The finalized prototype - He 177 V1 - first took to the air on November 9th, 1939 (World War 2 officially began September 1st of that year). This trial quickly showcased engine issues as the powerplants began overheating within minutes and some control issues also revealed themselves. Indeed He 177 V2 was lost mid-air when she broke up on her test flight. Engineers reworked the tail with an increase to its surface area. He 177 V3 was used solely for engine trials (to focus on Junkers Jumo 211s) but He 177 V4 instituted the new tail and other works while He 177 V5 followed suit. V4 was lost when attempting to recover from a dive and V5 saw its engines catch fire, the aircraft crashing. He 177 V6 appeared with production-minded DB606 powerplants (2,663 horsepower) and V7 followed with a slightly revised/cleaned up nose-window scheme. During September of 1941, He 177 V8 was unveiled with an even more refined nose section.
During September of 1942, the dive bombing attack quality of the design was lifted by German authorities (Hermann Goering himself ordered cleared from the requirement) and this led to the evolution of the He 177A compound-engined models to become the "He 177B". This design form would finally carry four individually-nacelled engines for a more conventional look - the engines becoming Daimler-Benz DB603 inlines. The design was finalized for August 1943 and an He 177 A-3 was used as a modified prototype - three were ordered as V101, V102 and V103. First flight was had on December 20th, 1943 by V102 and this aircraft also featured a twin-finned tail unit (unlike the single-finned models before it). Testing continued into early 1944. Allied air raids managed to end work on the type when prototypes V103 and V104 (added later) were destroyed. Focus eventually shifted away from the He 177B product and more towards jet-powered fighter-bomber aircraft like the Arado Ar 234 "Blitz".
The eight prototypes completed the initial phase of the He 177 program. Pre-production was ordered despite the design's known failings and this amounted to 35 units based on the He 177 A-0 standard. Competitor Arado contributed some 130 additional A-0 aircraft to which A-0 production totaled 70 units before attention switched to the improved He 177 A-1 form, 260 of these being produced from January 1942 until January 1943. Then came the He 177 A-3 (the first to officially carry the "Greif" - or "Griffin" - name) with longer rear fuselage sections and lengthened engine nacelles housing Daimler-Benz DB610 engines (paired DB605 inlines). Total production yielded 1,230 aircraft from November 1942 until June 1944. The He 177 A-5, similar in most respected to the A-3 model, appeared in 698 examples from December 1943 to August 1944 and featured a heavier structure with increased bomb load. The He 177 V7 brought along a wider wingspan for higher-altitude work. Total He 177 production then peaked with 1,169 units before the end.
Despite its seemingly impressive manufacture total (though not by wartime standards), the He 177 was nothing close to a success for the Luftwaffe during World War 2. Its engine issues (blamed largely on insufficient cooling) plagued it for its entire career to the point that crews nicknamed the aircraft such titles as "Luftwaffe Lighter" ("Reichsfeuerzeug") and "Flaming Coffin" ("Riechsfackel"). While limited, the large bomber held some usefulness for a service arm lacking in heavy bombers when compared to the Allies (the four-engined Focke-Wulf Fw 200 "Condor" was the only real alternative at this point). The He 177 primarily served over the East Front against the Soviets but some were featured in strikes against England. The aircraft was also an operator of the Hs 293 anti-ship and "Fritz X" weapons - early-form guided missiles used by the Germans before war's end.
The He 177 managed an operational existence until the end of the war in Europe during May of 1945 though its serial production was given up as early as the fall of 1944. The design was furthered some to become the He 277 (detailed elsewhere on this site) for the proposed "Amerika Bomber" program though this aircraft only saw some individual components completed before the German surrender.
The French Air Force was able to recover a pair of He 177 A-3 models abandoned by the Germans in their retreat. These were refurbished by SNCASE. The British took over an He 177 A-5 model in the post-war years and rebranded it with local national markings to serve as a technology demonstrator / evaluator. Beyond this, no He 177s were officially exported beyond German borders.
As completed, the He 177A-5 featured a crew of six, a wingspan of 103 feet, a height of 21.9 feet and a length of 72.1 feet. Its empty weight was 37,040 pounds against a loaded weight of 70,550 pounds. Its armament included 1 x 7.92mm MG 81 machine gun in the nose, a 20mm MG 151 cannon in a chin position, a 13mm MG 131 machine gun (aft-facing) in a ventral gondola, 2 x 13mm MG 131 machine guns in a remote-operated dorsal turret, 1 x 13mm MG 131 machine gun in a manned dorsal turret, and 1 x 20mm MG 151/20 cannon in the tail position. Internally, it was cleared to carry up to 13,230 lb of stores internally and up to 15,875 lb externally. Three guided missiles were part of its armament array.
Performance from the design managed a maximum speed of 350 miles per hour, a ferry range of 3,480 miles, a service ceiling of 26,250 feet and a rate-of-climb of 625 feet per minute.
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