Aviation of World War II

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He-178

Jet Fighter

Heinkel

He 178

The model was developed on the basis of the He-176 with a rocket engine. The He 178 was powered by the He S-3b jet engine. On August 27, 1939, this aircraft (more precisely, an experimental prototype) wrote its page in history. On this day, the flag captain Erich Varzitz was the first to fly a jet (with a turbojet rather than a rocket engine) aircraft and made a circle in the air over the factory in Rostock. Officials from the Aviation Ministry of the Third Reich inspected the aircraft in October 1939, but showed little interest in it and the project was stopped; the firm received an order for the development of a twin-engine He-280. It should be noted that by the time the first English jet aircraft appeared Gloster Meteor F.Mk.I , He - 178 had already flown almost two years, despite the fact that the UK previously held a leading position in the field of jet technology. Pay attention to the fabric-covered keel and upper wing position. The landing gear was retracted into the fuselage directly in front of the wing.


                                                                                                                                                                                                              
Specification
Crew 1
Dimensions
Unknown  
Powerplant
TJE HeS-3b, thrust, kgs 454
Weight, kg:
Unknown  
Performance
Unknown 840
Armament
-  

Bibliography

  • "Aviation of Luftwaffe" /Viktor Shunkov/
  • "Encyclopedia of military engineering" /Aerospace Publising/