POWER PLANT: Two Daimler-Benz DB 603 liquid-cooled engines, rated at 1,726 hp each
PERFORMANCE: 472 mph (estimated)
COMMENT: The Messerschmitt Me 609 was a short-lived WW II German project which joined two fuselages of the Messerschmitt Me 309 fighter prototype together to form a heavy fighter.
The project was initiated in response to a 1941 RLM (Reich Air Ministry) requirement for a new “Zerstörer” (destroyer, or heavy fighter) to replace the Messerschmitt Bf 110 in a minimum time and with a minimum of new parts The new design would use components from existing aircraft, thus not disrupting existing production. After the cancellation of the Messerschmitt Me 309 project in 1943, work was continued using it as a basis for other designs. One of these reworked designs was for the Me 509; another was for the 609, which was basically two Me 309 fuselages joined with a new center wing section. Messerschmitt was also working on and had completed a twin-fuselage Bf 109, known as the Me109Z, but the prototype was destroyed before flight testing.
Two Me 309 fuselages were to be joined with a constant chord center wing section, into which two inboard landing gears retracted. The outboard landing gears were resigned, two nose wheels retracted to the rear and rotating 90 degrees to lie flat beneath the engines. This resulted in an unusual four-wheel arrangement. Power was to be supplied by two Daimler Benz 603 or 605 12 cylinder inverted V liquid -cooled engines. The pilot sat in a cockpit located in the port fuselage, with the starboard cockpit canopy being faired over.
Two versions were envisioned: a heavy fighter (“Zerstörer”) and a high-speed bomber (“Schnellbomber”, fast bomber). In the fighter version, two MK 108 30 mm cannon and two MK 103 30mm cannon were projected as the armament, with a provision for two additional MK 108 30mm cannon mounted beneath the center wing section or under the outer wing sections. In addition, either one SC 500 or two SC 250 bombs could be carried, also beneath the center wing section. The fast bomber version would have reduced armament, with only two MK 108 30mm cannon were to be installed. Extra fuel (1500 kg) could be carried in the faired over starboard cockpit, and the bomb load was to consist of two SC 1000 bombs which were carried beneath each fuselage.
Finally, a two seater night fighter variant, Messerschmitt Me 609 NJ (Nachtjäger, Night fighter) was envisioned with FuG 220 “Lichtenstein SN-2” antennas mounted at the outer wings. The pilot sat in the port and the radar operator in the starboard fuselage.
Even though it was calculated that many components of the Me 309 could be used (fuselage, engines, equipment, 80% of the wings), by the time this design began to jell, the Messerschmitt Me 262 turbojet fighter was proving to be the plane of the future, and could take over all roles for which the Me 609 was designed. Thus, the Me 609 project was no longer pursued after 1944 (Ref.: 24).
POWER PLANT: One Zündapp Z9-092 air-cooled, rated at 50 hp
PERFORMANCE: 88 mph
COMMENT: The Braunschweig LF-1 “Zaunkönig”, (“Wren”, LF = Langsames Flugzeug, Slow aircraft), is a Short Take-Off and Landing single-seat light aircraft designed in 1939 by Hermann Winter and some of his students from the Technische Universität Braunschweig (Technical University of Brunswick), Lower Saxony, Germany, as a fool-proof trainer for novice student pilots to experience solo flight. H. Winter was a former chief engineer at the Bulgarian company DAR (Drzhavnata Aeroplanna Rabotilnitsa, where he created a line of aircraft and gliders for the Bulgarian Army.
The LF-1 is a parasol wing monoplane with a high set tail-plane, powered by a Zündapp Z 9-092 engine delivering 50 hp, able to operate from a 330 ft airstrip. The two-piece wings are set at 16° dihedral and are supported by a pair of V-cabane struts and V-struts either side from approximately half-span to the lower center fuselage. Full span leading edge slats extend automatically and full span trailing edge flaps / drooping ailerons can be extended manually by the pilot. The fixed tailwheel undercarriage attaches to the fuselage with long struts and oleo pneumatic shock absorbers.
It was a proof-of-concept design for a ‘fool-proof’ trainer intended for novice pilots with only one hour of ground instruction, the hour being reduced to five-minutes for those who had already flown gliders, and was intended to be impossible to either stall or spin.
The first prototype, the LF-1 V1, was built in 1940 and made its maiden flight, piloted by Winter himself, in December 1940. Test flights stopped in November 1942 after part of the wing ruptured causing the aircraft to crash. In 1943 a second prototype, the V2, was built, receiving the civil registration D-YBAR.
In early 1945 the aircraft was tested for military applications and was once even armed with a Panzerfaust 100 recoilless anti-tank weapon (Bazooka).
At the end of WW II the LF-1 was taken to the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) at Farnborough for slow flying tests; given the British serial VX190, where amongst others, it was flown by Eric “Winkle” Brown CO Aero Flight, the aircraft also being soloed by the then-head of the RAE Aerodynamics Section, Handel Davies, after half an hour of ground instruction, and whose only previous piloting experience was as a pupil in a dual-control Miles Magister.
Encouraged by the positive British reviews Hermann Winter decided to build three more LF-1 aircraft. The construction started in 1954 and it was the first new aircraft in Germany after the war to receive a certificate by the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA) in Braunschweig (Ref.: 24).
TYPE: Trainer glider for Heinkel He 162 turbojet aircraft
ACCOMMODATION: Crew of two, Pilot and student
POWER PLANT: None
PERFORMANCE: No data available
COMMENT: The Heinkel He 162 „Volksjäger“ (“People’s Fighter”), the name of a project of the „Jägernotprogramm“ (Emergency Fighter Program) design competition, was a German single-engine, jet-powered fighter aircraft fielded by the Luftwaffe in WW II. It was designed and built quickly and made primarily of wood as metals were in very short supply and prioritised for other aircraft. „Volksjäger“ was the RLM’s (Reich Air Ministry’s) official name for the government design program competition won by the He 162 design. Other names given to the plane include „Salamander“, which was the codename of its construction program, and „Spatz“ (“Sparrow”), which was the name given to the plane by Heinkel.
The „Volksjäger“ needed to be easy to fly. Some suggested even glider or student pilots should be able to fly the jet effectively in combat, and indeed had the Heinkel He 162 gone into full production, that is precisely what would have happened. After the war, Ernst Heinkel would say, “[The] unrealistic notion that this plane should be a ‘people’s fighter,’ in which the „Hitler Jugend“ (Hitler Youth), after a short training regimen with clipped-wing two-seater gliders like the DFS „Stummel Habicht“, could fly for the defense of Germany, displayed the unbalanced fanaticism of those days.”
The clipped-wingspan DFS „Habicht“ (Goshawk) models had varying wingspans of both 8 m or 6 m, and were used to prepare more experienced Luftwaffe pilots for the dangerous Messerschmitt Me 163B „Komet“ rocket fighter – the same sort of training approach would also be used for the „Hitler Youth“ aviators chosen to fly the jet-powered „Volksjäger“ design competition’s winning airframe design.
Besides the „Stummelhabicht“ a standard-fuselage length, unarmed BMW 003E-powered two-seat version (with the rear pilot’s seat planned to have a ventral access hatch to access the cockpit) and an unpowered two-seat glider version, designated the Heinkel He 162S („S“ for Schulen, Training establishment), were developed for training purposes. Only a small number were built, and even fewer delivered to the sole He 162 „Hitler Youth“ training unit to be activated in March 1945 at an airbase at Sagan (now Poland). The unit was in the process of formation when the war ended, and did not begin any training; it is doubtful that more than one or two He 162S gliders ever took to the air (Ref.: 24).
POWER PLANT: One Heinkel/Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engine, rated at 1,300 kp thrust
PERFORMANCE: No data available
COMMENT: This late WW II Messerschmitt „Projekt Wespe” (Wasp) is mostly unknown, and information on it is incomplete. Two seperate fuselages were designed for the „Wespe”:
Design Messerschmitt „Projekt Wespe I” had the cockpit located midway along the fuselage, and the single turbojet engine was located at the rear and was fed by a long air duct. A long tapering single fin and rudder was chosen, with the tail planes located about halfway up.
