Category Archives: Nightfighter

Nightfighter

Messerschmitt Me 609 NJ (Nachtjäger, Night fighter), (RS Models)

TYPE: Night- and bad-weather fighter

ACCOMMODATION:  Pilot and radar-operator/navigator

POWER PLANT: Two Daimler-Benz DB 603g liquid-cooled engines, rated at 1,726 hp each

PERFORMANCE: 472 mph at 27.800 ft

COMMENT: As early as 1940, the Messerschmitt design bureau concerned itself with the idea of fusing two fighters into a single airframe to provide a considerable increase in range and payload. The work was based on a RLM edict to simplify the number of combat aircraft to a few basic models.
Known as Messerschmitt Me 109Z Zwilling (twin) and Messerschmitt Me 609, the layouts were primarily intended as Zerstörer (Destroyer), Schnellbomber (Fast bomber or Nachtjäger (Night fighter). Following detailed examinations, the most suitable solution capable of early production indicated the use of a Daimler-Benz DB 605A-powered Messerschmitt Me 109G. A considerable performance increase, however, was to be expected if  2,000 hp Junker Jumo 213 engines were installed, requiring only a few alteration to incorporate complete major components of the standard aircraft. The modifications were limited mainly to the need of a completely new constant –cord wing center section and tailplane that simplified manufacture. Besides relocation of the undercarriage attachment points and the use of larger wheels, the ailerons and outboard leading-edge slots were lengthened and auxiliary fuel tanks were installed. In the course of development work on the twin aircraft, the Messerschmitt Me 309 was also considered and resulted in the Messerschmitt Me 609 destroyer, fast bomber and night fighter. The more powerful engine intended for the Messerschmitt Me 609 led to improvements in flight performance.
For the Night fighter version a FuG 217V/R “Neptun” radar with smal “Hirschgeweih” (Stag’s Antlers) aerial array was provided. These were mounted at the wingtips close to the leading edge. When all work on the unsuccessful Messerschmitt Me 309 was stopped all further effort on the Me 609 was cancelled (Ref.: 24).

Dornier Do 435 , Dragon Models, Parts scratch-built)

Type: Heavy all-weather fighter, Project

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot and navigator/radar-operator

POWER PLANT: One Daimler-Benz DB 603G liquid-cooled engine, rated at 1,874 hp plus one Junkers Jumo 004C turbojet engine, rated at 950 kp thrust

PERFORMANCE: Not available

COMMENT: The Dornier Do 435 was a heavy all-weather fighter  projected by the Dornier aircraft manufacturer for the German Luftwaffe during World War II. The design based on the twin-engine Do 335 „Pfeil“ (Arrow) heavy fighter, Luftwaffe‘s fastest piston-engined aircraft of World War II.
In May 1942, Dornier submitted a design Do P.231/1 for a twin-engine single-seat „Schnellbomber“-like high-speed bomber/intruder with a 1,000 kg bombload. The performance of this project was predicted to be better than other twin-engine designs due to its unique push-pull configuration and the lower aerodynamic drag of the in-line alignment of the two engines.The proposed front engine was a Daimler-Benz DB 605E and drove a puller-type propeller while the second DB 605E was located in the rear part of the fuselage and drove a pusher-propeller.
This project was selected as the winner after beating rival designs from Arado, Junkers, and Blohm & Voss. A development contract was awarded, by the RLM issuing the Dornier firm the airframe approval number 8-335, for what after many manfications would become known as the Dornier Do 335 „Pfeil“ (Arrow). In autumn 1942, Dornier was told that the Schnellbomber Do 335 was no longer required, and instead a multi-role fighter based on the same general layout would be accepted. This delayed the prototype delivery as it was modified for the new role.
The first prototype Do 335 V1 flew on 26 October 1943. However, several problems during the initial flight of the Do 335 would continue to plague the aircraft through most of its short history. On May 1944, the RLM ordered maximum priority to be given to Do 335 production. The first preproduction Do 335 (A-0s) were delivered in July 1944. But only approximately 22 preproduction aircraft were thought to have been completed and flown before the end of the war.
Early in 1943, while the first prototype of the Dornier Do 335 was under construction the Dornier design team dicussed the possibility to increase the performance of this new heavy twin-engine fighter. With the availability of the brand new incomming  turbojet engines the original Dornier project Do P. 231/1 was redesigned and had the company’s internal designation Do P.231/3.  The design was a single seat fighter aircraft with conventional empennage. The nose-mounted Daimler-Benz DB 603 piston engine remained unchanged while the rear DB 603 engine was replaced by a non specified turbojet engine. The piston engine would be used for normal flight and cruising and the turbojet added for high-speed flight.
On May 1943 Dornier submitted a further development, the single-seat  Do P.323/2. The DB 603 was replaced by a 1,874 hp DB 603G and a tail-mounted Junkers Jumo 004 delivering app. 900 kp thrust was provided. The two air intakes for the turbojet were lokated at both sides of the mid fuselage. The air-flow duct was later positioned on the rear back of the fuselage (project Do P.232/3). While the development made progress the RLM decided to convert the design to a night-/bad weather fighter. The air-ducts were relocated to the fuselage sides and a navigator/radar-operator was seated in between on the upper surface in a glass-covered cockpit. A FuG 220 “Lichtenstein SN-2” radar with “Hirschgeweih” (Stag’s Antlers) aerial array was provided. The airframe was designated Dornier Do 435 and was in summer 1944 in an advanced project stage. For modification as prototype the Dornier Do 335 V4 was envisaged. But in autumn 1944 the RLM decided to stop all further work on the project. Nevertheless, Allied intelligence reports from early May 1945 mention spotting a Do 435 at the Dornier factory airfield at Löwenthal (Ref.: 24).

