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Four years of development preceded the first production orders for the He 177, the first prototype of which had flown in November 1939. It was a heavy bomber, introducing an entirely new type of power plant in which four Daimler-Benz 12-cylinder inverted engines were grouped together in pairs, each pair driving a single propeller. Many prototypes were built, most of which displayed obvious shortcomings including dangerous diving characteristics, landing gear and structural weaknesses, and problems associated with the engines including persistent crankshaft torsional vibration, lubrication and propeller troubles: two prototypes broke up in the air and at least one caught fire.
Following a brief period of use as an emergency transport aircraft on the Eastern Front, during which time several caught fire and so earned the nickname "Flaming Coffin", the Greif began its operational career in October 1943 on anti-convoy and U-boat cooperation duties. It took part (sub-types A-3 and A-5) in attacks on England in January 1944, known as the "Little Blitz", but as the war progressed was used to a greater extent as a missile carrier for anti-shipping duties. As the end of the war approached fewer and fewer Greifs remained operational: shortages of fuel and trouble with the engines grounding large numbers.
Although a small number of twin-finned He 177B were built in early 1944, most of the 1,160 or so Greifs produced were A-series types, although it is doubtful whether more than about 200 became fully operational in all respects. The He 177A-0 was the pilot production model, powered by two DB 606 engines (made up of four DB 601). Armament comprised two 13 mm MG 131 in dorsal and tail positions, one 7.9mm MG 81 in the nose, two 7.9mm MG 81 in a ventral position facing aft and a 20mm MG FF cannon firing forward from a "chin" position, plus 48x70kg, ten 500kg, six 1,000kg, or two 2,500kg bombs. The He 177A-1 was similar except for defensive armament, while the He 177A-3 had two DB 610 power units (four DB 605 engines), airframe changes and was equipped to carry two Hs 293 glider missiles. The final major version, the He 177A-5, was equipped to carry three Hs 293, two Hs 294 or two PC 1400 Fritz X (armour-piercing) radio-controlled missiles.
 | A three-view drawing (596 x 692) |
| MODEL | He-177A-5/R-2 |
| CREW | 6 |
| ENGINE | 2 x Deimler-Benz DB 610A/B, 2200kW |
| WEIGHTS |
| Take-off weight | 31000 kg | 68344 lb |
| Empty weight | 16800 kg | 37038 lb |
| DIMENSIONS |
| Wingspan | 31.44 m | 103 ft 2 in |
| Length | 20.40 m | 67 ft 11 in |
| Height | 6.39 m | 21 ft 12 in |
| Wing area | 102.0 m2 | 1097.92 sq ft |
| PERFORMANCE |
| Ceiling | 8000 m | 26250 ft |
| Range | 5500 km | 3418 miles |
| ARMAMENT | 3 x 7.92mm machine-guns, 3 x 13mm machine-guns, 2 x 20mm cannons, 1000kg of bomb |
| Paul Hughes, ngcman1(@)btopenworld.com, 11.11.2009 The He 177 was a victim interference from the German high command and an insistance that it should be capable of dive bombing. It should have been transformed into the four DB605 engined He277 once the engine problems were all too evident. The DB610 powerplant was a compromised design solution, a good idea in theory but in practice a costly disaster for the Luftwaffe. Who knows what could have been if this bomber had proved successful from the start! Without this bomber the German high command lacked the necessary firepower to match the stratigic capability of the Britsh Lancaster & strike back at allied targets | | Andrew Taylor, andrewtaylor2(@)blueyonder.co.uk, 28.10.2009 What was the fuel tankage of the He177? This figure seems to be ignored but is useful when working out range with differing weapons loads.
This was a good design that never atchived its potential due to poor firewal construction and isolation of fuel lines, have you ever considerd what I different aircraft it could have been? | | krieghund, tomay777(@)yahoo.com, 03.09.2009 two db605 = db610
two db603 = db613
two db601 = db606
there were 40 modified he177 in norway may 1945 for a one way attack to usa | | leo rudnicki, leo_rudnicki(@)hotmail.com, 09.04.2009 The Fact & Figures errs. Two DB605`s makes a DB610, " DB603`s makes a DB606. The most famous raid I recall was on a Russian airbase after B17s had landed from a shuttle bombing mission. Sneaky and quite successful. | | Simon, 12.03.2009 As for the He-177 two were in action against US forces in Eastern Greenland in mid December 1944 according to a Madrid newspaper. That's pretty stunning range. Did they have a refueling airstrip somewhere in Greenland ? | | He 177, 21.03.2008 The problem of the fires were that the firewalls will get so hot, that the leaking gas or oil touched it and caught on fire. Most 177 didn't make it back to their base when their bomber just suddenly bursts with smoke and flame. | | Rui Martins, ruimanelmartins(@)hotmail.com, 29.02.2008 The Greif is the most amazing bomber of world war two | | STEVEN, ben-sons(@)cbn.net.id, 25.11.2007 DID YOU KNOW THAT IN DECEMBER 1944 ARDENNES OFENSIVE.
THE LUFTWAFFE DEPLOYED TWO HEINKEL HE-177 GREIF IN THE BOMBING OF BASTOGNE |
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COMPANY
PROFILE
FACTS AND FIGURES© Despite appearances, the He
177 was a four-engined bomber.
Two Daimler-Benz DB 601
engines were coupled in each
nacelle to create the DB 606.
Later versions used two DB
603s coupled as the DB 610. © Later proposed designs had fou
separate engines which would
have solved many of the
problems, but the strategic
situation by 1943 meant they
were never built. © Armament was heavy. On late
variants streamlined turrets and a
dorsal gondola carried five 20mm
cannon and three
7.62mm machine guns. © Some He 177s were equipped as
missile carriers, and they achieved
reasonable success against Allied
shipping using the Hs 293 glide
bomb and Fritz X missile.
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