Design Messerschmitt „Projekt Wespe II” had the cockpit located far forward on the fuselage, and the single He S 011 turbojet was mounted mid fuselage. It was fed by an air duct which wrapped under the forward fuselage, and exhausted below a tail boom with a V- Tail unit.
Both designs used a tricycle landing gear arrangement, with the main gear retracting inwards from the wing and the front gear retracting forwards. No armament was specified, but at this stage in the war two MK 108 30mm cannon would probably have been fitted. Priority for both designs was the use of non-strategic material as much as possible, reduction of time for maintenance and adequate flying characteristics (Ref.: 17).
POWER PLANT: Two Daimler-Benz DB 610A-1/B-1 liquid-cooled engines, rated at 2,950 hp each
PERFORMANCE: 407 mph at 22,300 ft
COMMENT: Prior to the receipt of RLM instructions to prepare for production of the Daimler-Benz DB 606-powered Junkers Ju 288, the Junkers construction bureau had introduced some major changes in the basic design of the bomber which had resulted in the Ju 288C intended specifically for the Daimler-Benz engines. One of the most noticeable external changes was the provision of a redesigned and elongated nose which increased overall length substantially. Defensive armament was supplemented by a ventral barbette aft of the bomb-bay, instrumentation was greatly improved and the structure was strengthened.
The first C-series prototype, the Ju 288 V101 with DB 606A/B engines, was completed in August 1942, this being followed within a few weeks by the similar Ju 288 V102.
The Ju 288C programme continued with high priority, production standards were finalized, and modifications dictated by flight test programme, together with production features, were embodied by the next prototype, the Ju 288C V103. Fitted with the more powerful DB 610 engines and introducing provision for underwing weapons racks, the Ju 288C V103 had the full complement of four remotely-controlled gun barbettes, and was flown for the first time in spring of 1943.
The Junkers Ju 288C V103 was intended as the first production prototype for the Ju 288C-1, and was rapidly followed by the Ju 288 V104 and V105 which were flown in May 1943, and the V106 which flew in June, these all being powered by DB 610A/B engines and differing only in minor items of equipment. At this time, it was proposed to manufacture the bomber in three versions which differed primarily in the defensive armament fitted. The Ju 288C-1 was to have a chin, dorsal and ventral barbettes each mounting twin MG 131 machine guns, and a tail barbette mounting a MG 151 cannon; the Ju 288C-2 was to have had twin MG 151 cannon in each chin, dorsal and ventral barbettes, and either two MG 131s in tail barbette or four MG 131 in a manned tail turret, and the Ju 288C-3 was to have been a night bomber with defensive armament restricted to twin MG 131s in a ventral barbette.
Suddenly, in June 1943, Junkers was informed by the Technische Amt that the entire “Bomber B” programme had been abandoned owing to increasing shortages of strategic materials and the effect that the launching of a major production program for a new bomber would have on existing production programmes at a critical phase in the conflict. However, despite the cancellation of the programme, Junkers completed two additional machines, the Ju 288 V107 and V 108, which were flown in July 1943, other airframes on the assembly line being scrapped. Some flight testing of the Ju 288 was continued until the summer of 1944, by which time a least 17 of the 22 prototypes had crashed while engaged in flight development. With the termination of the test programme, several of the surviving Ju 288B- and C-series prototypes were transferred to the Luftwaffe, and fitted with ventral gun pods similar to that fitted to the Junkers Ju 88P-4 and mounting a single 50 mm BK 5 (KwK 39) cannon, these saw limited operational use during the closing stages of the conflict (Ref.:7).
POWER PLANT: One Walter HWK 509C-1 bi-fuel rocket engine, rated at 2,000 kp main chamber plus 400 kp auxiliary chamber
PERFORMANCE: 596 mph at 40,000 ft.
COMMENT: As soon as it was realized that the HWK 509A rocket engine of the Messerschmitt Me 163B “Komet” consume appreciable more fuel than had been calculated, reducing commensurately the powered endurance of the aircraft, Professor Walter began investigating the possibility of introducing an auxiliary cruising chamber which achieved test status during 1944 in two B-series prototypes, the Me 163B V6 and Me 163B V18, these subsequently serving as test beds for the Me 163C-series. The cruising chamber afforded a thrust of 400 kp which was additional to the normal full-power thrust rating, and the intention was that the aircraft should take off and climb to operational altitude with both rocket chambers operating at full thrust, then cut the main chamber and cruise on the power of the auxiliary chamber alone. Apart from provision of a fully-retractable tailwheel which was positioned further forward to allow for the twin vertically-disposed rocket pipes, some revision of the keel line and shortening of the landing skid, the Me 163B V6 and Me 163B V18 were externally similar to the standard Me 162B-series production aircraft.
On July 1944, test pilot Rolf Opitz took off from Peenemünde in the Me 163B V18 for the first climb calibration trials with both rocket chambers functioning. Everything went according to plan until, just above 13,000 ft., the aircraft began to accelerate. At 14,760 ft. the climb rate of the aircraft was still increasing and within four seconds the aircraft has passed 16,400 ft. Another few seconds and the aircraft exceeded its critical Mach number, and Opitz promptly cut the rocket motor. The prototype immediately went into a steep dive from which Opitz only succeeded in recovering a few feet above the waters of the Baltic Sea. After landing back at Peenemünde Opitz discovered that almost the entire rudder of the aircraft had been ripped away, and it was subsequently ascertained the Me 163B V18 had attained a speed of 702 mph.
While test with both prototypes were proceeding, the Messerschmitt drawing office was working on a refined version of the rocket fighter, the Messerschmitt Me 163C, intended from the onset to utilize the auxiliary cruising chamber. While the wings of the new model were essentially similar to those of the Me 163B, a new centre section was introduced which increased overall span and gross area. This was married to an enlarged fuselage of improved fineness ratio which accommodated the pilot in a pressurized cockpit enclosed by a blister-type all-round vision canopy. The T-Stoff and C-Stoff tankage was increased and the armament, which could comprise either two 20-mm MG 151 or two 30-mm MK 108 cannon, was transferred from the wing roots to the fuselage. The additional tank capacity and cockpit pressurization allowed the maximum altitude to increase to 52,000 ft, as well as improving powered time to about 12 minutes, almost doubling combat time (from about five minutes to nine).
Preparations for the series production of the new model as Messerschmitt Me 163C-1a began late in 1944, but only three were reportedly completed, the being allocated “Versuchs” number as Me 163C V1, V2 And V3, and only one is known to have flown before all three were destroyed to prevent them falling into Soviet hands (Ref.: 7).
POWER PLANT: Two BMW 801MA radial engines, rated at 1,677 hp each
PERFORMANCE: 388 mph
COMMENT: The Junkers Ju 288, originally known within the Junkers Company as the EF 074, was a German bomber project designed during WW II, which only ever flew in prototype form. The first of an eventual 22 development aircraft flew on 29 November 1940.
The Ju 288 was the winner of the “Bomber B” contest, although the contest was started by Junker’s submission of the EF 074 and their selection was never really in doubt. “Bomber B” intended to replace the Junkers Ju 88 with a design that was larger, offer cabin pressurization for high altitude work, have longer range, a much greater war load, be even faster, and have improved defensive firepower. The design would replace all the bombers then in German Luftwaffe service.
Delivering all of these requirements in a single airframe demanded much more powerful engines, and all of the “Bomber B” concepts relied on the Junkers Jumo 222 engine to deliver this power. Ultimately, the Jumo 222 was a failure in spite of massive effort and several redesigns over a period of several years. No suitable replacement was ever forthcoming, dooming the Ju 288 program, and leaving the Luftwaffe with older bomber designs during the second half of World War II.
Junkers had been outlining a variety of improved models of the Ju 88 since 1937, powered by the planned Jumo 222 multibank engine, or Jumo 223 inline multibank diesel of greatly increased power of at 2,000 horsepower. The EF 074 was essentially a scaled-up Ju 88, sharing its general layout and most of its fuselage and wings with extensions in various places. The nose was redesigned with a more streamlined “stepless” cockpit, having no separate windscreen panels for the pilot and co-pilot. This layout allowed cabin pressurization to be more easily implemented. This design approach had been growing in favour, subsequently appearing in various German types, notably the Heinkel He 111P and H’s.