Horten XIIIb (Ho X), (Sharkit Models, Resin)

TYPE: Supersonic fighter, project

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot and Navigator/radar-operator

POWER PLANT: One BMW 003R combined turbojet, rated at 1.000 kp thrust and one BMW 109-718 liquid fuel rocket, rated at 410 kp thrust

PERFORMANCE: 1.118 mph (estimated)

COMMENT: By 1943, the Hortens were discussing the possibility of supersonic flight. While this remained unchartered territory, the decided to experiment with a highly swept glider that would provide an understanding of slow speed handling with a highly swept configuration that might be capable of reaching or exceeding Mach 1.
The glider was designed as Horten Ho XIIIa and construction is believed to have begun in early 1944. The aircraft used wings from the Horten Ho III attached to a new central section which provided a span of 40 ft and a sweep of 60 degrees. The design was very clean with few protrusions apart from a dorsal spoiler and there were no vertical control surfaces. The pilot was housed in a gondola arrangement, mounted below the center section, with access via a tail cone cover. In an emergency, the pilot would jettison his cover and slide out the back of the unit.
The first test flight took place at Göttingen Airfield on 27 November 1944 and further 19 flights were conducted at Homberg by test pilot Hermann Strebel who reported that the glider handled well although he complained about poor roll control, limited forward visibility and landing problems caused by the extended skid.
Nevertheless, the Hortens were contemplating the construction of a more advanced prototype that would be powered by an Argus As10 piston engine in a pusher configuration. But this never came about ans at the end of the war a group of Russian soldiers who had just been liberated from a prison camp discovered the Ho XIIIa and destroyed it.  Furthermore, all the plans and research material for this project vanished without a trace. It now appears that the Ho XIIIb was the anticipated final development of this program and it was expected to have a supersonic performance under certain conditions. Looking very much like an advanced Lippisch design, this fighter would have been about the same size as the HoXIIIa with the same 60 degrees wing sweep. But unlike the glider there would have been a substantial upright fin containing the cockpit in very similar fashion to the proposed supersonic Lippisch P. 13a.
This similarity has often been remarked on although Reimar Horten denied any knowledge of Lippisch’s work during this time in post-war London. However, this seems highly unlikely and there was almost certainly wartime contact between the Hortens and Lippisch. The supersonic Ho XIIIb would have been powered by mixed propulsion system. This could have been either a BMW 003R combined turbojet linked to a BMW 718 rocket engine or a Heinkel/Hirth HeS 011 turbojet and a supplementary Walter rocket engine.
Presumably, a two seater version of the supersonic Horten Ho XIIIb was on the drawing board when in 1945 the “Third Reich” collapsed.

Bill Rose: Secret projects. Flying wings and Tailless Aircraft, Midland Press, Reprint of Ian Allan Publishing Ltd., Hersham, Surrey KTI24RG, 2010.

