 |
Heinkel He 2771943 |  |
| BOMBER | Virtual Aircraft Museum / Germany / Heinkel |
 |
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 unittothe 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.
Vahe David Demirjian, e-mail, 05.08.2020  Simon GunsonHe 177B V104 actually had code KM+TE, and it never flew. The true He 277 was a 131-ft span intercontinental bomber, but never progressed beyond the design phase. Vahe Demirjian, e-mail, 21.08.2020 Klaatu83Heinkel's desires for a four-engine He 177 variant were stymied by the RLM's dive bombing requirement for the He 177. The first Heinkel design for a four-engine version of the Greif, the He 179, was conceived in 1939 but did not leave the drawing board. The Heinkel company had to wait long for the RLM to dispense with the dive-bombing requirement for the He 177 to earn the green light to proceed with the He 177B, by which time Hitler's plans for air raids on Manhattan with planes like the He 277, Me 264, and Ta 400 were slipping away due to shortages of materials essential for these long-range heavy bombers. Vahe David Demirjian, e-mail, 05.08.2020 Simon GunsonNo He 277s were ever built. The airframes with Stamkennzeichen codes GA+QR, GA+QM, and GA+QX were He 177 prototypes, but GA+QQ was one of four He 177s converted to an He 177B prototype. The He 177 with the code GA+QN was never converted to an He 177B. The true He 277, as noted by Griehl and Dressel (1998), was an intercontinental bomber with a 131 foot wingspan and a cockpit similar to that of the Bristol Blenheim, and the He 177B designation was allocated to the four-engined version of the He 177 in mid-1943, months after work on the He 277 began in earnest. Vahe David Demirjian, e-mail, 05.08.2020 Simon Gunson, NZW.Nr. 535550 was the first He 177B prototype (code NN+QQ). The third prototype had the W.Nr. 550036 and code KM+TT, while the fourth He 177B prototype had W.Nr. 550055 and code KM+TE. The He 177B with code GA+QQ was the second prototype and had twin fins, and it was initially built as He 177 V9.
|  COMPANY PROFILE | ||||||||||
|
|
If you're aware, the He 177B designation was allocated to the 4-engine version of the He 177 in the late summer of 1943, whereas He 277 was assigned months earlier. Consequently, the He 177A-8 four-engined version of the He 177A and the He 177A-10 four-engined version of the He 177A-7 because He 177B-5 and He 177B-7 respectively.
reply