No serious work was undertaken on these versions, but after Heinrich Hertel left Heinkel and joined Junkers in 1939, the EF 074 design was submitted to the RLM in May 1939. Accordingly, the RLM sent out the specifications for the “Bomber B” design competition in July, the Ju 88 retroactively becoming the second aircraft to be designated “Bomber A”, as the June 1936 specification for the Heinkel He 177 also had that name. The “Bomber B” program aimed at replacing all of the medium bombers in the Luftwaffe inventory with a new design based on the EF.74 or something with equal performance. “Bomber B” was intended to have even better speed than the Ju 88, high-altitude cruising with a pressurized cockpit, heavier defensive armament, range allowing it to cover any point in the British Isles, and a 4,000 kg war load, double that of the earlier generation bombers. A number of companies returned proposals, but these were to some extent a formality, the EF.74 had already been selected as the winner, and of the rest of the designs submitted, only the Focke-Wulf Fw 191 and Dornier Do 317 progressed even as far as prototypes, and the Henschel Hs 130 coming under consideration as a late entrant.
Work began on building prototypes in early 1940, and the first example was completed by mid 1940. Power was supposed to be supplied by two Junkers Jumo 222 six-bank, four cylinders per bank, over 2.000 hp output class powerplants, but problems with the Jumo 222’s development — as with almost every new concept for over 2.000 hp output reciprocating aircrafts engienes then underway in the Third Reich — meant the first prototypes flew with BMW 801 radial engines, instead. The first flight-quality Jumo 222s did not arrive until October 1941, and even at this point it was clear they were nowhere near ready for full-scale production. When it became apparent the Jumo 222 was not likely to become a viable powerplant, in May 1942, Junkers proposed replacing them, for their projected Ju 288C version, with the much heavier Daimler Benz DB 606‘s instead; the same 1.5 tonne, twin-crankcase „weldet-together engines“ that Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring complained about some three months later, regarding the Heinkel He 177’s own endless powerplant troubles
Late in January 194, after protracted ground trials, the first prototype, the Ju 288 V1, was flown for the first time. It was powered by two BMW 801 MA engines, each rated at 1,600 hp. The defensive armament arrangement reverted to that of the original EF 074 proposal, dummy barbettes being mounted in forward dorsal and aft ventral positions.
During the early spring 1941, the first prototype was joined by the Ju 288 V2 which differed from its predecessor only in having spoiler-type dive brakes in place of slatted-type surfaces which were also featured by the Ju 288 V3, this third prototype commencing flight trials during the early summer, by which time work had begun on a further series of prototypes, the first of these being the Ju 288 V4.
The Ju 288’s intricate main landing gear system’s design proved to be troublesome. Such a complex main gear design, with only the single pivoting retraction point for its oleo struts taking the primary stress of touchdown, was likely only one of the many potential sources of trouble causing the Ju 288’s main gear units to repeatedly collapse on touchdown.
Although the Junkers Ju 288 never even reached production status, let alone official operational service, the aircraft did see limited combat duty. In 1944, following the cancellation of the Ju 288 programme, the surviving A and C series prototypes were hurriedly fitted with defensive armament and equipment and deployed as reconnaissance bombers on the Western Front. Very few missions were flown, owing to the scarcity of aviation fuel and spare parts, and the unresolved problems with the aircraft’s power plant and undercarriage. It is believed] that the few Ju 288’s were attached to the same unit operating the small number of Junkers Ju 388 reconnaissance planes that saw service (Ref.: 7. 24).
