 1175 hp DB 601Aa engine was installed in an He 70F airframe. It flew in the spring of 1938, but no production was under-taken.
Heinkel He 219 Uhu / Letov LB-79
The Heinkel Projekt 1060 private venture received little response from the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (air ministry) when it was first shown to them in mid 1940. It was a multi-purpose aircraft suitable for use as a long-range fighter, dive or horizontal bomber, torpedo plane, or reconnaissance aircraft. The He 219 featured tricycle landing gear, ejector seats, and dual wheels. It was equipped with a crew dingy, cockpit heating, retractable crew access ladder, armoured radiatios, armoured curved windshields with wipers, cleaing spray, hot air defrosting, and armoured fuel tanks. It had a complete wing, fuselage, and tail de-icing system, was well as elaborate radio and radar equipment including a directional gyroscope. Originally the Luftwaffe did not consider a craft of this type necessary and buried the project.
By late 1941 they were in desperate need of a good night fighter for intercepting Allied bombing attacks. In January 1942 the design was revised for adaptation as a night fighter but then was delayed by RAF bombing which destroyed all of the engineering drawings in the Heinkel factory at Rostock-Marienehe.
An all-metal shoulder-wing monoplane, the He 219 seated the pilot and navigator back-to-back, was the first operational aircraft in the world to introduce ejection seats, and was also the Luftwaffe’s first operational aircraft with tricycle landing gear. The first prototype, the He 219 V 1, powered by two 1305kW / 1750 hp DB 603A engines, made its first flight on November 15, 1942. The second prototype, flown in December 1942, had a different armament installation.
They proved fast and manoeuvrable, and had provision for a range of armament including two 20 mm (0.79 in) MG 151 cannon in the wings; two 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 cannon in a ventral tray; two oblique upward firing and fixed 30 mm (1.18 in) cannon, nicknamed ‘Schrage Musik’ (jazz music), in the rear fuselage; and a 2000-kg (4410 lb) bombload carried internally. The He 219 Uhu (owl) was a midwing monoplane and carried a crew of two.
Tests were so successful that the German Ministry ordered 130 pre-production machines in lieu of the usual ten.
General Milch, in charge of Luftwaffe procurement, was unimpressed with the He 219 and favoured converting existing types such as the Junkers 88 into night fighters. To determine the most suitable machine for nocturnal interception, comparative tests were set up for 25 March 1943 between the Heinkel He 219 and the Junkers Ju 88S. During a series of mock combats between a He 219 with Werner Streib at the controls and a Ju 88S with Oberst Lossberg in its cockpit, and a Dornier Do 217N, the 219 proved superior in every way. Heinkel soon received an order for 100 aircraft, and following evaluation of one of the prototypes in mock combat, an ‘off the drawing board’ order for 100 aircraft was increased to 300 by April 1943. Twenty pre-production He 219A 0s had been delivered by that time. These had slightly differing armaments, two MG 151s in the wings, with various weapons in the central position and only one MG 131 in the rear upper position.
The V4 V10 prototypes were also fitted with FuG 212 Lichtenstein C 1 radar systems.
The He 219A 0/R1 to /R6 were similar apart from modifications by Rustsatze (field conversion kits) which provided various ventral gun packs or MK 103 or MK 108 Schrage Musik cannon installations.
From April 1943 a small number of He 219A-0 pre-production aircraft flew with 1.NJG 1 at Venlo in the Netherlands, and on the night of 11 June 1943 Major Werner Streib shot down five Avro Lancasters in a single sortie. The first six operational sorties flown by the unit resulted in claims for 20 RAF aircraft, including six de Havilland Mosquitoes. Despite cancellation of the programme in May 1944, production deliveries of a number of versions were made, principally to 1./NJG 1 and NJGr 10.
The main potential of the aircraft lay in the fact that it could compete on equal terms with the RAF Mosquito intruders. In late 1943 the He 219A-1 appeared, fitted with DB 603A or E engines plus GM1 power boost. Although it was proposed as a production model, only a few were built. The next main production model was the He 219A 2 with DB 603A engines and retaining the two MG 151s in the wings and the two Schrage Musik MK 108s; two MG 151s (A 2/R1) or MK 103s (A 2/R2) were mounted in the ventral tray. Forty of these were built. A proposed A 3 (three seat fighter bomber) and A 4 (Jumo engined high altitude reconnaissance bomber) did not get beyond the drawing board.
The calibre and number of cannon varied according to the armament available when each Heinkel left the production line. As a rule four 20mm or 30mm rapid fire cannon were located under the fuselage in a ventral tray and one 30mm cannon was installed in each wing root. In addition, two 30mm cannon were utilised mid-fuselage as upward-firing Schrage Musik. About one thousand rounds of ammunition were carried. All guns were located behind the pilot so that their muzzle flash would not disturb his vision at night.