Heinkel He 219B-1”Uhu” (Eagle-Owl), III./NJG3, (Dragon Models)

TYPE: Night Fighter

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of three

POWER PLANT: Two Junkers Ju 222 liquid-cooled radial engines, rated at 2,500 hp each, resp. two Daimler-Benz DB 603 liquid-cooled engines, rated at 1,900 hp each

PERFORMANCE: 435 mph

COMMENT: The Heinkel He 219 „Uhu“ (Eagle-Owl) was a night-fighter that served with the German Luftwaffe in the later stages of World War II. A relatively sophisticated design, the He 219 possessed a variety of innovations, including Lichtenstein SN-2 advanced VHF-band intercept radar, also used on the Junkers Ju 88G and the Messerschmitt Bf 110G night fighters. It was also the first operational military aircraft to be equipped with ejection seats and the first operational German World War II-era aircraft with tricycle landing gear. Had the „Uhu“ been available in quantity, it might have had a significant effect on the strategic night bombing offensive of the Royal Air Force; however, only 294 of all models were built by the end of the war and these saw only limited service
By the end of 1944, the Luftwaffe had accepted 214 Heinkel He 219As, but during the previous November, the promulgation oft he „Jäger-Notprogramm“ (Fighter Emergency Programme) had sounded death knell for all twin piston-engine fighters with the sole exception of the Dornier Do 335 Pfeil. Ernst Heinkel tacitly ignoring the RLM edict and finalized an assembly line for the fighter at Oranienburg.
Prior to the creation of the „Jäger-Notprogramm“ several variants of the basic He 219 had reached advanced development and even initial production stages. The follow-on series to the He 219As in service was to be the He 219B fitted with the new, but troublesome 2,500 hp Junkers Jumo 222A/B 24 cylinder engines – a multibank, liquid-cooled inline engine, with six rows of cylinder blocks having four cylinders each—which would have allowed the He 219 to reach 440 mph, each of which were almost the same displacement in their A/B (supercharged) and E/F (supercharged with intercoolers) versions and each only very slightly heavier, compared to the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engines in the American Northrop P-61 „Black Widow“ night fighter. The He 219B wing was also to have had an increased span of 22.06 m for better high altitude performance. The Jumo 222 did not reach production status, with just under 300 examples built in at least three differing displacement sizes. Only a few test machines were ever fitted for the engines; some additional air frames were built with the enlarged wing. These examples were slated to fly with high-altitude versions of the standard DB 603 powerplants in place of the troubled Jumo 222 multibank powerplants, but only one or two test machines ever flew with them.
It was proposed to install the Junkers Jumo 222 in a high-altitude three-seat model, the Heinkel He 219B-1, but the non-availability of the Junkers engine necessitated the installation of the Daimler-Benz DB 603Aa in a sole exemple of this variant completed and tested. This He 291B-1 had an aerodynamically refined cockpit canopy, a lengthened fuselage, and an extended wing spanning. Flight testing was cut short when, during the second landing, the starboard undercarriage leg collapsed and the aircraft suffered such intensive damage that it had to be scrapped.
The second B-series, the Heinkel He 219B-2, was intended specifically for anti-Mosquito operations, and was similar in concept of the He 219A-6 in being stripped of virtually all armor.  Employing an He 219A-5 two-seat fuselage married to a long-span B-series wings it was powered by Daimler-Benz DB 603 engines with TK 13 turbo-superchargers, but only few additionally aircraft of this type were hurriedly completed. These were placed in operational service with a forward-firing armament of two 20-mm MG 151 cannon in the wing roots, and  two 30-mm MK 108 cannon  in a „Schräge Musik“ installation.
The Heinkel He 219B-3 was similar to its predecessor apart from the reinstatement of ventral tray armament comprising two 30-mm MK 108 and two 20-mm MG 151 cannon, and this, too, was to have been powered by two Daimler-Benz DB 603L engines, but while still under construction, Heinke received  a directive from the Technischen Amt to await delivery oft he Junkers Jumo 222 engines for installation in this aircraft. In the event, the Junkers power plants never arrived and, in consequence, the He 218B-3 never left the ground (Ref.: 8).

