Messerschmitt (Lippisch) Me 334

Pusher-Prop Single-Seat Fighter Proposal

Nazi Germany | 1943

"Drawn up as insurance against the Me 163 rocket-powered interceptor, Lippisch put forth his P.20 jet fighter as the Me 334 in propeller form."

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 05/07/2022 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

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Alexander Lippisch was a prolific aeronautical engineer in Europe during the Nazi German era, responsible for everything from tailless research to rocket-powered aircraft designs intended to fulfill a seemingly endless line of Luftwaffe requirements. One of his greatest achievements became the Me 163 "Komet" (detailed elsewhere on this site) under the Messerschmitt brand label, a rocket-powered interceptor that made a brief appearance as one of the many "Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe" showcased by the Germans towards the war's end. Beyond this was the "P.13" and all its known variants, the evolved Komet form in the jet-powered "P.15", and the evolved P.15 becoming the jet-powered "P.20". In the post-war years, he lent his talents to help develop the Dornier Aerodyne VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) testbed.

The Messerschmitt Me 334 was another of Lippisch's entries though only existing in paper form - this aircraft originating as something of an insurance policy against the Me 163B V1 which was delayed by its Walther rocket motor. Lippisch modified his jet-powered P.20 concept to become a simpler piston-driven design, retaining the general stubby shape and arrangement. The mainplanes were slightly swept-back in the revised Me 334 but the vertical tail fin was now relocated ventrally on the fuselage (as opposed dorsally) to help clear the rear of the airframe for the propeller unit. The Me 334 would, therefore, have a "pusher" arrangement with the cut-off nose section used to drive air into the airframe while a long shaft drove the three-bladed propeller unit. As in the proposed P.20 fighter, a wholly-retractable, wheeled undercarriage was to be used for ground-running.

The cockpit was positioned near-center with a lightly-framed canopy offering good vision for the single crewman. Armament was to comprise 2 x 13mm MG131 Heavy Machine Guns (HMGs), each unit buried in the wing roots to either side of the cockpit and offering a good offensive punch against enemy bombers and fighters of the day.

Proposed dimensions included a wingspan of 30.5 feet, an overall length of 22.9 feet, and a height of 12 feet. Wing sweep of the mainplanes amounted to 23.4 degrees to give the fighter basic aerodynamic efficiency at high speeds.

Drive power would have come from a single Daimler-Benz DB605A-C 12-cylinder liquid-cooled inverted Vee engine developing 1,475 horsepower at take-off. This would be used to drive a three-bladed, 9.9-foot diameter propeller centered on a conical spinner at the rear of the airframe.

However, all this fell to naught for the Me 163B eventually received its expected rocket motor and was trialed with success, leaving no room for the insurance-minded Me 334 to continue any sort of further development. As such, it was given up sometime in 1943.

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Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Messerschmitt Me 334 Pusher-Prop Single-Seat Fighter Proposal.

1 x Daimler-Benz DB605A-C 12-cylinder, inverted-Vee, liquid-cooled piston engine driving a three-bladed propeller unit at the rear of the fuselage in pusher arrangement.
Propulsion

326 mph
525 kph | 283 kts
Max Speed

370 mph
595 kph | 321 kts
Cruise Speed

41,010 ft
12,500 m | 8 miles
Service Ceiling

1,243 miles
2,000 km | 1,080 nm
Operational Range

4,000 ft/min
1,219 m/min
Rate-of-Climb

City-to-City Ranges
Operational range when compared to distances between major cities (in KM).

NYC

LON

PAR

BER

MOS

TOK

SYD

LAX

NYC

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Messerschmitt Me 334 Pusher-Prop Single-Seat Fighter Proposal.

1
(MANNED)
Crew

23.0 ft
7.00 m
O/A Length

30.5 ft
(9.30 m)
O/A Width

12.2 ft
(3.72 m)
O/A Height

5,071 lb
(2,300 kg)
Empty Weight

6,614 lb
(3,000 kg)
MTOW

Design Balance
The three qualities reflected below are altitude, speed, and range. The more full the box, the more balanced the design.

RANGE

ALT

SPEED

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Messerschmitt (Lippisch) Me 334 Pusher-Prop Single-Seat Fighter Proposal .

PROPOSED:
2 x 13mm MG131 Heavy Machine Guns (HMGs) with one gun per wing root.

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Messerschmitt (Lippisch) Me 334 family line.

Me 334 - Base Design Designation; paper proposal only.

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Messerschmitt (Lippisch) Me 334. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 0 Units
Contractor(s): Messerschmitt (Lippisch) - Nazi Germany

[ Nazi Germany (cancelled) ]

1 / 1

Image of the Messerschmitt (Lippisch) Me 334

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Similar
Developments of similar form-and-function, or related, to the Messerschmitt (Lippisch) Me 334 Pusher-Prop Single-Seat Fighter Proposal.

Lippisch P.20

Going Further...
The Messerschmitt (Lippisch) Me 334 Pusher-Prop Single-Seat Fighter Proposal appears in the following collections:

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