TYPE: Fighter

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011A turbojet engine, rated at 1,300 kp

PERFORMANCE: 612 mph at 22,970 ft

COMMENT: In July 1944 the RLM released specification for second generation of jet fighters in context with the Emergency Fighter Program (Jäger-Notprogramm). Subsequently the Messerschmitt Company proposed a project designated Me P.1101. The initial design (Me P.1101/XIII)  had a short and wide fuselage, tricycle landing gear, and mid-mounted wings with an inner sweep of 40 degree near the fuselage, and a shallower 26 degree outboard. The single HeS 011 jet engine was to be mounted internally within the fuselage, being aspirated by two rounded intakes located on either side of the cockpit. The high tail was of a V configuration, and mounted on a tapered boom which extended over and past the jet exhaust, while the cockpit was forward mounted, with the canopy integrated into the fuselage and forming part of the rounded nose of the aircraft. This design was further developed, including a longer nose, and after the wind tunnel testing of a number of wing and fuselage profiles, the decision was made to undertake the construction of a full-scale test aircraft. This finalized design and associated test data were submitted to the Construction Bureau on 10 November 1944 and the selection of production materials was begun on 4 December 1944. In February 1945, the RLM settled on a competing design, the Focke-Wulf Ta 183, as the winner of the Emergency Fighter Program. Since considerable work had already been done on the P.1101 design, the RLM decided to continue reduced funding in order for Messerschmitt to carry out experimental flights testing the swept back wing at anticipated speeds up to Mach 1. The worsening war situation led to the expedited, but risky, approach of building a full-scale prototype in parallel with detail construction and continuing statistical calculation, while existing components such as the wings of the Messerschmitt Me 262, landing gear, based on that of the Messerschmitt Bf 109, and flight components were utilized where feasible. It was also intended for the test flights to be conducted with 35, 40, and 45 degree wing sweep. Production of the V1 prototype was begun at Messerschmitt’s Bavarian Oberammergau Complex with a projected first flight in June 1945. By the time an American infantry unit discovered the Oberammergau complex on 29 April 1945, the V1 prototype was approximately 80% complete. Wings were not yet attached and appear to have never had skinning applied to their undersides. The airframe was removed from the nearby tunnel in which it was hidden and all associated documents were seized. Later the prototype was shipped to the United States, first to Wright Patterson AFB, then in 1948 to the Bell Aircraft Works. Damage ruled out any possibility for repair although some of the Me P.1101’s design features were subsequently used by Bell as the basis for the Bell X-5, which was the first aircraft capable of varying its wing geometry while in flight (Ref.: 23).

TYPE: High altitude interceptor

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only, in pressurized cockpit

POWERPLANT: One Daimler-Benz DB 603A inverted V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine with Hirth TJ KL 15 turbo-charger, rated at 1,610 hp at 32,808 ft

PERORMANCE: 429 mph at 52,493 ft

COMMENT: The Blohm & Voss BV 155 was a high-altitude interceptor fighter intended to be used by the Luftwaffe against expected raids by USAAF B-29 Superfortresses.  The B-29 would attack in a cruise at an altitude that no German plane could operate effectively. In the hope of countering attacks by this formidable bomber, the Luftwaffe would need new fighters and new destroyers as soon as possible. Work on a special high altitude fighter was started in spring 1942 by Messerschmitt as Me 155, but in 1943 the project was passed over to Blohm & Voss. In September 1943, an order for five prototypes was placed. The first prototype was designated BV 155 V1, and flew for the first time on September 1, 1944. Tests with the V1 showed that the outboard radiators were not sufficiently effective in providing cooling, especially at high angle of attack. The intakes on the next prototype were enlarged and underslung beneath the wing rather than placed over it. However, the enlarged radiators caused a several problems, which required moving the pressurized cockpit forward. The Blohm & Voss team took this opportunity to replace the original Messerschmitt Bf 109G canopy with an aft-sliding all-round vision canopy, and the rear fuselage decking was cut down. This in turn required that a larger rudder be fitted. The ventral radiator bath was also enlarged. All these changes were incorporated into the second prototype, the Bv 155V2, which flew for the first time on February 8, 1945 and which was the first genuine B series aircraft. The Blohm & Voss team was still not satisfied with the design, and before the V2 began its flight trials they proposed that the engine be switched to the DB 603U having the larger mechanically driven supercharger of the DB 603E. The DB 603U promised a power of 1,660 hp for takeoff and 1,430 hp at 49,000 ft. The ventral turbo-super-charger was retained. The Technische Amt decided to accept this proposal, and abandoned all work on the BV 155B in favor of the revised design, which was designated BV 155C (Ref.: 17, 23)