Like other German companies of the World War 2 (1939-1945) period, Henschel offered up various aircraft designs for the Luftwaffe. The situation grew particularly dire in 1944 as losses mounted and the Allied bombing campaign was taking its toll. As such, the company had been proposing, for some time, a series of "tailless" single-seat fighter designs driven by a multi-bladed engine set in "pusher" configuration at the rear of the fuselage. Beyond the better known P.75 project fighter was the lesser-known "P.130" (the related P.135 existed as a jet-powered form).
The P.130 was a somewhat radical design for its time and utilized a configuration proving somewhat popular for the time - the Americans attempted it with the developmental XP-55 "Ascender" by Curtiss to no avail. The German approach with the P.130 seated the pilot under a largely unobstructed two-piece canopy aft of the nosecone. The nosecone housed a proposed armament scheme involving four automatic cannons (most likely 4 x 30mm MK 108 weapons) in recessed installations suitable for bomber-destruction. Views to the rear were blocked by the raised fuselage spine which was needed to increase internal volume for avionics and fuel. The wings were large-area surfaces with intakes embedded at the roots. As the design was a true "tailless" aircraft, only a single rudder was featured with no horizontal planes were in play.
Buried within the airframe was a proposed coupling of Daimler-Benz DB603 series engines to achieve optimal performance. These two powerplants (designated collectively as "DB613") would drive a three-bladed propeller unit at the rear. One key beneficial quality of this arrangement was that it left the nosecone completely available to house the powerful cannon battery. Total output power was set to reach 3,500 horsepower.
Despite the promising performance, the tailless concept fell to naught for Luftwaffe authorities were not sold on the concept of the propeller of any fighter fitted to the rear of the airframe. Beyond this, the war effort claimed much in the way of material and financial resources negating the need for a novel concept fighter. Some wind tunnel testing was completed and Henschel engineers stood at-the-ready to take the design further - but none of the tailless aircraft proposed by the company were furthered to any useful degree.
Figures featured on this page are estimates made on the part of the author.
Specifications
Year: 1944
Status Cancelled
Crew 1
Production 0 Units
Henschel - Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (cancelled)
- Fighter
- X-Plane / Developmental
Length:
32.81 ft (10 m)
Width:
32.81 ft (10 m)
Height:
14.11 ft (4.3 m)
1 x Daimler-Benz DB 613 (2 x Daimler-Benz DB 603 coupled engines) engines developing 3,500 horsepower.
Max Speed:
466 mph (750 kph; 405 kts)
Service Ceiling:
32,808 feet (10,000 m; 6.21 miles)
(Showcased performance values pertain to the Henschel Hs P.130 production model; Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database)
PROBABLE:
4 x 30mm MK 108 cannons in forward fuselage (two pairs of two guns).
(Showcased armament details pertain to the Henschel Hs P.130 production model)
P.130 - Base Project Designation.
* Ribbons not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective campaigns/operations.
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Nazi Germany (cancelled)
