The Hütter Hü 211 was a German prototype long-range
reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
and heavy
night fighter commissioned by the
Reich Air Ministry in late 1944. The project stopped after an air raid destroyed the prototypes before they were finished.
Design and development
Wolfgang Hütter had been a peripheral figure in the design of German aircraft in World War II, specializing in glider construction. However, his glider expertise could usefully be employed in long-range, high-altitude aircraft, and
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 ...
suggested he be involved in the modification of their
He 219
The Heinkel He 219 ''Uhu'' (" Eagle-Owl") is a night fighter that served with the German Luftwaffe in the later stages of World War II. A relatively sophisticated design, the He 219 possessed a variety of innovations, including Lichtenstein S ...
aircraft for long-range reconnaissance and as a night fighter.
Hütter was asked to complete the design as quickly as possible, and borrowed heavily from the existing He 219,
Junkers Ju 288 and
Dornier Do 335
The Dornier Do 335 ''Pfeil'' ("Arrow") was a heavy fighter built by Dornier for Germany during World War II. The two-seater trainer version was called ''Ameisenbär'' ("anteater"). The ''Pfeil''s performance was predicted to be better than other ...
. The only parts of new design were the wings and tail surfaces, which were constructed from wood as a weight-saving measure to enable better performance. The wings were extremely long, and resembled those of a high-performance sailplane. The cockpit was pressurized and, like the He 219, fitted with
ejection seats. The finished product was meant to be delivered in February 1945 and to be able to evade British
de Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or ...
fighters. There were also plans for variants powered by jet engines for the purpose of achieve higher altitudes but these were never carried out.
Work was stopped after the two prototypes were destroyed by an air raid in December 1944.
Specifications
See also
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
* ''Luftwaffe Secret Projects - Ground Attack & Special Purpose Aircraft'', D. Herwig & H. Rode,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutter Hu 211
1940s German fighter aircraft
Twin-engined piston aircraft