Table Of Content\ JET PLANES
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UME ONE
JET PLANES
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THE SECRET PROJECTS
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OTHER FINE BOOKS FROM MONOGRAM
Monarch-1, Arado 234 Blitz German Aircraft Interiors 1935-1945, Vol.1
J.R. Smith & E.J. Creek By Kenneth A. Merrick
ISBN: 0-914144-51-0 ISBN: 0-914144-41-3
Monarch-2, Dornier 335 Arrow The Vanishing Paperclips, America's
By Smith, Creek & Hitchcock Aerospace Secret, A Personal Account
ISBN: 0-914144-52-9 By Hans H. Amtmann
ISBN: 0-914144-35-9
The Official Monogram US Navy & V-Missiles ofthe Third Reich
Marine Corps Aircraft Color Guide By Dieter Holsken
1950-1959, Vol. 3 ISBN: 0-914144-42-1
By Maj. John M. Elliott USMC ret.
ISBN: 0-914144-33-2
The Official Monogram US Navy & The Official Monogram US Army Air Service
Marine Corps Aircraft Color Guide & Air Corps Aircraft Color Guide 1908-1941,
1960-1993, Vol. 4 Vol. 1
By Maj. John M. Elliott USMC ret. By Robert D. Archer
ISBN: 0-914144-34-0 ISBN: 0-914144-46-4
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JET PLANES
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VOLUME ONE
MANFRED GRIEHL
Monogram Aviation Publications, Sturbridge, Massachusetts
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Copyright © 1998 by
Monogram Aviation Publications
Library of Congress Card Number
98-65718
ISBN 0-91414-36-7
Printed in Hong Kong
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in
any form of means electronic, mechanical,
photocopying,recording orotherwise,without
prior permission of Monogram Aviation
Publications. Brief text quotations for book
review purposesare exempted.
Published by Monogram Aviation Publications
Post Office Box 223, Sturbridge, Massachusetts 01566 USA
,
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CONTENTS
Publisher's Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 6
Introduction 14
Foreword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 18
Chapter 1 Day Fighters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 22
Chapter 2 Zerstorer Aircraft 180
Aircraft Specifications 194
Index 198
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In 1982,Monogram publishedthe 400-pagetome, JetPlanes Germans: the weight of Allied bombing, the weakness of
ofthe Third Reich.* This remarkable volume documented antiaircraft measures,the failure ofindustryto decentralize,
the birth of jet-powered flight within Germany during the the shortages of material, the loss ofskilled and dedicated
war years and focused on jet-powered aircraft that were workers, the inadequate pilot training programs, and the
actually completed, flown, and committed to operations inherent weakness of the Nazi political system could not
before May 8, 1945. The authors established that although overcome the enormous Allied advantage in manpower,
Germany was the first nation to build and fly an aircraft materiel, and resources. That the Germans were able to
powered solely bythejetengine,** other nations alsowere accomplish what they did, in the face of such obstacles, is
actively pursuing this new means of aircraft propulsion remarkable, but the true significance of their work lies
in particular Great Britain and the United States. beyond the Third Reich.
This first volume of Jet Planes of the Third Reich, The Some insight into the nature ofthe German failure can be
SecretProjects, isalogical conclusion to acaptivating period measured by the comments of its fallen leader,
of aviation history. It covers mainly those German jet and Reichsmarschall Hermann Wilhelm Goring, who, soon
rocket aircraft projectsthatwere designed priorto V-E Day, after his capture byAmerican forces said: "I am convinced
butfailed to reach prototype status. In addition, itexamines that the jet planes would have won the war for us if we
those few projectsthatactually reached an advanced stage had had only four or five months' time. Our underground
of construction prior to the end of the war in Europe and installations were all ready. The factory at Kahlat had a
also those special projects that were further developed in capacity of 1,100 to 1,200 jet planes a month. Now with
the immediate postwar years. 5,000 to 6,000 jets, the outcome would have been quite
different." Itis unclearwheatherGoring was playingto his
This is a survey of all known projects, not an in-depth captors, or if he really believed this. If, on the other hand,
analysis ofanyone design, aircraftengineerormanufacturer. he had postulated such ascenario for 1943-44,there is no
Rather, the author has chosen to limit his findings to the doubt the war's outcome would have been delayed but
most significant facts and events as they relate to specific not averted.
companies and their achievements. Manfred Griehl, well
known to aviation historians, has arranged the work Proceeding through this volume, you will be amazed atthe
according to the primary combat mission of the various number, diversity, and originality of the various German
design projects. The single-seat fighter was deemed the aircraft projects. It is an astonishing record - there was no
most important combat aircraft within the Luftwaffe from shortage ofideas orcreativity- every idea and possibility,
1944to the end ofthe war; thus itwas understandablethat no matter how unorthodox, was explored, expanded and
this category of warplane received the highest priority. advanced. Some projects were nothing more than serious
Naturally,German designers investigated everyconceivable flights of fancy, such as the multitude of Junkers "EFo"
mannerin which thistype ofwarplane could be adapted to studies in the early forties. Others were quite a different
reaction propulsion. Consequently, the first chapter not matter.Afew mighteven beconsidered relatively "modern"
only contains more aircraft designs than any other, and is ifviewed from the perspective ofcurrent aircraft design.
also the most lengthy chapter, occupying 90 percent of
Volume 1. However, it must be appreciated that the potential ofall of
these projects laywith the powerplantstheyweretoemploy.
