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.
(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)
✓Air-to-Air Combat, Fighter
General ability to actively engage other aircraft of similar form and function, typically through guns, missiles, and/or aerial rockets.
✓X-Plane (Developmental, Prototype, Technology Demonstrator)
Aircraft developed for the role of prototyping, technology demonstration, or research / data collection.
Length
32.8 ft (10.00 m)
Width/Span
32.8 ft (10.00 m)
Height
14.1 ft (4.30 m)
MTOW
15,873 lb (7,200 kg)
(Showcased structural values pertain to the base Henschel Hs P.130 production variant)
Installed:
1 x Daimler-Benz DB 613 (2 x Daimler-Benz DB 603 coupled engines) engines developing 3,500 horsepower.
PROBABLE:
4 x 30mm MK 108 cannons in forward fuselage (two pairs of two guns).
Supported Types
(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)
Hardpoint Mountings: 0
P.130 - Base Project Designation.
Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.
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Nazi Germany (cancelled)
