Heinkel He 219 Uhu vol. I

Introduction
“The He 219, with its flattened fuselage sides, large engine nacelles and firmly set tricycle landing gear was not, at first sight, a particularly pretty aircraft. Its funny-looking nose, which made one think of a prehistoric reptile, bristled with radar antennas, known in military vernacular as ‘stag’s antlers’. In my opinion, the Heinkel was far less likely to be considered an aesthetically pleasing construction than any of its contemporary fighter designs.

Still, this odd looking machine duly gained fame as the most advanced night fighter design to see active service during World War Two. As the saying goes: ‘’.
When I saw the He 219 for the first time at Grove, nearly two years after its conspicuous debut with Maj. Streib at the controls, I was actually more interested in the Arado Ar 234 B. Hence, I gave the He 219 only a cursory glance. Later on, five He 219s were shipped, one by one, from Schleswig to the RAE (Royal Aircraft Establishment) at Farnborough. Shortly afterwards, I had an opportunity to fly three of those five. There were four He 219s of the A-2 variant from the first production run and one He 219 A-5. The latter was in fact the He 219 V11, which after an accident had been rebuilt to A-5 configuration [In fact, these were four He 219 A-7s and one He 219 A-2. The He 219 V11 was found in pieces at Heinkel Schwechat factory]. At Farnborough we were not supposed to focus on the He 219s’ performance and handling; we were instead to examine some of their onboard equipment, which was of great interest to the RAF. Nevertheless, I flew the Heinkels so many times that I was able to thoroughly test their handling.
From a pilot’s point of view, what impressed me most about the He 219 was the aircraft’s superbly located cockpit. It was mounted relatively high and was accessible by a ladder. Once the crew took their seats, a groundcrew member folded the ladder and stowed it in a purpose-designed hatch located in the port, lower part of the fuselage. The upper part of the cockpit’s canopy was made of a large, single piece of Plexiglas, hinged to starboard. Thus, the cockpit offered a practically unhindered all-round view. The cockpit itself was quite roomy, comfortable and well laid-out. The instrument panel was T-shaped as in most aircraft, with the engine control gauges located to the right.

The pilot and the radio operator sat back to back. They were equipped with ejector seats, their jettison mechanism powered by compressed air. In fact, the cockpit seemed fitted with every imaginable system known to date, which could enhance a night fighter’s operational effectiveness.
Initially, the He 219 was to be powered by Daimler-Benz DB 603 G engines rated at 1,900 hp on take-off, and 1,560 hp at 7,375 m. However, those powerplants were not ready in autumn 1943 when the first airframes began to roll off the assembly line at the Vienna / Schwechat plant. Therefore, DB 603 A engines, rated at 1,750 hp on take-off, and 1,850 hp (maximum output) at 2,100 m, were used instead. Such engines powered the He 219 A-2, the variant that I flew on many occasions. For example, on 21st August 1945 I piloted He 219 A-2, W.Nr. 210 126 [the correct Werknummer was 290 126] from Farnborough to Brize Norton. Nine days later I transferred another machine  (W.Nr. 310 109) [It was a He 219 A-7] via Abingdon to Brize Norton, and on 19th October I took the third A-2, W.Nr. 310 106, from Tangmere to Farnborough [It was also a He 219 A-7]. Unfortunately, I missed an opportunity to fly the later variant, the He 219 A-5 powered by DB 603 G engines [That must be an error as DB 603 G engines never went into production]. Nonetheless, I suspect that there were no substantial differences between the two variants as far as their performance was concerned.
The procedure for starting a DB 603 A engine was very simple: set the fuel cocks to tanks Nos. 2 and 3 (which were the main central and rear tanks); fuel pump on; push the throttle lever about one quarter forward, until some resistance could be felt; set the magneto switches to the ‘M 1+2’ position. The inertia starter was usually set in motion by an external power unit, although it could also be done from inside the cockpit. Press the starter control for 10 to 20 seconds, then let go, pull and move to the left in order to prime the engine. Once the engine had started, adjust the throttle so that it was running at 1,200 rpm, until the oil and fuel gauges indicated the correct readings. Let the engine warm up by running it for three minutes at 1,500 rpm, then check the magnetos at 2,000 rpm.
Before taxiing out all trimmers were set to neutral, the radiator flaps opened, and the air pressure of the ejector seats checked. In the case of the pilot’s seat the correct pressure was 80 kg / cm2, and for the radio operator’s seat the correct value was 50 kg / cm2. The aircraft was easy to manoeuvre on the ground, although the brakes, which were very effective, had to be handled carefully. Immediately before takeoff, the propeller pitch control was set at the 12:15 clock position, and the wing flaps lowered for takeoff. The takeoff run with full load was impressive – some 1,500 m with the engines at 2,700 rpm and 1.4 ata of boost.