Production continued in early 1944 with the A 5 which was characterized by a modified cockpit canopy. For this too there were various Rustsatze, RI to R3 denoting alternative ventral gun selections, and R4 providing a rearward firing gun operated by a third crew member. The A 5 series were powered by DB 603E, G or Aa engines. The A 6 was similar, but was re-engined with GM 1 boosted DB 603Ls of 2100 hp to increase its value as a Mosquito intercepter. The weight was reduced by retention of the wing and ventral armament installations only. Comparatively few A 6s were delivered.
The major service variant was the He 219A 7, a high altitude type powered by 1900 hp DB 603Gs, with increased armour plating and incorporating FuG 220 Lichtenstein SN 2 and FuG 218 Neptun radar equipment. More sophisticated radio systems were also installed. Alternative powerplants were used in the A 7/R5 (Junkers Jumo 213Es) and A 7/R6 (Junkers Jumo 222s). Armament of the A 7 series remained similar to that described and interchangeable, according to availability, using Rustadtze R1 to R4.
Yet another projected high altitude model, the He 219B-1 appeared in prototype form only. Based on an A 5 airframe, it had a longer fuselage, increased wing area and modified canopy, and carried a three man crew. A few B 2 anti Mosquito intercepters did serve with the Luftwaffe they were modified A 6s and a B 3 development was begun but not completed. Prototypes were also built of the He 219C 1 and C 2 night fighter and fighter bomber respectively. They had a redesigned fuselage to carry a four man crew, and with the ventral gun tray removed the C 2 could carry three 500 kg (1100 lb) bombs in its place.
Based on the success of the 219 during June 1943, General Kammhuber demanded the production of 1200 He.219 but General Milch fought the request which further delayed mass delivery. Finally Albert Speer took over the control of aircraft procurement and the Heinkel design was given priority status in early 1944.
A Fighter Emergency Program was announced in the Autumn of 1944. For reasons of economy all twin-engine fighter production was ordered halted, except for the jet powered Messerschmitt 262 and Dornier 335.
Heinkel ignored the directive and continued to produce 219 until his factories in Poland and Austria were overrun by the Russian Armies.
Six final aircraft were built from spare parts by staffel maintenance crews. These were secretly operated and their existence concealed from Luftwaffe headquarters.
Total overall production of the series was 294 aircraft. Early models were fitted with Daimler-Benz 603A engines of 1750 hp but the majority were powered by the more powerful Daimler-Benz 603-Gs of 1900 hp. There is no doubt that the He 219 was one of the best armed and most effective night fighters of the Second World War. Although the 219s did remain in service with the Nachtjagdgeschwadern (night fighter groups) until the end of the war, development of the type was discontinued in favour of two other designs both failures.
The first use of an ejection seat in combat came on 11 April 1944 when the two crew ejected from a Heinkel He219.
Letov LB-79 – Czech Air Force designation for two Heinkel He 219A-5 (lehký bombardér) built from recovered components, 1951, 1 (“34”) used as jet engine testbed.
He 219
Engine: Daimler-Benz 603-G, 1900 hp
Weight: 33,730 lb
Fuel capacity: 293 gal
Maximum speed: 416 mph at 22,965 ft
Range econ cruise: 1243 miles at 335 mph
Climb to 32,810 ft: 18.8 min
Maximum ceiling: 41,660 ft
He 219A-0
Engines: 2 x Daimler-Benz DB 603A
Wingspan: 18.5 m (60 ft 8.5 in)
Length: 15.33 m (50 ft 11.75 in)
Height: 4.1 m (14 ft 5.5 in)
Weight empty: 11,200 kg (24,692 lb)
Combat weight: 27,661 lb
Max speed: 385 mph at 22,965 ft
Cruise: 295 mph
Ceiling: 41,660 ft
Range: 1243 miles
Armament: 2 x 30mm MG 151/20 cannon, 4 x 20mm MG 151/Mk 108/Mk 103 cannon, 2 x 20mm MG 151/Mk 108 cannon
Radar: FuG 220 Lichtenstein SN-2
He 219A 5/R2
Span: 18.5 m (60 ft 10.25 in)
Length: 15.54 m (50 ft 11.75in)
Gross weight: 13150 kg (28 990 lb)
Maximum speed: 630 km/h (391 mph).
