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The Heinkel He 178 was an experimental
aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines. ...
designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer
Heinkel Heinkel Flugzeugwerke () was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight, with ...
. It was the world's first aircraft to fly using the thrust from a
turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, ...
engine. The He 178 was developed to test the
jet propulsion Jet propulsion is the propulsion of an object in one direction, produced by ejecting a jet of fluid in the opposite direction. By Newton's third law, the moving body is propelled in the opposite direction to the jet. Reaction engines operating on ...
concept devised by the German engineer Hans von Ohain during the mid-1930s. Having secured the industrial support of
Ernst Heinkel Dr. Ernst Heinkel (24 January 1888 – 30 January 1958) was a German aircraft designer, manufacturer, ''Wehrwirtschaftsführer'' in Nazi Germany, and member of the Nazi party. His company Heinkel Flugzeugwerke produced the Heinkel He 178, t ...
, von Ohain was able to demonstrate a working
turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, ...
engine, the Heinkel HeS 1, in September 1937. Heinkel pursued development of the He 178 as a private venture, independent of the German authorities and the
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...
, keeping the aircraft relatively secret for much of its development. Heinkel was keen not only to demonstrate the capabilities of aviation
gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directio ...
s, but had a separate emphasis on developing high-speed flight technologies. On 27 August 1939, the He 178 V1, the first prototype, performed its
maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alwa ...
, piloted by Erich Warsitz. This flight, which only lasted for six minutes, had been preceded by a short hop by the same aircraft three days prior. Due to its performance limitations, such as a maximum speed of and its relatively small endurance, the aircraft failed to impress
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...
officials such as Ernst Udet and
Erhard Milch Erhard Milch (30 March 1892 – 25 January 1972) was a German general field marshal ('' Generalfeldmarschall'') of Jewish heritage who oversaw the development of the German air force (''Luftwaffe'') as part of the re-armament of Nazi Germany fo ...
, who attended a demonstration flight. Heinkel subsequently developed a twin-engined jet-powered fighter aircraft, building on the lessons of the He 178, to produce the He 280. The He 178 provided valuable test data to guide the development of subsequent jet-powered aircraft. The He 178 V1 prototype itself went on static display in
Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
for a time before it was destroyed by an Allied air raid on the city in 1943.


Development


Background

In 1935, Hans von Ohain, a young German engineer, successfully took out a
patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling disclo ...
on the use of the exhaust from a
gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directio ...
as a means of propulsion. Von Ohain presented his idea to the aeronautical engineer
Ernst Heinkel Dr. Ernst Heinkel (24 January 1888 – 30 January 1958) was a German aircraft designer, manufacturer, ''Wehrwirtschaftsführer'' in Nazi Germany, and member of the Nazi party. His company Heinkel Flugzeugwerke produced the Heinkel He 178, t ...
, who was sufficiently impressed that he agreed to help develop the concept. This industrial support would prove highly benefitial to von Ohain's work. According to the periodical
New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publish ...
, Heinkel had already been interested in the potential of the gas turbine prior to encounter von Ohain and his work. During September 1937, von Ohain successfully demonstrated his first engine, the Heinkel HeS 1.History Office 2002, p. 196. Accordingly, it was promptly decided to begin designing an aircraft for which a similar such engine could be installed and tested in the air. This aircraft, which would be designated ''He 178'', was designed around von Ohain's third engine design, the HeS 3, which burned either
diesel fuel Diesel fuel , also called diesel oil, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a result of compression of the inlet air and ...
or
gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic ...
."A Performance Diagnosis of the 1939 Heinkel HE S3B Turbojet" C. Rodgers, GT2004-53014. To support the programme, the HeS 3 was test flown in a Heinkel He 118, but only as a supplemental engine to the conventional piston engine that it retained.Warsitz 2008, p. 120. The He 178 was a relatively compact aircraft, featuring a primarily metal
fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...
and using a largely conventional configuration and construction. The nose accommodated the air intake for the engine, which was housed within the central fuselage. The aircraft was fitted with tailwheel undercarriage. The main landing gear was intended to be retractable, but actually remained fixed in the "down" position throughout the flight trials. It was furnished with high-mounted wooden wings that had the characteristic Günter brothers elliptical
trailing edge The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 199 ...
. Photos showing a "straight wing" (straight-line-taper in the wing planform, for both the
leading In typography, leading ( ) is the space between adjacent lines of type; the exact definition varies. In hand typesetting, leading is the thin strips of lead (or aluminium) that were inserted between lines of type in the composing stick to inc ...
and trailing edges) were of the second prototype He 178 V2, which never flew under power.


