He-177 and derivatives

[GTX]

Hi folks,

Standard drill - place for He-177 and derivatives (i.e He-277, He-274) whiffs.  To kick off here's one I'm toying with - a post war, unarmed He-277 Maritime Patrol aircraft:



What other ideas do you have?

Regards,

Greg

[Taiidantomcat]

Looks good 

[raafif]

neat ! -- French colours ?

I just love the He-177 anti-tank / ground-strafer they DID build -- what about an anti-formation gunship to break up all those B-17s ?

[Maverick]

Raafif there was an anti-bomber He-177 proposed with a battery of rockets in the fuselage.  Greg did put the art up a while ago.

Regards,

Mav

[Cobra]

Sweet how about an Air Sea Rescue Version? that work for you? Dan

[MAD]

I like it Greg 
Look forward to where this might go 

M.A.D

[Daryl J.]

 


More!   

[Tuck]

The 177 is one of my favorites.

If you show the 4 engine, you'll need to show longer horizontal stabilizers and twin rudders.  The single fin did not work well in the 4 engine prototype.

The "bomber killer" had twin MK 101's in a semi-flexible mounting under the nose.  This one was also proposed for train busting.

The bomber rocket killer had something like 44 upward firing rockets at an angle ad to the right slightly.

If they had simply switched to 4 engines and got rid of the ridiculous dive bombing requirements, the 177/277 could have been a force to contend with.

[rickshaw]

Just get rid of the dive bombing requirement and lengthen the engine bearers and the He177 might have been a force to contend with.   It was more the development being forced than that it was necessarily an inherently bad design, in itself.   Heinkel always maintained that if they'd allowed him to get the engine problems right, it would have been an excellent bomber.

[Daryl J.]

Heinkel always maintained that if they'd allowed him to get the engine problems right, it would have been an excellent bomber.

That I did not know.   Thank-you.    So, in other words, had Heinkel been given the room to develop the aircraft as desired, Spain could have used them post-war along with France.  More remotely, how about the USAF in SEA?   

[rickshaw]

Heinkel always maintained that if they'd allowed him to get the engine problems right, it would have been an excellent bomber.

That I did not know.   Thank-you.    So, in other words, had Heinkel been given the room to develop the aircraft as desired, Spain could have used them post-war along with France. 

Doubtful.  Spain couldn't afford them and by the time they'd have been perfected, Franco had seen which way the wind was blowing and was more interested in talking to the Allies than the Axis.   France is more likely, afterall they did capture the He-274 and put it into service but they were so financially strapped that it is unlikely they'd have the wherewithal to fund it.  Perhaps if they stopped wasting money in Indo-China and Algeria?

More remotely, how about the USAF in SEA?   

Why?  In Whiffery-land, anything is possible I admit but it would seem strange for the USAF to have adopted the bomber of their defeated foe when they had aircraft which were better, such as the B-32 and the B-29/50.

[Daryl J.]

Why?

Because it would look cool.   

The realism/practicality of such are of course zilch.   

[tigercat]

What about an AWACS version.

[The Wooksta!]

If they had simply switched to 4 engines and got rid of the ridiculous dive bombing requirements, the 177/277 could have been a force to contend with.

Unlikely.  They didn't have the fuel for a concerted strategic bombing campaign.  The Luftwaffe was in trouble with regards to fuel in 1943 and that was before we started to attack the oil production facilities.  In addition,they didn't have enough trained crews and the Luftwaffe's electronic bombing aids and radio gear wasn't anywhere near the perfrection enjoyed by theAllies.

No, Possibly against the USSR but certainly not against the UK - the Russians didn't have the radar defences and our defence network was the best in the world.

An AWACS?  No, not enough space on board for all the radar gear and the operators.  There's a reason why most AWACS are converted airliners.  Strengthened Condor perhaps with BMW801s.

The proposal to use them as bomber killers is simply ludicrous, if not downright suicidal.  If Me 410s (smaller, faster and more nimble than a 177) can be cut to ribbons by Mustangs and Thunderbolts, then 177s wouldn't have a chance.

The 177s were used against tanks - they were sent out when the front collapsed in mid 44.  Von Reisen sent them out in pairs but fewer than half returned.

[GTX]

An AWACS?  No, not enough space on board for all the radar gear and the operators.  There's a reason why most AWACS are converted airliners. 

For the era you would be looking, why not something akin to the Shackleton AEW.2?