Heinkel He 219

Very good read into the history of the Heinkel He 219 in combat.
See: http://kagero.pl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=184:lazar-idealny-pojazd-patrolowy&catid=57:armia-3-42009-&Itemid=29&limitstart=0

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinkel_He_219
"The He 219 was the only piston-engined night fighter capable of facing the British Mosquito on equal terms, given its speed, manoeuvrability and firepower,[14]
but it never played a significant role in the war because the industry failed to make it available in sufficient numbers."

 

Fred, That was an interesting link. I have always like the HE 219, along with the Beaufighter, two of my favorite twin engine WW2 planes. Perhaps it is because both have an odd funny look to me. The article was matter of fact but one gets a bit of the feeling of the terrible night carnage in the air above Europe . I am not normally fond of war novels but Len Deighton's Bomber certainly captures what both sides went through..

Thanks for the link,

Gaines

 

Eric Brown the Test Pilot flew an He 219 and was underwhelmed by its performance. I don't have the article to hand but IIRC he commented that he found it hard to believe the aircraft he flew could have caught a mosquito.

 

I too have read that the He 219 couldn't reach its brochure numbers. I too doubt it could catch a Mossie. However, it is well documented that it could catch a Lancaster! I think one of the LW's best pilots (Schnaufer) shot 5 down in one night with a Uhu. German industry failed to produce it in any numbers was because its production would reduce the production of day fighters.

 

The only possibility I can think of about catching a Mosquito is they might have been loitering over the target to guide the heavies in or perhaps send down more flares. If the mosquito was on it's on then there seems no way/
.
BTW, I did not think the 219 was a great performing airplane, only that I liked them, actually the way they looked. . I presumed they were assigned the night fighter role for the same reason a ME 110 was.

Gaines

 

Actually, I think the 219 was a purpose built night-fighter but there were ideas about other roles it might take on.

 

Harolds, my feeble old memory seems to remember a improved version but not sure it got off the ground....pun intended.

That is a lot of nose gear on those planes. I would think wind resistance would have been a problem.