Messerschmitt Me 262B-2a (Frank/Airmodel, Vacu-formed, with parts from Revell)

TYPE: Night and bad-weather fighter

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of two, pilot and navigator/radar-operator

POWER PLANT: Two Junkers Jumo 004B-3 turbojet engines, rates at 950 kp thrust each

PERFORMANCE: 540 mph at 19,685 ft

COMMENT: The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed Schwalbe (German: “Swallow”) in fighter versions, or Sturmvogel (German: “Storm Bird”) in fighter-bomber versions, was the world’s first operational turbojet-powered fighter aircraft. Design work started before WW II began, but problems with engines, metallurgy and top-level interference kept the aircraft from operational status with the German Luftwaffe until mid-1944. The Me 262 was faster and more heavily armed than any Allied fighter, including the British turbojet-powered Gloster Meteor. One of the most advanced aviation designs in operational use during World War II, the Me 262’s roles included light bomber, reconnaissance and experimenat night fighter versions.
While the Messerschmitt Me 262 was not a difficult aircraft to fly, it possessed its share of idiosyncrasies, and some problems arose in the conversion of inexperienced pilots who had just completed their fighter training on piston-engined types. So it was obvious that traing would be simplified by the availability of a dual-control two-seater, and, accordingly, Messerscmitt evolved a suitable conversion trainer, the Messerschmitt Me 262B-1a.
Only some 15 examples of this trainer were delivered as the importance  attached to the introduction of the Me 262 as a nocturnal interceptor resulted in additional trainers on the assemblxy line being converted  as night fighters under the designation Messerschmitt Me 262B-1a/U1.
Whereas the Me 2626B1a/U was a hurried adaption of the training model, the Messerschmitt Me 262B-2a was considered as the definitive night-fighting sub-type for service from mid-1945. Structurally, the principal change consisted of the insertion of additional fuselage section fore and aft the tandem cockpits, increasing overall length more than 3.5 ft. This provided the necessary space to restore the 900 ltr resp. 600 ltr fuel tanks.
The first Me 262B-2a possessed similar radar to that of the Me262B-1a/U2, and the aircraft commenced flight trials in March 1945, but the drag of the „Hirschgeweih“ array, with its eight 7-mm-diameter dipoles, was such that it reduced maximum speed by 30 mph. Various attempts had been made to streamline the antennae, resulting in the „Morgenstern“ aerial system in which the short antennae protruded through the pointed nose cone, and it was calculated that this would restore 30 mph of the speed loss. In the event, it was decided to standardize on the centrimetric wavelength FuG 240 „Berlin“ radar with a disc scanner housed in a plastic radome above the nose-mounted cannon, this affording little or no drag. The second example of the Me 262B-2a, which was to have flown with „Berlin“ radar, was in the final stages of assembly at the time of Germany’s collaps. The Me 262B-2a retained the standard forward firing battery of four 30 mm MK 108 cannon, and, in addition, provision was made for two similar weapons in a „Schräge Musik“ arrangement immediately aft of the rear cockpit (Ref.: 7).

Dornier Do 335A-6 (Dragon Models)