According to German reports I had read, the He 219’s engines had surplus power for take-off, which allowed the aircraft to safely get off the ground and climb even if one of the two power units failed. One pilot allegedly took off on one engine and climbed away with the landing flaps and undercarriage lowered! If there had been a grain of truth in that report, it must have related to a rocket-assisted take-off, on a very long runway.    

It is my opinion that the He 219, especially the A-2 variant, was woefully underpowered. The failure of one engine, especially on take-off at night, must have been a particularly nasty surprise, for at 220 kph the aircraft could barely fly level, let alone gain altitude. When you take into account the tendency to stall as the undercarriage is retracted whilst climbing - a not uncommon thing in practically all types of aircraft - passing through the 15 to 90 metres of altitude level must surely have been a hairy experience for He 219 pilots. The aircraft would heave off the ground at 170 kph, and it was only at 15 metres that the pilot could attempt to raise the landing gear, this manoeuvre being too dangerous below that height due to the aforementioned tendency to stall. When the aircraft reached 250 kph and 150 metres of altitude, flaps could be retracted; during that manoeuvre the aircraft again was prone to stalling. Climbing could be commenced in earnest at 300 kph, with the engines at 2,600 rpm and 1.3 ata of boost. Only then could the He 219’s excellent stability in the air be observed. Optimum climb rate was achieved at 300 kph, which dropped to 280 kph as the aircraft gained altitude. Once at 10,000 metres, it was practically impossible to climb any higher. Upon reaching the desired altitude the radiator flaps had to be closed and the engines kept at 2,300 rpm and 1.3 ata of boost. In order to extend the aircraft’s range the pilot could reduce the engine revolutions to 2,000 rpm with 1.05 ata of boost. Above 6,100 metres the aircraft reacted markedly more sluggishly to full throttle. The maximum speed attained during the tests was 608 kph, which was lower than indicated by the German manuals. For the fuel system to function properly, it was necessary to use up half of the fuel stored in tank Nos. 2 and 3 (which left a total of 1,000 litres of gasoline in them), then switch to tank no 1 and empty it.
The cockpit heating and de-icing system was very efficient. The automatic pilot was easy to use and trustworthy. The He 219 was certainly a superb all-weather fighter. The landing procedure was markedly simple: close the radiator flaps, set the pitch control at the 12 o’clock position, at 300 kph lower the landing flaps, and at 270 kph drop the landing gear. The upwind turn while coming down to land could be made at 250 kph. At that point the landing flaps were fully extended, and the fuel pumps switched off. The aircraft would steadily lose altitude at 225 kph, and once above the runway, the pilot would throttle back to 200 kph. The prescribed touchdown speed was 160 kph.
The landing was very easy. However, it was not advised to keep the front wheel in the air for long, since the initial phase of the landing run was performed at high speed, and the aircraft had to be slowed down through resolute use of the brakes. Thus, it was important to check, prior to landing, the pressure in the brakes, which had to be not less than 60 kg/cm2. If the value was not as required, a pilot was expected to press a button located next to the brake pressure gauge, until the desired reading was obtained. A landing run in windless weather was about 650 metres long. Windy conditions affected the He 219’s lateral stability on touchdown.
In my opinion, derived from my personal experience in flying the He 219 A-2, the aircraft did not measure up to its acclaimed reputation. It was a good night fighter, but one with the serious flaw of underpowered engines, an unforgiving fault in a twin-engined aircraft. Losing one engine in a He 219 on takeoff was very dangerous, as it was on landing since the other engine did not provide enough power for another circuit. Overall, the He 219’s mediocre performance made it hardly suitable for the role it was designed for, which was fighting the British Mosquito. However, it was a deadly adversary against four-engined bombers. One can only wonder what effect the He 219 would have had on the night air war over Germany, had the Luftwaffe’s Director General of Equipment not been so opposed to its development and operational use, and had Ernst Heinkel delivered his fighter to frontline units in sufficient numbers”.   

