Heinkel He 280


Heinkel He 280

A german turbojet fighter, the first of all that could have been operational. Maiden flight on april, 5th, 1941. Heinkel, always interested in high speed aircraft, sponsored quite early the turbojet development of von Ohain and had because of this advantage the first experimental turbojet plane (He178) in flight. The He280 was a twinjet fighter developed for two He S8 (also called He109-001) radial turbojet engines. It had a modern bow-wheel landing gear (conventional ones caused problems with lifting up the tail without the propeller air stream on the horizontal fins) and an ejection seat. The german ministry of aviation (RLM) was quite upset of Heinkel´s private initiative and set up its own turbojet program, favoring competitors (that were´nt so far advanced) concerning both engine and airframe development (BMW, Jumo and Messerschmidt). This had as major result that the He S8 hadn´t enough development priority, and that´s why the heavier but stronger Jumo109-004 and BMW109-003 engines and the Me262 fighter (by far not as maneuvrable as the He280, which outmaneuvred a Fw190 in a mock dogfight, and in 1941 with conventional wings and landing gear). The He280 was a fighter, the Me262 just a heavy interceptor that could slip through the escorts. Nine prototypes, no others.

My comment:
The really interesting thing - except that it could have been operational short after Me262´s maiden flight - is its maneuvrability. The Me262 was
designed for top speed, yes, even more speed than useful (with 150km/h twice as much speed advantage than necessary for dogfight superiority).
It wasn´t usual to curve in a Me262 with more than a 45° angle (usual around 80°!), its acceleration was low, its Mk108 armament was especially
good for destruction of medium to heavy bombers at close distance only and it had a 50% higher weight and wing load.
The Me262 shot down some fighters like P-51D, but in the hands of aces like Galland!
The He280 instead had similar maneuverability like the Fw190A (wingload 4125kg : 21.5m2 = 191kg/m2, less than Fw190D!) and was
with its speed advantage and good armament most probably the best dogfighter of World War 2, especially in hit-and-run tactics.
The HeS08 and BMW109-003 engines had better handling and provided better acceleration than the Jumo109-004.

This leads to a multiple mission profile I´ve developed for it in the last time; Spring 1944, beginning of effective 8th AF fighter escort
( Two He280 wings in France, two northwest of the Ruhr area and one in the line Bremen-Hamburg, defended by 20mm and 37mm AAA.
  Stronger armour plating to protect the pilot against 0.5" M2 machine guns.)
3. Interception of recon planes (Mosquito PR XVI, Spitfire XI, F-5 Lightning, F-6 Mustang) in Rotte formation (2 planes) by the wing staffs
4. Interception of medium to heavy bombers with R4M rockets with hit-once-and-run tactic at group strength
   (the deadly R4M was actually developed in late 1944, but so simple that it could have been operational years earlier; the 8th AF just had luck.)
5. Interception of P-51 fighters that follow the bomber formations with a delay as cover for the phase deep in enemy´s land (in group strength).
   (Interception at that time forces the P-51 to decide between dropping all external tanks (and give no cover) or to be shot down.)
6. Interception of fighter-bombers and light bombers near the own airfield (self-protection & forcing them to release bombs and abort mission).

Behind this cover (if after the R4M Orkan salvos necessary anymore) heavily armed and armoured fighters could have attacked the B-17 and B-24
without great danger by escort fighters; the same situation as before introduction of the P-51B and the only situation where the low quality of german
fighter pilot training wouldn´t have hurt. The allied capability for doing air reconnaissance would have been over germany as low as the german over
england, a decisive factor for long-range operations. In such good fighters, the losses of expert and veteran pilots wold have been small and the
Luftwaffe would have been able to repel attacks or even the complete strategic daylight bombing campaign even against the P-51!
If you think there´s anything political ar patriotic behind these lines, you should read
my critic on USAAF´s strategic air war against the "Third Reich" carefully.

Specifications:
Heinkel He 280V-3 german jetfighter
Dimensions:
Wing span: 12,20m
Length: 10,40m
Height: 3,06m
Weights:
Empty: 3.055kg
Maximum Take-Off: 4.125kg
Performance:
Maximum Speed: 820km/h (official)
Service Ceiling: 11.500m
Normal Range: 970km
Powerplants:
Two 600kp HeS 8A (He109-001A) radial turbojets
Armament:
three 20mm MG151/20 in the nose

He 280 three-side drawing

He 280 taking off or landing

He 280 model photo 1

He 280 model photo 2

1/48 He280 built by Bill Howell

I´m sorry for so much models in the photo list, but photos
of the He280 from a good angle are very rare.

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