TYPE: Fighter project, forerunner of the Heinkel He 162
ACCOMMODATION: pilot only
POWER PLANT: one Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engine, rated at 1.300 kp thrust
PERFORMANCE: 615 mph in 19615 ft
COMMENT: The summer 1944 saw limitations of the Messerschmitt Me 262 becoming readily apparent. The basic design predated the war. It was heavy and expensive, and required to precious turbojet engines. A cheap high-performance replacement was needed so in July 1944 the RLM issued a requirement for a new single-turbojet high-performance fighter, known as the “1-TL-Jäger”. Germany’s aircraft companies were quick to realise that this was potentially the most important competition in which they had so far had the opportunity to participate. Designing a successful single-seat fighter carries a huge amount of prestige and the most famous firms – Blohm &Voss, Focke-Wulf , Heinkel, Junkers and Messerschmitt – jumped at the chance to create the successor to not only on the me 262 but perhaps also the Bf 109 and Fw 190 too. The engine was to be a Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet and the companies were allowed two months to prepare their first designs, Blohm & Voss had two months more time.
On September 1944 the designs were presented at a meeting at Messerschmitt’s Oberammergau facility. It is not known which designed were presented by Messerschmitt and Heinkel, though it is likely that these were one of the earliest versions of the former’s Me P.1101, and the latter’s He P.1073 or a variant of it. Focke-Wulf put forward a twin-boom design Nr.280 it had been working on since early 1944. Blohm & Voss’s design (P.212) was apparently not ready and furthermore it was agreed that Junkers should also be allowed to submit a tender for the requirement.
On the last day of the meeting, a new requirement was suddenly and for most part unexpectedly issued for what would become the “Volksjäger” (Peoples Fighter). This called for a fighter powered by a single BMW 003 turbojet engine that could reach a maximum speed of 466 mph and have an endurance of 30 minutes at full throttle. It also had to be able to operate from poor airfields.
This urgent demand for new single-turbojet fighter designs that could be built in a hurry from low grade non-strategic materials effectively stalled work on the “1-TL-Jäger” competition for several months, particularly Blohm & Voss, Focke-Wulf, Heinkel and Junkers all hastily drafted entries for the “Volksjäger” contest.
The Heinkel He P.1073, originally designed before July 1944 as a fighter with two Junkers Jumo 004C turbojet-engines, one under the nose and one at its back but now altered to fly with just one Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011, was already close to meeting the “Volksjäger” specification. The Heinkel “Volksjäger”-design He P.1073.01.18 was dated from September 1944, just one day after the specification was issued. This only was possible because Heinkel’s design team had several different variants of the design on the drawing board. The documentation describes the He P.1073.01.18 as a “Kleinst-Jäger” (Midget Fighter) and states it is ”a simplification of the design with HeS 011”. It bears remarkable resemblance to what would become the Heinkel He 162 “Spatz” (Sparrow”) except the wings are simpler and both nose wheel and main gear retract forward into the fuselage. Heinkel’s design received a similarly lukewarm reaction, probably because it was based heavily on the company’s already known “1-TL-Jäger” project. But Heinkel’s representatives pointed out that with aircraft such as the Heinkel He 177 bomber no longer in production there was now spare capacity available at its capacious and well-equipped factories. There is some evidence that on September 23rd 1944 Hitler himself ordered the He P.1073 into mass production as Heinkel He 162.
The variant of the He P.1073 design that finally led to the definitive Heinkel He 162 “Volksjäger” is shown here. The design is dated back from September 10th, 1944 and shows the installation of the turbojet engine on the back. The wings are swept back at 35 degree, the tail plane had a positive dihedral and two fins. Under the fuselage on ventral starboard side a streamlined pannier was fitted holding a MK 108 machine canon and two MG 213C machine guns were oblique mounted in the front at both sides of the pilot’s seat. Work on the final version of the Heinkel “Volksjäger began on October 25th, 1944 and its maiden flight took place on December 6th that year (Ref.: Sharp, Dan: Luftwaffe. Secrets Jets of the Third Reich. Mortons Media Group Ltd, Horncastle, 2015).
POWER PLANT: Two Junkers Jumo 004C, rated at 1050 kp each or two Heinkel/Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engines, rated at 1,200 kp each
PERFORMANCE: High sub-sonic speed (estimated)
COMMENT: The Messerschmitt Me 262 HG IV („Hochgeschwindigkeits-Projekt IV“, „High-speed Project IV“) was a high-speed concept which would be based on the Messerschmitt Me 262 „Schwalbe“ („Swallow“). The design dates back to early 1940 when attempt were made to test the revolutionary turbojet driven aircraft at critical Mach numbers.