ItisgenerallyacknowledgedthatGermanywon the aviation The early reaction propulsion engines worked but were
technology research war. Yet most scholars state that this temperamental, thirsty, and generallyshort on performance
achievement, by itself, could not have proven decisive. and reliability. The BMW 003 and Junkers Jumo 004, two
There were too many adverse factors working against the jet engines that reached full series production, required
Opposite:Theworld'sfirstoperationaljetfighterfollowing restoration * SeeJetPlanesoftheThirdReich.bySmith&Creek,MonogramAviation
bytheNationalAirandSpaceMuseumin1979.Thisexample,theMe Publications,Boylston,MA,1982.
262 A-1a/R7, W.Nr. 500491, was one of approximately 1,933 Me ** TheHeinkel He178V1 firstflewsuccessfullyonAugust27, 1939.
262s completed. Plans for more powerful versions of the Me 262
t Reimahg(ReichsmarschallHermanGoringWerke)inThOringen,
werewell advanced bythe end ofthe war. centralGermany.
-7-
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considerable pilotskill and were plagued byfrequent over Above: The Junkers Ju EFo 09 design study of the early 1940s
hauls. The Walter HWK 509 liquid-fuel rocket had its own envisioned a bullet-shaped fuselage surrounded by 10 Argus
peculiar idiosyncrasies that the operator ignored to his pulsejetsand armed withtwo20 mmcannon. Itisdifficultto imagine
peril. German engineers were, nevertheless, working on how its prone pilot would have endured the ear-splitting noise
created byso many engines mounted so close to the fuselage!
second, and third generation jet and rocket engines bythe
war's end. A key to producing these new engines was the
development of new high-temperature alloys. Although and is ignited. The resulting explosion forces the hot
theylackedstocksofcertain rawmaterialsneededtoimprove exhaust gases outthe rear pipe; gases are prevented from
metallurgy, the Germans were surprisingly successful in escaping forward by the valves which are by then in their
overcoming such obstacles. Some ofthe new jet engines, closed position. When the exhaust gas has been expelled
beingtested by March 1945,were significant improvements from the combustion chamber, a decompression occurs
overthe earlier models and undoubtedlywould have greatly allowing the forward valves to reopen to admit fresh air
enhanced performance of the new aircraft projects. Air into the combustion chamber for the cycle to repeat itself;
Chief Marshal Sir Sholto Douglas, who commanded the the repetition of explosions has a distinct sound of high
British Air Force of Occupation, told reporters: "The resonance. The pulsejet or impulse duct engine, like the
Luftwaffe had under development at least six types of jet ramjet, has no means to control thrust.
and rocket-propelled planes superiorto the Messerschmitt
262 and Arado 234. If the war had lasted another six • Ducted fan jet propulsion uses a conventional internal
months, things might have been rather nasty. I'm told combustion engine mounted inside a long duct to drive a
some oftheir stuff is rather amazing." compressor composed of short propeller blades, as in a
fan, with a ring of fuel injectors positioned further aft to
Atthisjuncture, itis importantto definetheterm "reaction heat the compressed air prior to it being discharged from
propulsion" as it applies to aircraft. The chart on page 9 the rear. No turbine is used in this engine, its function
graphically depicts the two primary systems, jet and rock being performed by the internal combustion engine.
et propulsion. The jet engine category has four distinct Thrust was controlled by a bullet-shaped airfoil mounted
branches: in the tail which was moved fore or aft to regulate thrust.
This form of propulsion, in its strictest application, has a
• The ramjet, or aero thermodynamic duct (athodyd). The very limited potential.
majordrawbacktothisform ofpropulsion isthatthe ramjet
engine cannot be started when it is stationary. It requires • The gasturbine is byfar, the mostsuccessful category of
sufficientforward velocity in orderforairto be rammed into reaction propulsion enginesforaircraft.Therearetwo basic
the intake in an amount necessary to facilitate combustion gas turbine types: axial and centrifugal, of these two, the
and thrust. The ramjet has no moving parts and no means axial-compressortype provedtobesuperior.Thecentrifugal
ofcontrolling thrust. Because ofthese features, an aircraft compressor type, has a single air impeller. In this
solely powered by this form of propulsion must be arrangement, air is fed to the center ofthe impeller and is
launched from anotheraircraft, orassisted intothe air by a accelerated by being thrown outward by centrifugal force.