He-219A-7/R1
Engine: 2 x Daimler-Benz DB 603G, 1417kW / 1874 hp
Max take-off weight: 15300 kg / 33731 lb
Empty weight: 11200 kg / 24692 lb
Wing loading: 70.52 lb/sq.ft / 344.0 kg/sq.m
Wingspan: 18.5 m / 60 ft 8 in
Length: 15.54 m / 50 ft 11 in
Height: 4.1 m / 13 ft 5 in
Wing area: 44.5 sq.m / 478.99 sq ft
Max. speed: 362 kts / 670 km/h / 416 mph
Cruise speed: 340 kts / 630 km/h / 391 mph
Ceiling: 12200 m / 40050 ft
Range: 1080 nm / 2000 km / 1243 miles
Armament: 4x MK 108 30mm, 2x MG151 20mm, 2x MK 103 30mm
Crew: 2
Heinkl He 178
The first step in the development of this aeroplane was taken in March 1936 when Ernst Heinkel engaged the services of the German gas turbine pioneer Dr Hans Pabst von Ohain and his assistant Max Hahn. The first demonstration turbojet, the hydrogen-fuelled HeS 1, was bench running by September 1937, and a development of this engine, the HeS 3, was flight tested suspended beneath a Heinkel He 118 in 1938, using petrol as fuel, developing about 4.89kW.
By 1939, it had been decided to install a new version, the HeS 3b, in a special aircraft, the He 178, which commenced building that year; it was a shoulder wing aircraft with wings made largely of wood but with a semi-monocoque metal fuselage with fully retracting and faired in undercarriage. Tailwheel landing gear was incorporated, and the engine drew its air from an inlet in the nose and exhausted through a long jet pipe which extended to the extreme tail.
The first flight test of a jet powered aircraft took place in the morning of 27 August 1939. The Heinkel He 178 lifted off Marienche aerodrome by Flugkapitan Erich Warsitz under jet power. The jet engine: Hans von Ohain’s third prototype, the HeS 3B. In the cockpit sat Heinkel’s test pilot, Erich Warsitz. The He 178’s landing gear wasn’t retracted, so Warsitz had to keep speed down to about 200 mph. The 178 was damaged on its first flight when the engine ingested a bird which caused it to flame out, but the aircraft made a safe landing. The He 178 touched gently and rolled to stop before taxiing to where Hans and Ernst Heinkel were waiting. Hans immediately began an engine check. Heinkel watched and then announced that once the checks were complete the He 178 was to be left untouched. Heinkel’s reasoning was that the first flight was a success and, if nothing was disturbed, he’d have a functional prototype to ‘sell’ to the Berlin Air Ministry bureaucrats. The big sedan reappeared and the first jet aeroplane was towed away to storage. Then Heinkel brought out the champagne. The Heinkel flew one more time in the November of 1939 with a 590 kg (1,301 lb) thrust HeS 6 engine, but a number of airframe defects limited the speed to about 600 km/h (373 mph). It was next put in a museum in Berlin where it (and its engine) was destroyed during a bombing raid in 1943.
Although two prototypes were built only the first (the V1) ever flew.
Features of the design were the wooden wing (which limited high speed runs) and the angular intake (which injested FOD at a high rate from the grass at rpm above idle).
Only one He 178 was built.
He-178 V1
Engine: One Heinkel HE S3B centrifugal flow turbojet, 992lb (450kg) thrust, later improved to 1,102 lb (500kg)
Wing Span: 7.2m / 23 ft 7 in
Length: 7.48m / 24 ft 7 in
Height: 2.1 m / 6 ft 11 in
Wing area: 9.1 sq.m / 97.95 sq ft
Empty Weight: 1,560 kg / 3,439 lb
Loaded Weight: 1950 kg / 4,400 lb
Max Speed: 435 mph / 700 kph
Cruise speed: 580 km/h / 360 mph
Landing speed 165 km/h / 103 mph
Crew: 1
Heinkl He 177 Grief
The first prototype was flown in November 1939. It was a heavy bomber, introducing a power plant in which four Daimler-Benz DB 601 12-cylinder inverted engines were grouped together in pairs to create the DB 606, each pair driving a single propeller.
Many prototypes were built, most of which displayed obvious shortcomings including dangerous diving characteristics, landing gear and structural weaknesses, and problems associated with the engines including persistent crankshaft torsional vibration, lubrication and propeller troubles: two prototypes broke up in the air and at least one caught fire.
Four years of development preceded the first production orders for the He 177.
Following a brief period of use as an emergency transport aircraft on the Eastern Front, during which time several caught fire and so earned the nickname “Flaming Coffin”. The first squadron of nine machines was sent to Stalingrad to supply the beleaguered fortress, but of the nine machines, seven caught fire and were burnt out.
