Worst plane in its indended role(s)

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

The He-177 has to qualify as a bad dive bomber, I mean comeon a dive bomber that size. Really bad idea that one...

The aircraft was capable of being a dive bomber (which that is just plain stupid I agree) but that was not its main intended role.

 

[HealzDevo]

Actually I thought that was why they designed it with the twined-engines. Basically 6 engines arranged in pairs with no fire-control system. What was the German Ministry smoking when they thought that would work?

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

The aircraft was designed as a heavy bomber capable of dive bombing. Hitler wanted all aircraft to be capable of dive bombing.

 

[Bullockracing]

Actually I thought that was why they designed it with the twined-engines. Basically 6 engines arranged in pairs with no fire-control system. What was the German Ministry smoking when they thought that would work?

You mean four engines arranged in pairs?

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Yes each nacelle had 2 engines paired together driving a single propeller. The He-177 had DB-610s which were paired DB-605s.

Below is a DB-606 which is paired DB-601s. I took this picture at a museum here in Germany a few months ago.

 

[Matt308]

What a nightmare!

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

The early ones on the He-177 were prone to catching on fire. They wanted the He-177 to be a 4 engined heavy bomber but it could not perform Dive Bombing missions if it had 4 single engines and 4 props so they paired them together and put them in one nacelle.

The later He-274 and He-277 had 4 single engines, but never were produced.

If they had gotten the problems of the engines fixed early eneogh and produced the aircraft in large numbers early eneogh she would have been the answer to Germans Strategic Bomber problem. She could fly at 350mph and had a bomb load of over 14,000lb or two guided missiles.

 

[pbfoot]

Can't beat the Manchester for being a clunker the props switching from coarse to fine without the pilot knowing has it for me

 

[HealzDevo]

But the Manchester was just a product of misguided thinking and became the fine Avro Lancaster with a bit of tinkering... Whereas the He-177 Grief never really led anywhere. Also the Me-163 Comet had a habit of exploding on landing which is not good for the pilot.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I disagree. You call the Manchester a product of misguided thinking. What do you think the He-177 was? They wanted a very heavy bomber to be capable of doing dive bombing...

Come on now.

The He-177 was actually a very good design, it was just plauged with stupid problems. If they had not wanted the coupled engines the fires would not have been prone. The aircraft would have developed into a very very good Heavy Bomber.

It did not do so because of misguided thinking...

 

[Civettone]

And by 1944 the problems with the engines were solved, and it turned out to be a very reliable bomber. But by then crew training was inadequate and the Luftwaffe could never get the most of the few He 177s it had.

Kris

 

[HealzDevo]

Okay, still as I was saying the divebombing counts as an intended role doesn't it considering how the aircraft was designed? It had problems because of that design and thus it was a bad plane in its intended role which never got out of that role.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

No not really. Its intended role was as a Heavy Bomber that was capable of dive bombing. All German aircraft were required to be able to do dive bombing. The Me-262 was required to be able to Dive Bomb. Does that make the Me-262 intended main role a dive bomber? No...

 

[HealzDevo]

But the wording isn't main role, it says intended role/roles and in this case dive-bombing was intended as a potential role. I know all German Aircraft were intended to do it but that doesn't exclude this from the worst plane in its intended role/roles as originally configured...

 

[Bullockracing]

The He 177 was not bad in performing its role - it had reliability/maintenance issues. This is a case of a capable performer, and I might add - as the only heavy bomber/dive bomber of the war, it out-performed all Allied heavy bomber/dive bomber aircraft... Oh yeah, the Allies never tied the two together... Hmmm...

 

[HealzDevo]

Exactly it was unique which meant it didn't have competition for that role. It also had those maintenance and reliability problems led to it being nicknamed the flying coffin. Sound like an aircraft suitable for its role at least initially? I don't think so...

 

[Bullockracing]

So it was the best in that role?

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

If they had not coupled the engines in the beginning and realized that it was not going to work like that sooner, the He-177 would have been a hell of a bomber and should have been mass mass mass produced. She had a great payload and excellent performance.

 

[Matt308]

And she was a beauty.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

That I agree with.