Several proposals were calculated on the drawing board and even one design realized:
The Messerschmitt Me 262 V9 HG I was flight tested in January 1944. During the course various aerodynamic improvements were introduced into a basic Me 262 aircraft. The leading edge of the inner wing as well as of the vertical tail was increased to 45 degree, the leading edge of the horizontal tail was swept back to 40 degree, a shallow, low-drag cockpit canopy was installed, and the muzzles were faired over. The highest speed attained by this experimental aircraft being 624 mph.
On the drawing board remained the Messerschmitt Me 262 HG II and Me 262 HG III, both designs in various subtypes with different wings, conventional as well as with “Butterfly”-type tail plane, different engine installation and air intake.
Finally, the Messerschmitt Me 262 HG IV was a basic Messerschmitt Me 262 aircraft with original wing section and low mounted nacelles, housing the turbojet engines, but an intensively modified fuselage similar to the Me 262 HG III/3. The cockpit was placed to the rear of the fuselage merging into the tail plane, fuel tanks and armament was set at the front of the aircraft.
All Messerschmitt Me 262 HG II, Me 262 HG III and Me 262 HGIV were never realized
POWER PLANT: Two Daimler-Benz DB 603A-2, rated at 1,726 hp each
PERFORMANCE: 430 mph at 17,400 ft
COMMENT: The Dornier Do 335 “Pfeil” (“Arrow”) was a WW II heavy fighter built by the Dornier company. The two-seater trainer version was unofficially called “Ameisenbär (“Anteater”). 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.
The Dornier Do 335 V1 first prototype flew for the first time on 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. Issues were found with the weak landing gear and with the main gear’s wheel well doors, resulting in them being removed for the remainder of the V1’s test flights. The Do 335 V1 made 27 flights, flown by three different pilots. During these test flights the second prototype Do 335 V2 was completed and made its first flight on end December 1943. New to the V2 were upgraded DB 603A-2 engines, and several refinements learned from the test flights of the V1 as well as further wind tunnel testing.
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.
The first preproduction Dornier Do 335A-0s were delivered in July 1944 to the “Erprobungskommando 335” (“Proving detachment 335”) formed for service evaluation purposes.
On May 1944, Hitler, as part of the developing “Jägernotprogramm” (Emergency Fighter Program) directive, which took effect on July that year, ordered maximum priority to be given to Do 335 production. The main production line was intended to be at Manzell, but bombing raids in March destroyed the tooling and forced Dornier to set up a new line at Oberpfaffenhofen.
Among the different variants of the Do 335 under construction were two further two-seat prototypes, the Do 335 V11 and V12, these being respectively prototypes for the Daimler-Benz DB 603A-2-powered Do 335A-10 and DB 603E-1-powered Do 335A-12 dual-control conversion trainer. Having a similar raised second cockpit inserted aft and above the normal cockpit, the Do 335A-10 was equipped with full instrumentation and controls and was occupied by the instructor. The first aircraft were delivered without armament, but similar armament to that of the Do 335A-1 was specified for production models which were interspersed on the Do 335A-1 assembly line, and the genuine production aircraft was, in fact, a Do 335A-12 trainer.
At least 16 prototype Do 335s were known to have flown (V1–V12, and Muster-series prototypes M13–M17) on a number of DB603 engine subtypes including the DB 603A, A-2, G-0, E and E-1. The first preproduction Do 335A-0s were delivered in July 1944. Approximately 22 preproduction aircraft were thought to have been completed and flown before the end of the war including approximately 11 A-0s converted to A-11s for training purposes.
When U.S. forces overran Dornier’s Oberpfaffenhofen factory only 11 Do 335A-1 single-seat fighter bombers and two Do 335A-12 conversion trainers had been completed, but a further nine A-1s, four A-4s and two A-12s were in final assembly, and components and assemblies for nearly 70 additional aircraft had been completed. Production of the 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).
Scale 1:72 aircraft models of World War II
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