The Heinkel He 177 Greif (Griffon), Germany's biggest bomber program in World War II, is remembered as possibly the most troublesome and unsatisfactory aircraft in military history, and all because of a stupid requirement that the aircraft should be capable of dive-bombing, and the idea to couple four engines into two pairs (to reduce drag). No engines in bomber history have caught fire so often in normal cruising flight.
Goering forbade Heinkel to continue with plans to use four seperate engines in a strategic bomber redesign, but Heinkel secretly flew the He 277 with four 1750hp DB 603A engines at Vienna-Schwechat, as the first of a major redesign program.
Source:
Info: Fighting Aircraft of World War II
Published by Salamander Books.
Profile: German Warplanes of World War II
Published by Temple Press/Aerospace.
