He 177 Bomb Load and Range vs Allied Bombers

[SpicyJuan11]

How does the He 177's bomb load and range compare to other allied bombers of the time such as the Lancaster and B-17G? He 177 data seems to be vague and contradictory, but this sheet gives 6,600 lbs over 2,000 miles.

I have attached some data on He-177 speed and climb, its a bit blurry but readable.

How much did B-17s and Lancasters typically carry over Germany?

 

[pbehn]

The further you go the less you can carry, the He 177 only had to cross the English Channel.

 

[SpicyJuan11]

The further you go the less you can carry, the He 177 only had to cross the English Channel.

Well this information would be useful to see if Operation Eisenhammer was even technically feasible.

Regarding the English Channel, could the He 177 deliver its max bomb load of 15,000 lbs to England or was its range not enough?

 

[pbehn]

Well this information would be useful to see if Operation Eisenhammer was even technically feasible.

Regarding the English Channel, could the He 177 deliver its max bomb load of 15,000 lbs to England or was its range not enough?

The English Channel is 21 miles at its narrowest point. All I know is that in practice, when used, the He 177 sometimes used a gradual descent froft m high altitude around 30,000 ft exiting UK airspace at around 10,000ft to make the speed over target and exit quicker. Operation Steinbock - Wikipedia

 

[Greyman]

Taking a quick look around it looks like at the beginning of Steinbock the He177 carried 2 x 2500kg bombs or 2 x 1800kg and 1 x 1000 kg.

Supplies of the big 2500kg ran out quickly and the usual load for most of the campaign appears to be:

• 2 x 1800 kg, 2 x 1000 kg for the most experienced crews
• 4 x 1000 kg for the remainder

 

[SpicyJuan11]

This is the table I came up with based on data sheets I found. Is this correct? (Please ignore the He 277 and Ju 390)

Data from:
http://wwiiaircraftperformance.org/B-17/B-17G_Standard_Aircraft_Characteristics.pdf
On German bombers
Griehl He 177 277 274

 

[SpicyJuan11]

Updated comparison: