Heinkel He P.1077 (Julia)

Rocket-Powered Interceptor Aircraft Proposal

Nazi Germany | 1945

"The Heinkel He P.1077 rocket-powered interceptor was approved by German authorities but evolved too slowly and never saw a prototype completed before the end of the war."

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 05/15/2018 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

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1944 proved a critical year for Germany and its fabled Luftwaffe. Once a master of the skies, advanced products fielded by the Allies in number soon began to remove the German initiative. The Allied reach had expanded to unacceptable lengths, able to target all German-held territories and even German soil itself - no part of the Reich in Europe was safe now. This brought into question the levels of defense for Germany and, in particular, what was being done to counter the threat of American heavy bombers during the day and British heavy bombers during the night. As such, various programs were enacted - primarily through the "Emergency Fighter Program" born on July 3rd, 1944 - to find viable defensive-minded interceptors capable of reacting swiftly to incoming enemy flight groups and engaging bombers with appropriate armament.

Ernst Heinkel headed the Heinkel AG concern which was best known for its He 111 Medium bomber of Battle of Britain fame. The German Air Ministry (RLM) charged any interested German aviation firm with submitting a proposal for an inexpensive single-seat, turbojet-powered interceptor. Four companies responded with varying designs including Heinkel, Messerschmitt, Bachem and Junkers. The Heinkel submission - P.1077 - was selected ahead of the others. However, the Bachem P.20 went on to be evolved into the operational Ba 349A "Natter" ("Viper") along another avenue. Design of the P.1077 originated with Wilhelm Benz and was given the program name of "Julia".

The P.1077 "Julia" was developed along two lines: in one form, the pilot was fitted in a prone position, the intent being to keep the fuselage as slim (and profile small) and aerodynamic as possible under the thrust of rocket power; in the other form, the pilot sat upright in the traditional manner. The former design trend was ultimately selected for further development - engineers convinced of the layout's benefits. To further simplify manufacture, the Julia would not be fitted with a conventional undercarriage - instead it would be launched from guide rails and glide down to land onto provided integral skids under the fuselage. The cockpit would include only the most basic of instrumentation to keep manufacturing/procurement costs down and ease training of potential pilots.

Key to the success of the Julia was its intended powerplant based on rocket propulsion. In question was the Walter HWK 509C series dual-chambered, liquid bi-fuel rocket motor promising a thrust output of 3,750lb. As take-off was required to commence at quickly as possible (in the hopes of intercepting incoming bomber formations in time), the airframe was further outfitted with 4 x Schmidding 533 series booster rockets with 2,650lb thrust each to be used during launch, jettisoned only after their fuel supply had been spent.

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When attacking bombers, the Germans learned at an early time that cannon firepower was best over that of machine guns. With that, many German aircraft incorporated some sort of cannon armament into their assault plans including the famous Messerschmitt BF 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters. The Julia system would not disappoint in this quality, to be outfitted with 2 x 30mm MK 108 cannons mounted to either side of the cockpit by way of bulging blisters, the barrels recessed along channels at the fuselage sides. Each cannon would be afforded 60 x 30mm projectiles for multiple passes on a target.

The airframe utilized conventional components and a generally basic configuration. The cockpit was set well-forward in the fuselage which itself was largely tubular in shape. Since the pilot lay prone, the nose cone was the canopy and allowed only minimalistic views of the action ahead. There was no way for the pilot to see to his rear though at the intended speeds, this was acceptable. Wings were high-mounted straight assemblies with turned-down tips. The tail was of a basic Tee configuration with a broad horizontal plane joining a pair of vertical rudders. The rocket motor component was buried within the aft portion of the fuselage and exhausted through a circular port in the rear of the design.

Estimated performance specifications of the P.1077 design included a top speed of 560 miles per hour with a cruise speed nearing 500 miles per hour. Since rocketry allowed for very short flight times, the P.1077 would be limited to a 40 mile combat radius. It could, however, operate at ceilings nearing 49,000 feet which required cockpit pressurization and an accompanying oxygen supply for the pilot. All told, the P.1077 featured a take-off weight of 4,000lb, a wingspan of just 15.5 feet and a running length of 22.5 feet.

Although a promising late-war rocket weapon, the P.1077 did not materialized quickly enough to enter production, let alone having a prototype completed. As such, the P.1077 existed largely as a paper design and ultimately fell to the pages of history as one of Hitler's "Wonder Weapons". Comparatively, the competing Bachem Ba 349 "Natter" rocket-powered interceptor managed to enter limited production for flight testing by war's end in May of 1945.

A proposed related Julia variant known as the He P.1077 "Romeo" was also planned, the type intended to fit a pulse jet engine in place of the Walter HWK rocket motor.

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Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Heinkel He P.1077 (Julia) Rocket-Powered Interceptor Aircraft Proposal.

1 x Walter HWK 509C liquid-fuel rocket motor developing 3,750lb of thrust; 4 x Schmidding 533 jettisonable booster rockets developing 2,650lb of thrust each during take-off.
Propulsion

559 mph
900 kph | 486 kts
Max Speed

49,213 ft
15,000 m | 9 miles
Service Ceiling

40 miles
64 km | 35 nm
Operational Range

39,400 ft/min
12,009 m/min
Rate-of-Climb

City-to-City Ranges
Operational range when compared to distances between major cities (in KM).

NYC

LON

PAR

BER

MOS

TOK

SYD

LAX

NYC

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Heinkel He P.1077 (Julia) Rocket-Powered Interceptor Aircraft Proposal.

1
(MANNED)
Crew

22.6 ft
6.90 m
O/A Length

15.1 ft
(4.60 m)
O/A Width

3.3 ft
(1.00 m)
O/A Height

2,425 lb
(1,100 kg)
Empty Weight

4,189 lb
(1,900 kg)
MTOW

Design Balance
The three qualities reflected below are altitude, speed, and range. The more full the box, the more balanced the design.

RANGE

ALT

SPEED

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Heinkel He P.1077 (Julia) Rocket-Powered Interceptor Aircraft Proposal .

PROPOSED:
2 x 30mm MK 108 cannons in blisters along forward fuselage sides.

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Heinkel He P.1077 (Julia) family line.

He P.1077 "Julia" - Base Product Designation

He P.1077 "Romeo" - Proposed variant with Pulse Jet engine.

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Heinkel He P.1077 (Julia). Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 0 Units
Contractor(s): Heinkel AG - Nazi Germany

[ Nazi Germany ]

Relative Max Speed

Hi: 750mph

Lo: 375mph

Aircraft Max Listed Speed (559mph).

Graph Average of 563 MPH.

Era Crossover

Showcasing Aircraft Era Crossover (if any)

Max Alt Visualization

MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

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Aviation Timeline

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Mission Roles
Some designs are single-minded in their approach while others offer a more versatile solution to airborne requirements.

AIR-TO-AIR COMBAT

INTERCEPTION

X-PLANE

Recognition
Some designs stand the test of time while others are doomed to never advance beyond the drawing board; let history be their judge.

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Going Further...
The Heinkel He P.1077 (Julia) Rocket-Powered Interceptor Aircraft Proposal appears in the following collections:

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