World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe He 219 Uhu night fighters were developed as a response to a 1942 requirement for a sophisticated countermeasure against Allied bombers. Progress was initially delayed significantly due to the disagreements between Luftwaffe leader of the night fighters Josef Kammhuber and Ernst Heinkel, but they finally agreed upon a design in Nov 1942. In Jun 1943, three He 219s were delivered for combat testing; their first action took place on the night of 11-12 Jun, where the He 219 designated V9 single-handedly shot down five bombers. Over the next ten nights, the three test aircraft shot down a total of twenty British aircraft. Formal production soon began after the immensely successful combat testing. However, due to political stumbling blocks, production was interrupted for a time, and as a result only 288 were constructed during the war. He 219 pilots recalled the aircraft's power plant as underpowered, but they were very capable fighters nevertheless. The onboard SN-2 radar had a long effective range of 4km, therefore they were able to detect incoming hostile bombers far before their own locations were revealed.

SPECIFICATIONS

HE 219A-7

Machinery	Two Daimler-Benz DB 603E 12-cylinder inverted-V liquid-cooled engines rated at 1,750hp each
Armament	4x20mm MG 151/20 cannons, 4xMK 108 30mm cannons
Crew	2
Span	18.50 m
Length	15.50 m
Height	4.40 m
Wing Area	44.40 m²
Weight, Maximum	13,580 kg
Speed, Maximum	669 km/h
Rate of Climb	9.20 m/s
Service Ceiling	9,300 m
Range, Normal	1,540 km

HE 219A-6

Machinery	Two Daimler-Benz DB 603L 12-cylinder inverted-V liquid-cooled engines rated at 1,750hp each; GM-1 nitrous-oxide boost system
Armament	2x30mm MK 108, 2x30mm MG 151/20, 2xMK 103
Crew	2
Span	18.50 m
Length	15.50 m
Height	4.40 m
Wing Area	44.40 m²
Weight, Maximum	13,580 kg
Speed, Maximum	669 km/h
Rate of Climb	9.20 m/s
Service Ceiling	9,300 m
Range, Normal	1,540 km

Photographs

Visitor Submitted Comments

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1.  Bill says:
12 Oct 2009 11:13:32 AM

The He 219 was an advanced night fighter the
aircraft was equipped with early designed ejection seats. Over 60 aircrew used the seats to escape from their aircraft.
One of the first pilots to use the ejection
seat was Otto Fries: taking fire from enemy
aircraft, one engine on fire and facing loss
of control, Fries ejected, thus saving his life.