Into flight

On 27 August 1939, the aircraft performed its
maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alwa ...
, only days before Germany invaded Poland. This flight, piloted by Erich Warsitz, lasted only six minutes and almost ended in near-disaster due to a misjudgement during the unpowered landing approach, but was successfully recovered. Warsitz later described his groundbreaking flight: "I moved the throttle levers gently forward. As the aircraft began to roll I was initially rather disappointed at the thrust, for she did not shoot forward as the
176 Year 176 ( CLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Proculus and Aper (or, less frequently, year 929 ''Ab urbe condita'' ...
had done, but moved off slowly. By the 300-metre mark she was moving very fast. Despite several attempts I could not retract the undercarriage. It was not important, all that mattered was that she flew. The rudder and all flaps worked almost normally, the turbine howled. Now I would have to take my chances with the landing, losing altitude by side-slipping. I restored her to the correct attitude just before touching down, made a wonderful landing and pulled up just short of the Warnow."Warsitz 2008, pp. 127–129. Heinkel had developed the turbojet engine and the testbed aircraft, the Heinkel He 178 V1, in great secrecy. Their existence were kept secret even from the
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...
. On 1 November 1939, after the German victory in Poland, Heinkel arranged a demonstration of the aircraft before a group of
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...
officials. While
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
, the commander in chief of the Luftwaffe, was not in attendance, the demonstration was watched by Ernst Udet and
Erhard Milch Erhard Milch (30 March 1892 – 25 January 1972) was a German general field marshal ('' Generalfeldmarschall'') of Jewish heritage who oversaw the development of the German air force (''Luftwaffe'') as part of the re-armament of Nazi Germany fo ...
, Minister of Aircraft Production and Supply, however, they were reportedly not impressed by its performance. While the He 178 had been a success on a technical basis, its speed was restricted to no greater than , even when fitted with the more powerful HeS 6 engines, capable of generating up to of thrust, while its combat endurance was limited to only ten minutes.


Legacy

Heinkel was disappointed by the lack of official interest in his private-venture jet. In his autobiography, he attributes that to the failure of the leaders of the '' Reichsluftfahrtministerium'' to understand the advantages of jet propulsion and the breakthrough that He 178 represented. Undeterred by a lack of support from external officials, Heinkel decided to embark on the development of a twin-engine jet fighter as a private venture, harnessing what had been learned from flying the He 178 prototype. This would result in the He 280, the first prototype jet-powered fighter aircraft.Christopher 2013, p. 59. Unknown to Heinkel, the Reich Air Ministry had already been developing its own jet technology.Christopher 2013, p. 59. In fact, in September 1939, the development of jet powered single-seat aircraft was ordered to continue despite a general order to cut back on non-core development work as to get certain aircraft types operational as soon as possible. However, the jet engines that would be developed by
Junkers Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG (JFM, earlier JCO or JKO in World War I, English: Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works) more commonly Junkers , was a major German aircraft and aircraft engine manufacturer. It was founded there in Dessau, ...
and BMW would differ considerably from those engines used by the He 178, instead favouring the axial flow approach in place of the earlier
centrifugal Centrifugal (a key concept in rotating systems) may refer to: *Centrifugal casting (industrial), Centrifugal casting (silversmithing), and Spin casting (centrifugal rubber mold casting), forms of centrifigual casting *Centrifugal clutch *Centrifug ...
design. Nevertheless, the He 178 programme was a valuable source of test data that aided subsequent development efforts considerably. The He 178 V1 airframe was placed on display at the
Berlin Aviation Museum Berlin is the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, as measured by population within city limits having gained this statu ...
, where it was destroyed in an air raid in 1943.


Specifications


See also


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * * . * * . * .


External links

* , including rare videos of the Heinkel He 178 and audio commentaries. * * {{RLM aircraft designations He 178 1930s German experimental aircraft Single-engined jet aircraft High-wing aircraft World War II experimental aircraft of Germany World War II jet aircraft of Germany Aircraft first flown in 1939