Heinkel He 178

The Heinkel-produced He 178 has the distinct honor of becoming the world's first aircraft to fly solely with a turbojet engine. The aircraft was already in the design stage in 1936, eventually hitting the skies before the war in 1939. A fundamental design to the core, the aircraft was nonetheless a major stepping stone to the world of modern jet aircraft and helped propel the German High Command interest in turbojet technology. The single flyable prototype was furthered in design as far as possible before finding a home in the Berlin Air Museum, only to be unknowingly destroyed by Allied bombers in an air raid in 1943.

The He 178 featured a design element that would become standard with several post-war jet aircraft - the open nose air intake extending through to the extreme tail of the design. The aircraft was fitted with a single Heinkel HeS 3b centrifugal flow turbojet generating some 1,102lbs of thrust. Though a major jump from the horsepower piston engine types of the time, the aircraft was only able to reach top speeds of about 373 miles per hour due to subtle airframe issues in the design. Wings were high-mounted on the fuselage with the cockpit extreme forward. The empennage was traditional with a single vertical tail surface. Landing gear were powered and closed up on either side of the forward front fuselage just in front of the wing assembly. A retractable tailwheel was also incorporated and sat between the main wing section and the tail section. The basic fuselage featured a semi-monocoque type fuselage of metal but was largely constructed of wood.

When the He 178 took to the skies on her maiden flight, the intake ingested a passing bird which in effect caused an engine failure, limiting any demonstration for some time despite a safe landing by the pilot. The program progressed with great promise, though weaknesses in the overall airframe design were soon becoming apparent. Nevertheless, the He 178 development would play a pivotal role in years to come, leading to the development of more efficient and stable platforms before war's end.

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Last Revision: 9/9/2009