The Greif began its operational career in October 1943 on anti-convoy and U-boat cooperation duties. It took part (sub-types A-3 and A-5) in attacks on England in January 1944, known as the “Little Blitz”, but as the war progressed was used to a greater extent as a missile carrier for anti-shipping duties. As the end of the war approached fewer and fewer Greifs remained operational: shortages of fuel and trouble with the engines grounding large numbers.
Although a small number of twin-finned He 177B were built in early 1944, most of the 1,160 or so Greifs produced were A-series types, although it is doubtful whether more than about 200 became fully operational in all respects. The He 177A-0 was the pilot production model, powered by two DB 606 engines (made up of four DB 601). Armament comprised two 13 mm MG 131 in dorsal and tail positions, one 7.9mm MG 81 in the nose, two 7.9mm MG 81 in a ventral position facing aft and a 20mm MG FF cannon firing forward from a “chin” position, plus 48x70kg, ten 500kg, six 1,000kg, or two 2,500kg bombs. The He 177A-1 was similar except for defensive armament, while the He 177A-3 had two DB 610 power units (four DB 603 engines), airframe changes and was equipped to carry two Hs 293 glider missiles. The final major version, the He 177A-5, was equipped to carry three Hs 293, two Hs 294 or two PC 1400 Fritz X (armour-piercing) radio-controlled missiles.
There were 40 modified He177 in Norway, May 1945 for a one way attack to USA.
A He 177 was intended for the continuance of the Me 264 steam turbine experiments. Later proposed designs had four separate engines which would have solved many of the problems, and was built as the He 277.
He 177 A Greif
Length: 66.929 ft / 20.4 m
Height: 20.965 ft / 6.39 m
Wingspan : 103.15 ft / 31.44 m
Wing area : 1097.928 sq.ft / 102.0 sq.m
Max take off weight : 68355.0 lb / 31000.0 kg
Weight empty : 37044.0 lb / 16800.0 kg
Max. speed : 265 kts / 490 km/h
Cruising speed : 224 kts / 415 km/h
Service ceiling : 26247 ft / 8000 m
Wing load : 62.32 lb/sq.ft / 304.0 kg/sq.m
Range : 2970 nm / 5500 km
Engine : 2 x Daimler Benz DB 610 A, 2910 hp
Crew : 4
Armament : 3x MG 81 7,92mm, 3x MG 131 13mm, 2x MG 151 20mm, 1000kg Bomb. int., 2x HS293 Missl. ext.
He-177A-5/R-2
Engines: 2 x Daimler-Benz DB 610A/B, 2200kW
Max take-off weight: 31000 kg / 68344 lb
Empty weight: 16800 kg / 37038 lb
Wingspan: 31.44 m / 103 ft 2 in
Length: 20.40 m / 66 ft 11 in
Height: 6.39 m / 21 ft 0 in
Wing area: 102.0 sq.m / 1097.92 sq ft
Ceiling: 8000 m / 26250 ft
Range: 5500 km / 3418 miles
Armament: 3 x 7.92mm machine-guns, 3 x 13mm machine-guns, 2 x 20mm cannons, 1000kg of bomb
Crew: 6
Heinkl He 176
Ernst Heinkel initiated as a private venture the He 176, which was designed by Siegfried and Walter Gunter specifically for rocket propulsion. The span and area apply to the open cockpit, fixed undercarriage first prototype as originally designed; larger wings were fitted before the first flight. The speed and endurance of approx 171 mph (275 kph) and 50 sec. are those achieved on the first flight on 20 June 1939 powered by a 5.89kN Walter HWK-R1 203 liquid fuel rocket motor, although much better performances were achieved later.
The He 176 was demonstrated before senior German officials early in July 1939. They remained unconvinced of the potential of rockets for aircraft propulsion. The more advanced second prototype, with enclosed cockpit and retractable landing gear was never built.
Engine: One Walter HWK R 1 203 rocket, 1,323 lb (600 kg) thrust.
Wing span: 16 ft 4.75 in (5.00 m)
Length: 17 ft 0.75 in (5.20 m).
Height: 1.4 m / 4 ft 7 in
Wing area: 58.12 sq.ft (5.40 sq.m)
Gross weight: approx 3,530 lb (1600 kg).
Empty weight: 900 kg / 1984 lb
Max. speed: 750 km/h / 466 mph
Cruise speed: 700 km/h / 435 mph
Ceiling: 9000 m / 29550 ft
Range: 95 km / 59 miles
Crew: 1.
Heinkl He 170
From the basic He 70, Heinkel evolved the He 170A in 1936. This differed chiefly in having a 910 hp Gnome Rhone 14K Mistral Major radial engine. The new engine rather spoilt the aircraft’s elegant lines, but the extra power raised the top speed by 55 km/h (34 mph), and 20 were sold to the Hungarian air force.
