Germany's Heinkel He 219 night fighter
Nickname: Uhu ("Owl")

Photos

Heinkel He 219 Uhu night fighter:	Heinkel He 219 Uhu night fighter:	Heinkel He 219 Uhu night fighter, under construction:
Heinkel He 219 Uhu night fighter:	Heinkel He 219 Uhu night fighter:

Design

The Heinkel He 219 was originally designed as a multi-purpose aircraft but it only saw use as a night fighter.^1,4 In 1941 the Air Ministry asked that the aircraft, then under design, be made into a night fighter.⁴

It was based on Heinkel's P.1060 fighter-bomber proposal but this didn't receive support in Berlin.¹ Production was delayed by Generalfeldmarschall Erhard Milch preferring the Junkers Ju 188.¹

Radar

The He 219 used the Lichtenstein FuG 220 radar.¹

Cockpit

The He 219's windscreen was bulletproof and had wipers and hot-air demisting.¹

With the cockpit being so far forward, in front of the engines and guns, the flash didn't bother the crew as much.¹

Ejection seats were first used in combat in the He 219.^1,4

The He 219's cockpit was pressurized.⁴

Fuselage

The fuselage contained the self sealing and protected fuel tanks.¹

Undercarriage

The undercarriage was the first Luftwaffe plane to have tricycle landing gear.^1,4

Armament

One of the unique features of the He 219 was its Schräge Musik ("slanted music") upwards firing cannons located at the rear of the fuselage.³

The gun turrets of the He 219 were remotely controlled.⁴

Prototype

On November 15, 1942, was the first flight of the He 219V1 prototype.^1,2,3,4

Delays occurred when the Royal Air Force (RAF) raided Rostock and 75% of the design drawings were destroyed.²

It was to beat out the Dornier Do 217N and Junkers Ju 88S.¹

Production

The production of the He 219 was to be cancelled as the Ju 88G was able to catch the Lancaster and Halifax bombers.² However, the He 219 was the only plane able to take on the Mosquito so production continued.²

Due to jets and single engine fighters receiving production priority in May 1944 production of the He 219 was haulted.¹

• Heinkel He 219: 294³, 296¹, <300⁴
  • Manufacturer: Ernst Heinkel A.G.⁴

Variants

• Heinkel He 219V-1: Prototype.³ Had Daimler-Benz 603A (1,750 HP) engines.³
• Heinkel He 219A-0: Pre production version.^2,3 In May 1943 sent to Holland for operational trials.³
• Heinkel He 219A-1: Reconnaissance.⁴
• Heinkel He 219R3: Had a single MG in the tail.¹ This was removed in later versions.¹
• Heinkel He 219A-2: First production model.³
• Heinkel He 219A-2/R1: First production model.⁴
• Heinkel He 219A-5: First production model produced in any quantities.² Had increased fuel.³
• Heinkel He 219A-5/R1:
• Heinkel He 219A-5/R2:
• Heinkel He 219A-5/R3:
• Heinkel He 219A-5/R4:
• Heinkel He 219A-6: Special model to fight the Mosquito.³ Had boosted Daimler-Benz DB 603L engines.³ Armament was reduced to increase performance.³
• Heinkel He 219A-7: Introduced in 1944.² Had Daimler-Benz 603G engines.³ Armament was increased.³ It carried two 20 mm cannons and six 30 mm.⁴
• Heinkel He 219A-7/R1: Had up to eight cannons.² Including two 30 mm in a Schräge Musik (slanting music or jazz) configuration.²
• Heinkel He 219A-7/R4: Had a radar in the rear of the plane to warn of Mosquito night fighters.¹
• Heinkel He 219A-7/R5: Had Junkers Jumo engines.³
• Heinkel He 219A-7/R6: Had two Jumo 222A/B engines (2,500 HP), which propelled the He 219 435 mph / 440 mph⁴ / 700 kph.^2,4

Usage

The He 219 was one of the few Luftwaffe aircraft that were able to catch the de Havilland Mosquito.¹ It was estimated that 60% of the Mosquitos lost in night combat were due to the He 219.²

Trial Run

Some of the He 219A-0 reproduction models were sent to Holland for trials.³ A mission led by Major Werner Streib, on June 11/12, 1943, shot down five Lancaster bombers.^1,2,4 In the very first six sorties He 219 crews claimed 20 RAF bombers shot down.^3,4 Six of those being the Mosquito, which had been immune up until then.^3,4

First Unit

The first unit to use the He 219 was the 1. Staffel, Nachtjagdgeschwader 1, based at Munster-Handorf.²

Specifications

	Heinkel He 219 Uhu3	Heinkel He 219A Uhu3	Heinkel He 219 A-2/R14	Heinkel He 219A-5 Uhu3	Heinkel He 219A-7 Uhu3	Heinkel He 219A-7/R1 Uhu1,2
Type	Night fighter3		Night fighter4			Night fighter1,2
Crew	23		24			21,2
Engine (Type)			2: Daimler-Benz DB 603A4	2: Daimler-Benz DB 603E3	2: Daimler-Benz DB 603G3	2: Daimler-Benz DB 603E piston2 2: Daimler-Benz DB 603G piston1
Cylinders			V 124	Inverted V 123		Inline2
Cooling			Liquid4
HP			1,750 each4	1,800 each3	1,900 each3	1,800 each2 1,900 each1
Propeller blades				3 each3	3 each3	3 each1
Dimensions
Span		60' 8"3 18.49 m3	60' 8"4			60' 8"1, 60' 8.5"2 18.5 m1,2
Length		50' 11.75"3 15.54 m3	51'4			50' 11.75"2, 51'1 15.54 m1,2
Height		13' 5.5"3 4.1 m3	13' 6"4			13' 5.5"2, 13' 6"1 4.1 m1,2
Wing area						479 ft2 1,2 44.5 m2 1,2
Weight
Empty				21,826 lb3 9,900 kg3	24,692 lb3 11,200 kg3	24,640 lb1, 24,691 lb2 11,200 kg1,2
Loaded			24,640 lb4	28,990 lb3 13,150 kg3	33,730 lb3 15,300 kg3	33,660 lb1, 33,730 lb2 15,300 kg1,2
Performance
Speed maximum						415 mph1 670 kph1
Speed @ 22,965' / 7,000 m			416 mph4		416 mph3 669 kph3	416 mph2 670 kph2
Cruising speed					335 - 391 mph3 539 - 629 kph3	390 mph1 630 kph1
Climb					1,810'/minute3 552 m/minute3	1,805'/minute2 550 m/minute2
Service ceiling			41,660'4		41,667'3 12,700 m3	40,000'1, 41,665'2 12,200 m1, 12,700 m2
Range			1,243 miles4		1,243 miles3 2,000 km3	1,240 miles1, 1,243 miles2 2,000 km1,2
Armament			6: 20 mm4		2: 20 mm4 6: 30 mm4
Upward firing				2: 30 mm3	2: 30 mm3	2: 30 mm Mk 1081,2
Wing roots				2: 20 mm3	2: 30 mm3	2: 30 mm Mk 1081,2
Ventral tray				2: 30 mm3	2: 20 mm3 2: 30 mm3	2: 20 mm MG 151/201,2 2: 30 mm Mk 1031,2