TYPE: Two-seat all weather and night interceptor

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot and radar operator

POWER PLANT: Two Daimler-Benz DB 603A-2, rated at 1,726 hp each

PERFORMANCE: 400 mph at 17,400 ft

COMMENT: The Dornier Do 335 “Pfeil” (“Arrow”) was a WW II heavy fighter built by the Dornier Company. The Do 335s performance was much better than other twin-engine designs due to its unique push-pull configuration and the lower aerodynamic drag of the in-line alignment of the two engines. It was Germany’s Luftwaffe fastest piston-engine aircraft of World War II. The Luftwaffe was desperate to get the design into operational use, but delays in engine deliveries meant that only a handful were delivered before the war ended.
In early 1944 the Do 335 was scheduled to begin mass construction, with the initial order of 120 preproduction aircraft to be manufactured by DWF (Dornier-Werke Friedrichshafen) to be completed no later than March 1946. This number included a number of bombers, destroyers (heavy fighters), and several yet to be developed variants. At the same time, DWM (Dornier-Werke München) was scheduled to build over 2000 Do 335s in various models, due for delivery in March 1946 as well.
While the Dornier Do 335A-0 assembly line at Oberpfaffenhofen was struggling to overcome delays in deliveries of power plants, airscrews, radio equipment and sub-contracted components and assemblies, a number of “Versuchs” (Test) machines for other “Pfeil” subtypes joined the test programme, these including the first two seat models, the Do 335A-6 bad-weather and night interceptor and the Do 335A-12 trainer..
The Dornier Do 335 V10 was the first prototype for the Do 335A-6 radar-equipped two set all weather and night interceptor in which a second cockpit for the radar operator was inserted aft and above the normal cockpit. In order to provide space for the additional cockpit the fuel tankage was drastically revised, the weapon bay being deleted and its space utilized for fuel, fuselage tankage being increased substantially. Cannon armament remained unchanged, but a FuG 101a radio altimeter was
introduced together with FuG 217J-2 “Neptun” intercept radar with wing-mounted antennae. Exhaust flame damping tubes for the fore and aft engines added their measure of drag to that provides by the second cockpit and the radar antennae, and normal loaded weight increased by app. 500 kg. Performance accordingly fell by 10 per cent, but whereas the Do 335 V10 had Daimler-Benz DB 603A-2 engines, the production Do 335 A-6 was intended to have DB 603E engines with provision for methanol-water injection (MW 50) for power boosting below the rated altitude of power plants. Provision was to be made in the wings for two MW 50 tanks, power being boosted to 2,400 hp at sea level per engine.
Production of the Dornier Do 335A-6 night and all-weather fighter had been transferred to the Heinkel factory at Vienna, but despite high priority allocated to the program, circumstances prevented the necessary jigs and tools being assembled (Ref: 7, 12).

Heinkel He 219A-0 “Uhu”, (“Eagle Owl”), I./NJG 1 (Dragon)

TYPE: Night fighter

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of two, Pilot and Radar operator/navigator

POWER PLANT: Two Daimler-Benz DB 603G liquid-cooled engines, rated at 1,900 hp each

