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He 177 was a 4-engined long-range World War 2 bomber of the Luftwaffe. The troubled aircraft was the only heavy bomber built in large numbers by Germany during the war.
Aircrews nicknamed it the Reichsfeuerzeug (lighter of the Reich) due the engines’ tendency to catch fire in early versions of the type. An unusual feature of the airplane were the twin-engines in each nacelle that drove a single propeller. The twin-engines had first been introduced on the Heinkel He 119 to reduce drag where they worked trouble-free, but their tight installation in the He 177 led to considerable problems. Starting with He 177A-3 a modified engine nacelle with a new engine (DB610, each containing two DB605) was used to eliminate this tendency.
Beset by many other technical diffculties in development and service, the plane had a troubled life. This was in part due to overly optimistic design requirements which in addition to long-range, high-speed, and carry a large bomb-load, was to be capable of dive bombing. Though Goering forbade Heinkel to develop a four engine version, Heinkel did anyways, leading to the development of the Heinkel He 274 and the Heinkel He 277 which had separate engines in the more commonly seen fashion.
The use of the He 177 was ended by the Fighter Emergency Program (Jägernotprogramm) which cancelled bomber production and operations and gave priority to defensive fighters in the final stages of the war.

General Description

• Type: Twin-engined aircraft for long, medium, or short-range bombing, reconnaissance, anti-shipping, or U-boat cooperation.

Wings

• Configuration: Mid-wing cantilever monoplane.
• Structure:
  • All-metal single-spar stressed-skin design with rectangular center-section and tapering outer sections, ending in detachable tips.
  • Equipped with hydraulically-operated Fowler-type flaps between ailerons and fuselage. Some sub-types (up to A-3) had aileron extensions to flaps.
  • Double trim-tabs on ailerons: inner tabs are spring-loaded and geared, while outer tabs are adjustable from the cockpit.
  • Features include a cable-cutter beneath the leading-edge skin and heated leading-edge de-icing system powered by oil-burning heaters.

Fuselage

• Construction: All-metal stressed-skin structure built in four sections.
• Framework: Composed of closely-spaced channel-section formers, four extruded longerons, and Z-section stringers on top and bottom surfaces.

Tail Unit

• Type: Cantilever monoplane.
• Structure:
  • Metal-covered single-spar tailplane.
  • For sub-types earlier than A-5, an auxiliary spar connected to screw-jacks varied the tailplane incidence with Fowler flap operation.
  • All control surfaces include two trim-tabs: one spring-loaded and the other controllable from the cockpit.
  • Tailplane leading-edge equipped with hot-air de-icing.

Landing Gear

• Type: Retractable, with each main unit comprising two independent shock-absorber legs located beneath the engine nacelle. These hinge outwardly and are housed in the wings, each on one side of the engine nacelle and in front of the wing spar.
• Features:
  • Levered type shock-absorber legs using grease as a damping medium.
  • Hydraulic retraction with hydraulically-operated doors to cover apertures.
  • Single large tail-wheel retracts into the fuselage and can be lowered manually from the tail-gun position in an emergency.

Power Plant

• Engines: Two Daimler-Benz DB 610 engines (each composed of two DB 605 twelve-cylinder inverted Vee liquid-cooled engines).
• Configuration:
  • Each engine unit rated at 2,700 hp at 18,700 ft (5,700 m) and 2,950 hp for take-off.
  • The engines have a shared gear casing connecting the two crankcases, with opposite rotation enabled through idler gears.
  • Equipped with four-blade VDM constant-speed airscrews (14 ft. 10 in. or 4.52 m diameter) and annular coolant radiators around each airscrew shaft.
  • Fuel tanks located in the fuselage, center-section, and outer wings, with a maximum total capacity of 2,788 Imperial gallons. Tanks are of metal with self-sealing covering (fuselage and center-section) and flexible rubber (outer wings).
  • Includes slinger-ring airscrew de-icing and other auxiliary fluid tanks in engine nacelles.

Accommodation

• Crew: Six members:
  • Four in the forward crew compartment: pilot, second pilot/bomb-aimer/front gunner, navigator/radio operator/under gunner, and gunner for remote-control dorsal guns.
  • One mid-upper turret gunner and one tail-gunner (isolated from the rest of the crew).
• Features: Includes armor, heating, ventilation, oxygen systems, a 24-volt electrical system, radio (including control for glider bombs), radio altimeter, and blind-approach equipment.

Armament

• Positions and Armaments:
  • Forward dorsal turret: One or two 13 mm MG 131 (remotely controlled).
  • Rear dorsal turret: One or two 13 mm MG 131.
  • Forward gondola: One 20 mm MG 151/20.
  • Rear gondola: One 13 mm MG 131.
  • Observer’s position: One 7.9 mm MG 81.
  • Tail position: One 20 mm MG 151/20.
  • Bomb load: Internal with typical configurations of forty-eight 70 kg, ten 500 kg, six 1,000 kg, or two 2,500 kg bombs. Additionally, carriers for radio-controlled Hs 293, Hs 294, or PC 1400 FX anti-shipping bombs.

Dimensions

• Span: 103 ft. 2 in. (31.46 m)
• Length: 72 ft. (21.9 m)
• Height: 21 ft. 10 in. (6.7 m)
• Gross Wing Area: 1,076 sq. ft. (100 sq. m)

Weights

• Empty Weight: 37,000 lbs. (16,800 kg)
• Maximum Take-off Weight: 68,500 lbs. (31,100 kg)
• Normal Landing Weight: 53,000 lbs. (24,060 kg)
• Maximum Wing Loading: 63.7 lbs./sq. ft. (310.8 kg./sq. m)
• Power Loading: 11.4 lbs./hp (5.17 kg/hp)

Performance

• Maximum Speed: 295 mph (472 km/h) at 17,000 ft. (5,185 m)
• Climb to 17,000 ft. (5,185 m): 25 minutes
• Best Climbing Speed: 171 mph (274 km/h) at maximum loaded weight
• Service Ceiling: 26,500 ft. (8,080 m)