The project is still an up-to-date combat aircraft scheme, which in the pre-war years served as a pretext for intense polemics in various countries. Some samples of such aircraft passed flight tests even before 1945 (for example, the Italian SA / SS64, the American Curtiss XP-55 "Askender" or the Japanese Kayushi J7W1 "Sinden"), but they were first spread only with the use of jet engines our days.
Along with aerodynamic features, the Henschel concept made it possible to place heavy small arms in the forward fuselage, the considerable dimensions of which and the assembly technology proved ideal for a wide and heavy power plant consisting of twin DB 603 engines. The vertical tail fin protected the propellers from touching the ground …
sludge installation: 1 x Daimler Benz DB 613A / B, 24-cylinder twin liquid-cooled engine, takeoff power 3500 hp with two coaxial screws with a diameter of 3.2 m driven in rotation by a long shaft
Dimensions (partially reconstructed)
Wingspan: 11,300 mm, sweep: 16 ° along the 1/4 chord line (from the nose of the profile)
Wing area: 28.4 m2, aspect ratio: 4.5
Full length: 12200 mm
Maximum height: 4300 mm
Weights
Takeoff weight (approx): 7200 - 7500 kg
Flight data
Maximum speed: 790 km / h at an altitude of 7 km
Service ceiling: 12000 m
Military equipment
Armament: 4 x MK108 30 mm in the forward fuselage
Experiments with a model in a wind tunnel led to pretty good results. The project has reached a stage allowing the immediate start of the development of design and technological documentation. But it didn’t come to that. Despite the support of technical services, the Luftwaffe rejected the project on the grounds that "the pilots will not be able to get used to the fact that the propeller is in front of or behind the tail."
Flight tests were, of course, to clarify whether the expected increase in flight characteristics of such a heavy "Ente" would correspond to its use as a fighter, primarily in bend battles.