PERFORMANCE: 416 mph at 22,965 ft

COMMENT: The Heinkel He 219 “Uhu” (“Eagle Owl”) was a night fighter that served with the German Luftwaffe in the later stages of WW II. A relatively sophisticated design, the He 219 possessed a variety of innovations, including Lichtenstein SN-2 advanced VHF-band intercept radar, also used on the Junkers Ju 88C and Messerschmitt Bf 110G night fighters. It was also the first operational military aircraft to be equipped with ejection seats and the first operational German World War II-era aircraft with tricycle landing gear. Had the He 219 been available in quantity, it might have had a significant effect on the strategic night bombing offensive of the Royal Air Force; however, only 294 of all models were built by the end of the war and these saw only limited service.
Development and production of the He 219 was protracted and tortuous, due to political rivalries between Josef Kammhuber, commander of the German night fighter forces, Ernst Heinkel, the manufacturer and Erhard Milch, responsible for aircraft construction in the Reichluftfahrtministerium (RLM – the German Aviation Ministry). The aircraft was also complicated and expensive to build; these factors further limited the number of aircraft produced.
When engineer R. Lusser returned to Heinkel from Messerschmitt, he began work on a new high-speed bomber project called Heinkel He P.1055. This was an advanced design with a pressurized cockpit, twin ejection seats (the first to be planned for use in any combat aircraft), tricycle landing gear — featuring a nose gear that rotated its main strut through 90° during retraction (quickly orienting the nose wheel into the required horizontal position for stowage within the nose, only at the very end of the retraction cycle) to fit flat within the forward fuselage and remotely controlled, side mounted FDSL 131 defensive gun turrets similar to those used by the Messerschmitt Me 210. Power was to be provided by two of the potentially troublesome, dual-crankcase Daimler-Benz DB 610 “power system” engines then under development, weighing on the order of about 1–​12 tonnes apiece, producing 2,950 hp each, delivering excellent performance with a top speed of approximately 470 mph and a 2,500 mi range with a 2,000 kg bomb load.
The RLM rejected the design in August 1940 as too complex and risky. Lusser quickly offered four versions of the fighter with various wingspans and engine choices in order to balance performance and risk. At the same time, he offered the Heinkel He P.1056, a night fighter with four 20 mm cannon in the wings and fuselage. The RLM rejected all of these on the same grounds in 1941. Heinkel was furious and fired Lusser on the spot.
About the same time as Lusser was designing the P.1055, Kammhuber had started looking for an aircraft for his rapidly growing night fighter force. Heinkel quickly re-designed the P.1055 for this role as the Heinkel He P.1060. This design was similar in layout but somewhat smaller and powered by two of the largest displacement  single-block liquid-cooled aviation engines placed in mass production in Germany, the Daimler-Benz DB 603 inverted V12 engine. As designed by Heinkel, these engines’ nacelle accommodations featured annular radiators similar to the ones on the Junkers Jumo 211-powered Junkers Ju 88A, but considerably more streamlined in appearance, and which, after later refinement to their design, were likely to have been unitized as a Heinkel-specific “Kraftei” (Power egg) engine unit-packaging design. Nearly identical-appearance nacelles, complete with matching annular radiators, were also used on the four prototypes Heinkel He 177B prototype airframes built in 1943-44, and the six ordered prototypes of Heinkel’s He 274 high-altitude strategic bombers with added turbochargers. The early DB 603 subtypes had poor altitude performance, which was a problem for Heinkel’s short-winged design, but Daimler had a new “G” subtype of the DB 603 power plant meant to produce 1,900 hp take-off power apiece under development to remedy the problem. Heinkel was sure he had a winner and sent the design off to the RLM in January 1942, while he funded the first prototype himself. The RLM again rejected the He 219, in favour of new Junkers Ju 88- and Messerschmitt Me 210-based designs.
Construction of the prototype started in February 1942 but suffered a serious setback in March, when Daimler said that the DB 603G engine would not be ready in time. Instead, they would deliver a 603A engine with a new gear ratio to the propellers, as the DB 603C with the choice of using four-blade propellers, as the similarly-powered Focke-Wulf Fw 190C high-altitude fighter prototypes were already starting to use into early 1943, with the DB 603. DB 603 engines did not arrive until August 1942 and the prototype did not fly until November 1942.
When Kammhuber saw the prototype, he was so impressed that he immediately ordered it into production over Milch’s objections. Milch – who had rejected the He 219 in January in favor of the Junkers Ju 388J was enraged.
Stability problems with the aircraft were noted but Heinkel overcame these by offering a cash prize to engineers who could correct them. Further changes were made to the armament during the development of the prototype He 219V-series. The dorsal rear defensive guns mounted atop the fuselage and firing directly rearward from a fixed, internally mounted, rear-facing dorsal “step” position, at a point just aft of the wing trailing edge, were removed due to their ineffectiveness. The forward-firing armament complement of the aircraft was increased to two Mauser MG 151/20 20 mm cannon in the wing roots, inboard of the propeller arcs to avoid the need for gun synchronizers, with four more MG 151/20 cannon mounted in the ventral fuselage tray, which had originally ended in a rearwards-facing “step” similar to and located directly under the deleted rear dorsal “step” – this rearwards-facing feature was also deleted for similar reasons.
The Heinkel He 219A-0 model featured a bulletproof shield that could be raised in the front interior cockpit, hiding the entire bottom portion of the windscreen, providing temporary pilot protection and leaving a sighting slot by which the gunsight could be aimed at a bomber. Production prototypes were then ordered as the Heinkel He 219A-0 and quickly progressed to the point where prototypes V7, V8 and V9 were handed over to operational units in June 1943 for testing.
The earlier prototypes, with four-blade propellers for their DB 603 engines (also used on the Fw 190C prototypes, with the same DB 603 engine) had blunt, compound-curvature metal nose cones also used for production-series He 219A airframes. The initial examples of these nose cones possessed cutouts for their use with the quartet of forward-projecting masts for the “Matratze” (“Mattress”) 32-dipole radar antennae on the noses of at least the first five prototypes, used with the early UHF-band “Lichtenstein” B/C or C-1 radar installation. These early He 219V-series prototype airframes also had cockpit canopies that did not smoothly taper aftwards on their upper profile, as on the later production He 219A-series airframes, but instead ended in a nearly hemispherically-shaped enclosure. The fourth prototype, He 219 V4, equipped with the earlier canopy design, had a small degree of internal metal framing within the rearmost hemispherical canopy glazing, apparently for a rear dorsal weapons mount or sighting gear for the deleted fixed “step”-mount rearwards-firing armament.
The first major production series was the Heinkel He 219A-0, although initially the pre-production series, it matured into a long running production series, due to numerous changes incorporated into the design, along with the cancellation of several planned variants. Production problems as a result of Allied bombing in March meant the A-0 did not reach Luftwaffe units until October 1943. The A-0 was usually armed with two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon in the wing roots and up to four 20 mm or 30 mm cannon in a ventral weapons bay. The first 10–15 aircraft were delivered with the 490 MHz UHF-band FuG 212 “Lichtenstein” C-1radar with a 4 × 8-dipole element “Matratze” antenna array. 104 Heinkel He 219A-0s were built until the summer of 1944, the majority of them at EHW (Ernst Heinkel Wien) or Heinkel-Süd in Wien-Schwechat (Ref.: 24).

