Heinkel He 177 V15

[Vahe Demirjian]

Although it is claimed in the Wikipedia entry for the Heinkel He 177 that no surviving images exist of the Heinkel He 177 V15, which was the prototype for the Heinkel He 177A-6/R2 with a Bristol Bleinheim-style nose, a photo of the first Heinkel He 219 prototype on page 5 of Manfred Griehl and Joachim Dressel's book Heinkel He 219 Uhu (see Heinkel He-219 Uhu 2010 - JagdWaffe) shows the He 177 V15 in the foreground. Given that He 177 V15 was converted from an He 177A-3 airframe, and crashed in the summer of 1944, and the He 219 first flew in November 1942 (when the first He 177A-3 left the assembly line), this photo was probably taken in 1943.

 

[Capt. Vick]

Too bad it doesn't show the nose...isn't that always the case.

 

[Temistocle]

Hi, the picture in Manfred Griehl and Joachim Dressel's book Heinkel He 219 Uhu is a still frame from a video, you can see it on youtube (apart the fact that the He 219 is indicated as a bomber in the title):

Heinkel He 219 Bomber, Taxiing, Taking Off & Landing

BTW, the He 177 V15 (Wr. Nr. 355001) can be seen almost totally, as in the following other screenshots I took from the video:


No Werk nr on the tail


The dummy dorsal turret.


The nose is the typical rounded glazed cockpit of the He 177 prototypes. Note that the port engine(s) is working and there is a small white text on the fuselage.


The parachute pack on the tail


No four-letter code on the fuselage


Another view of the parachute pack