Design and development
The first six months of the war against Great Britain, which broke out on 3rd September 1939, made the Luftwaffe high command realize that it was in dire need of a modern, fast, long-range reconnaissance aircraft, capable of reconnoitring over British territory. The aircraft hitherto used to perform that role were modified Heinkel He 111s and Junkers Ju 88s, the Luftwaffe’s standard bombers pressed into service as scouts. Their dedicated crews, manning aircraft so vulnerable to interception, could only hope that their luck would hold out. Their mounts were too slow to outrun Hurricanes or Spitfires, and their defensive armament was too weak to keep fighters at bay.

On 28th April 1940 the construction department of Heinkel Werke at Rostock-Marienehe presented to the RLM (Reichsluftfahrt Ministerium)2 a project for a fast, single-engined reconnaissance aircraft, designed as a private venture by the Heinkel firm. The project was clearly inspired by an RLM circular letter, which pointed out the lack of a purpose-built reconnaissance machine in the Luftwaffe’s inventory, and the difficulty of fulfilling that role with other aircraft not designed for the purpose. A new, custom-designed aircraft such as the RLM was interested in would not have to compromise its speed and operational ceiling due to bomb-carrying capabilities.
On 30th September and 1st October 1940 RLM officials held a first round of talks with the Heinkel company, represented by Robert Lusser, the executive manager, assisted by Mr Ebert and Mr Meschkat. On that occasion the Heinkel representatives presented blueprints of a reconnaissance aircraft designated P 1055, which was based on an earlier design known as the Heinkel He 119.
The aircraft had a wing area of 42 m2, and its maximum speed was 750 kph. Its calculated maximum range was 4,000 km, at a take-off weight of 12,600 kg. One interesting innovation was the possibility of interchanging the outer wing sections, which made it possible to alter the wing area from 35 m2 to 45 m2. So as to arouse more interest in the RLM’s officials, provision was made for the aircraft to carry bombs on external racks, designed by Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke. The payload was, interchangeably, a single 1,800 kg bomb or two 1,000 kg bombs. The crew of two would be seated in a pressurized cockpit.
The RLM evinced a vivid interest in the project, hinting at the possibility of signing a formal contract for the aircraft’s construction in the nearest future. However, they emphasized that the machine’s speed was its most important asset. For this reason the RLM wanted the aircraft to be fitted with a turbo supercharged Daimler-Benz DB 613 engine, which was expected to be ready in 1941. This powerplant consisted of two coupled DB 603 inline engines connected via a gearbox to one driveshaft, fitted with superchargers and methanol-water emergency boost, which was expected to give a maximum power output of 3,500 hp.
A lively exchange of correspondence between the Heinkel design bureau and the RLM followed the meeting. The proposed bomber variant impressed the representatives of the latter. Still, they considered the aircraft’s planned defensive armament, which consisted of fixed, forward firing guns, inadequate. Some bitter lessons had been learned during the Battle of Britain, during which whole formations of He 111s had been decimated because of their poor defensive armament and the large, glazed surfaces of their front sections, which made their crews even more vulnerable. Although Lusser was convinced that the P 1055, with its superior speed, would outdistance enemy interceptors, von Pfistermeister, another manager at Heinkel, was far less optimistic:
“Our timetable schedules the P 1055 prototype’s maiden flight for the end of 1942. Assuming that the first serial production aircraft will be delivered to operational units in October 1944, four years will have elapsed from now. Unlike you, I don’t believe we can still count on the P 1055’s advantage of speed being maintained at that time. Perhaps a jet-propelled fighter, capable of speeds higher than the 750 kph expected of the P 1055, will be constructed in the meantime. Personally, I hope that it will be a Heinkel-designed fighter, probably the 280. Either way, the P 1055 will need a strong defensive armament, just like today’s bombers. We cannot ignore the possibility, or rather the high probability, of the existence of much faster fighters in the future ...”.
During a subsequent meeting between von Pfistermeister and the RLM’s representative Friebel, more issues concerning the new design were discussed. It was believed that the aircraft would be instrumental in delivering cartographic photographs of certain territories in Africa, the Middle East and the Far East, which at that time were practically blank spots on maps of the world. Friebel made it clear that Heinkel should focus on designing a reconnaissance aircraft, since at that time the Luftwaffe had no use for a bomber based on the P 1055 project. In fact, the aircraft expected to fulfil the role of long-range bomber was another Heinkel design, the He 177 Greif. Furthermore, a Zerstörer (destroyer) variant of the P 1055 was considered redundant in view of the heavy losses suffered over England by the Messerschmitt Bf 110 units.

Despite the RLM’s unfavourable stance on the matter, Heinkel did design a Zerstörer variant of the P 1055 on his own initiative, which he presented to the RLM’s representatives on 19th October 1940. The aircraft was to attain a top speed of 745 kph at 6,000 m, and its planned armament consisted of four fixed MG 151 cannons, two in the fuselage and two more in the wings. Mr Christensen of the RLM pointed out that production of such an aircraft would make sense only if its maximum speed matched that of enemy fighters. For the time being it was decided to continue developing the P 1055 as a reconnaissance aircraft, whilst a possible Zerstörer variant would be designated the P 1056.
Only a few days later, on 24th October 1940, another conference was held to discuss new aircraft projects under development. Ernst Heinkel presented drawings of his reconnaissance P 1055. The aircraft was to fly at a top speed of 735 kph (at 6,000 m). Its range was supposed to be 2,000 km at maximum speed, and 4,000 km at cruise speed, whilst its service ceiling was estimated at 9,800 m. The RLM was generally satisfied with the project, although its representatives demanded that several alterations be made. The aircraft’s ceiling was to be increased to 12,500 m through the use of supercharged engines, whereas its armament of two fixed, forward-firing MG 151 cannons was to be enhanced by the installation of a single, remote-controlled MG 151 cannon mounted in the aircraft’s tail. Due to the anticipated threat from enemy interceptors, Heinkel was also required to make provision for two additional, remotely controlled, ventral and dorsal gun stations. The design was to retain the interchangeable outer wing sections, and furthermore be able to make dive runs at up to 30o angles. As it was to operate over the Atlantic, de-icing equipment was also considered indispensable.
Meanwhile, the P 1056 Zerstörer variant being developed in parallel was to reach a top speed of 720 kph at 9,000 m and have range of 2,000 km. The P 1056’s planned armament consisted of two fixed, forward-firing MG 151 cannons, a pair of twin-mounted MG 131 Z machine guns at a dorsal station, and a pair of twin-mounted MG 81 Z machine guns in the ventral position. The RLM ordered that development of the P 1056 should be continued, provided that it could be fitted with at least three gun stations with flexible mounts, which would enable the aircraft to take on the role of an escort fighter, dubbed ‘Begleitigel’.
On 23rd November 1940, Scheibe of the RLM inspected a wooden mock-up of the P 1055. In his report he underlined that the crew arrangement, the available room inside fuselage, and the periscopic gunsights for the remotely controlled weaponry complied with the RLM’s requirements. He further stated that the design could be considered useful not only as a reconnaissance aircraft, but also as a daylight bomber and a destroyer as well. There was enough room in the aircraft’s fuselage for the bomber variant to carry bombs internally. Dr. Robert Lusser suggested that the P 1055 should carry an increased defensive armament consisting of two gun stations in the dorsal and ventral positions, each station to be armed with two twin-mounted machine guns, as well as one or two fixed cannons mounted in the aircraft’s nose.

On 28th November 1940 the RLM officially announced that the P 1055 bomber and reconnaissance aircraft had been included in its production plans for the Luftwaffe. A complete airframe mock-up was expected to be ready by 15th January 1941. Before the mock-up was completed, the RLM demanded more changes to the project. The wing configuration was altered from low wing to mid-wing (that is, the wings were to be mounted approximately half way up the fuselage sides). Besides this, the engine was to be moved forward, ahead of the wing leading edges, in order to ensure easier access and maintenance on the ground. The aircraft was to be fitted with twin, three-bladed, contra-rotating propellers. Since the development of the prototype was reaching its final phase, it was time to allocate an official designation. Being a direct descendant of the He 119 project, the aircraft was duly designated the ‘Heinkel He 219’.
The modifications demanded by the RLM caused a delay in the construction of a wooden airframe mock-up, which was finally ready for inspection on 4th February 1941. It transpired that the calculated top speed had dropped to 653 – 686 kph (depending on the wing type). The RLM’s representatives agreed on further modifications, which were intended to confer on the aircraft a maximum speed of about 740 kph. Pursuing the goal of a higher top speed, Heinkel’s designers removed, amongst other things, the Fowler flaps (which slid backwards before hinging downwards) and the spacious bomb bay. In addition, the fuselage width was reduced. […]

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