Horten/Gotha Go 229B-1 (Pioneer)

TYPE: Night- and all-weather fighter. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot and radar observer

POWER PLANT: Two Junkers Jumo 004C turbojet engines, rated at 1.100 kp each

PERFORMANCE: 600 mph at 40,000 ft

COMMENT: The Horten/Gotha Go 229B-1 was a night- and all-weather fighter variant of the basic Horten/ Gotha- Go 229A-0. The design based on the projected Horten Ho 229B V-7. Again the fuselage was lengthened to accommodate two crew members in tandem and FuG 240 Berlin radar. The flight characteristics were unchanged compared with the Horten/Gotha Go 229A-0. The project never left the drawing board.

Junkers EF 128 Nachtjäger (Night fighter), (Planet, resin)

TYPE: Night- and all-weather fighter. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot and radar observer

POWER PLANT: One Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engine, rated at 1,200 kp

PERFORMANCE: 621 mph at 23,000 ft, estimated

COMMENT: In mid 1944 the OKL (Oberkommando der Luftwaffe, Luftwaffe High Command) issued to tender a development request calling for a fighter powered by a Heinkel He S 011 turbojet engine. Required were a top speed of 612 mph at 23,000 ft and an armament of four MK 108 cannon.  In contrast to the single-seater, proposed by Blohm & Voss, Bv P.212, Focke-Wulf, Ta 183, Heinkel, He P.1078, and Messerschmitt, Me P.1110, Junkers presented the project EF 128 as a two-seater all-weather fighter. In two conferences between the aircraft companies, the OKL and the DVL, held in December 1944 and January 1945, all designs were evaluated. Finally chosen was the design of Junkers EF 128, as well as single-seater, and as two-seater. The production should start in mid 1945. Due to the compact fuselage and the relative high cross section it was possible to seat the crew side-by-side in an pressurized cockpit and to integrate newest radar equipment such as FuG 240 “Berlin” (Ref.: 20).

Messerschmitt Me 262B-2 with Heinkel-Hirth HeS 021 Turboprop (Revell, Parts from Unicraft, Resin)

TYPE: Long-range night- and all-weather fighter. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of two, pilot and radar observer

POWER PLANT: Two Heinkel-Hirth HeS 021 turboprop engines, rated at 3,300 hp each

PERFORMANCE: No data available

COMMENT: From the onset Messerschmitt engineers worked on several modification of the basic Me 262 ‘Schwalbe’ and ‘Sturmvogel’ designs, e. g. with different equipment, engines, electronics and weapon systems. Some of them were realized, others remained in project status. The availability of new and powerful turboprop engines was of great interest for long-range aircraft, especially for night- and all-weather fighters. The main advantage of this new power unit was the relative little fuel consumption, compared with the turbojet engines at that time, and by that an extended time of flight. Pioneers on that field were BMW (BMW 028, 5,440 hp), Daimler Benz (DB ZTL, 2,000 hp), Heinkel,( HeS 021, 3,300 hp), and Junkers (Jumo 022, 6,000 hp). None of these engines were completed and tested, but some in a very advanced stage.
This Messerschmitt Me 262B-2 design  dates back to early 1945. Based on an airframe of a two-seater Me 262B, two Heinkel-Hirth HeS 021 turboprops, each driving six-bladed propellers, should be installed. As with many other projects this design remained on the drawing board until the end of the hostilities. After the war similar designs were developed and flown in the UK, the Gloster ‘Trent Meteor”, and the US the Convair XP-81, and the Ryan F2R-1 ‘Dark Shadow’, respectively.