take-off booster. The compressed air is then collected around the outer rim
of the impeller by a diffuser which slows it down and
• The pulsejet, or impulse duct engine, as in the ramjet, increases its pressure before it is fed into the combustion
cannot be started while stationary, but unlike the ramjet, it chamber(s). In the axial type, air is fed directly through
is fitted with moving parts in the form of a series of one several rows, or stages, ofcompressors where it is further
way vanes or valves mounted across the inlet. Fuel is compressed before being fed into the various combustion
injected into the combustion chamber, as in the ramjet, chambers. In both axial and centrifugal types there is a
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REACTION PROPULSION
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IJET ENGINES I I ROCKET ENGINES I
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RAMJETS PULSEJETS DUCTED FANS GAS TURBINES LIQUID FUEL SOLID FUEL I
(Athodyds) / \
Ta 283 Fi 103 Caproni N.1 He 176 Hs 297
Fw 240 Me 328 WFN 3421 Me 163 Hs 298
(Fw unit) (109-014) .---_-"---_-----, (109-509) (109-543)2
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AXIAL CENTRIFUGALI
Me 262 He 178
He 162 He 280
(109-003) (109-001)
1TheItalianCaproni-CampiniN.1 jetfirstflewonAugust27,1940,poweredbyaIsotta-Fraschinipistonenginedrivingavariablepitchductedfan.TheGerman
WNF342helicopterwasnotatrueductedfan,butpoweredbyapistonenginedrivingacompressorwhichdeliveredcompressedairandfueltoeachofthe
smallrotortipcombustionchambers,whereitwasignited.Theresultingthrustgeneratedenoughpowerfortherotorstoestablishliftenablingflight.
2Thispowerunitwasatwo-stagesolid-diglycolrocketmanufacturedbySchmidding.
turbinewheel attachedtothecentral shaft positioned aftof L Luftstrahltriebwerk - Ramjet
the combustion chambers, which provides the required IL Intermittent-Luftstrahltriebwerk - Pulsejet
power to turn the compressor. The axial is more compli
R Raketenmotoren - Rocket engine
catedthan thecentrifugal type, buttheaxial flowjetengine
is capable of offering much higher pressure ratios while RL Raketen-LuftstrahItriebwerk - Rocket+Ramjet
requiring less frontal area due to its smaller cross section.
Almost all gasturbines in usetodayare ofthe axial variety. RLM Number Manufacturer Engine Code
109-001 Heinkel (HeS 8) TL
Some aircraft have been successfully flown using solid
fuel rocket motors, but the vast majority of rocket engines 109-002 BMW (P 3304) TL
for manned aircraft operate with liquid fuels. Solid-fuel 109-003 BMW (P 3302) TL
rockets have been primarily used in RATO (RocketAssisted
109-004 Junkers TL
Takeoff) applications, and in the principal powerplant for
guided missiles. 109-005 Porsche TL
109-006 Heinkel (HeS 30) TL
By early 1940,the German Air Ministry had devised a new
109-007 Daimler-Benz ZTL
means of identifying reaction propulsion engines. This
109-011 Heinkel (HeS 11) TL
system used the prefix "109" which was occasionally
shortened to "9," followed by a hyphen, and by a three 109-012 Junkers TL
digit number. Jet engines received numbers beginning 109-014 Argus IL
with 001 extending up to 499. Numbers between 500 and
109-016 Heinkel/DB PTL
599 were reserved for rocket units. Thus, the Jumo 012
109-018 BMW TL
was officially the 109-012. The primary advantage to this
system isthatitdoesnotreadilydisclosethe manufacturer's 109-021 Heinkel/DB PTL
identity. In this regard, after the BMW 003 made its 109-022 Junkers PTL
appearance, the last, orend digitofthe three identified the
109-028 BMW PTL
manufacturer:
109-044 Argus IL
1= Heinkel (001, 011, 021) 6=Heinkel (006,016)
2 = Junkers (012, 022) 7 =Daimler-Benz (007) The delivery of new warplanes to the Luftwaffe generally
3 =BMW (003) 8 =BMW (018, 028) followed a predictable path from start to finish. The chart
4=Argus (014,044) 9 =Walter (509) at the top of page 10 entitled Aviation Command and
5=Porsche (005) 0= Not used Control Relative to Research and Development delineates
the chain of command within the Luftwaffe and related
The German reaction propulsion manufacturers also used agenciesthat influenced the introduction of new aircraftto
one, two, or three letter abbreviations to identify the type the service units.
of engine. They are summarized thus:
A specification for a new warplane was typically drawn up
TL = Turbo-Luftstrahltriebwerk - Gas turbine by the RLM. The impetus for aircraft specifications could
have originated from the office ofthe Reichsmarschall, the
PTL = Propeller-Turboluftstrahltriebwerk - Turboprop
RLM itself, or a collective of other influential government
ZTL = Zweistrom-Strahltriebwerk - Dual flow jet offices. The RLM was located in a large building in Berlin
ML = Motor-Luftstrahltriebwerk - Ducted fan and was almost entirely staffed by military personnel that
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