Heinkel Lerche
| Heinkel Lerche | |
|---|---|
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| Role | Fighter |
| National origin | Germany |
| Manufacturer | Heinkel |
| Status | Project Only |
The Heinkel Lerche (English: Lark) was the name of a set of project studies made by German aircraft designer Heinkel in 1944 and 1945 for a revolutionary VTOL fighter and ground-attack aircraft.
The Lerche was an early coleopter design. It would take off and land sitting on its tail, flying horizontally like a conventional aircraft. The pilot would lie prone in the nose. Most remarkably, it would be powered by two contra-rotating propellers which were contained in a donut-shaped annular wing.
The remarkably futuristic design was developed starting 1944 and concluding in March 1945. The aerodynamic principles of an annular wing were basically sound, but the proposal was faced with a whole host of unsolved manufacture and control problems which would have made the project highly impractical even were it not for the materials shortages of late-war Germany.
[edit] Specifications (Lerche II)
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This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them. |
- Figures below are given for the 'Lerche II' plan dated 25 Feb 1945.
Data from[citation needed]
General characteristics
- Crew: one, pilot
- Length: 10.00 m to wheels (32 ft 10 in)
- Wingspan: 4.55 m max width (14 ft 11 in)
- Height: ()
- Wing area: 12.00 m² (129 ft²)
- Empty weight: 4,500 kg (9,920 lb)
- Loaded weight: 5,600 kg (12,320 lb)
- Powerplant: 2 × Daimler-Benz DB 605 or DB 603E V-12 piston engine, 2,984 or 3,580 kW (4,000 or 4,800 hp) each
Performance
- Never exceed speed: 1,282 km/h (822 mph)
- Maximum speed: 750-800 km/h (466-497 mph)
- Cruise speed: 553 km/h (355 mph)
- Service ceiling: 14,300 m ()
- Rate of climb: 50 m/s ()
Armament
2 × 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 cannons and 3 × Ruhrstahl X-4s (Optional)
[edit] See also
- Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
- Related lists
[edit] Notes & References
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This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (July 2011) |
- Luftwaffe Secret Projects - Ground Attack & Special Purpose Aircraft, D. Herwig & H. Rode, ISBN 1-85780-150-4
- Heinkel Lerche at Luft46.com
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