Dornier Do P.256 (Project 256)

History

WWII Germany's Dornier was forced by the Air Ministry to concentrate production on bomber types, namely its important Do 17 and Do 217 lines, as well as several types of airships. However, that didn't stop the company from trying to sell the Luftwaffe with some fighter designs, the most important of which was the Do 335 "Arrow".

The aircraft became one of the most unique aircraft of the war, a heavy fighter with a twin-engine (propeller-driven) arrangement with one engine attached to the nose and the other to the tail. With the speed and firepower it presented, the fighter had the potential to be one of the best fighters of the war, but by the end of the war in 1945, production problems limited production to 37.

Another postwar fighter design of the company became the "Project 256" - or "P. 256". This centered on the February 1945 RLM requirements for a twin-engine, jet-powered, all-weather/night fighter, designed to correct the air combat situation and take advantage of the enemy before ground forces could claim vital German installations and force them. end the war.

The P. 256 can generally be considered a jet-powered version of the propeller Do 335, as it incorporates various elements that originally appeared in the design, although overall it is a unique fighter of its own.

Because the turbojet pairing will be contained in the underwing nacelles, the nose is free to push the cockpit forward and provide better visibility for the pilot. The tail unit consists of a conventional tail unit with a large rudder unit and a low level. The main low-wing aircraft remained upside-down - although the leading edge was turned slightly back.

Members are attached amidships, each holding an underwater engine compartment amidships. The tricycle landing gear completes a key physical attribute of the design - a feature in the Do 335. The engines chosen were 2 Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojets, each rated at 2,865 pounds of thrust.

Due to the systems required for night combat missions, it was assumed internally that the aircraft would consist of a crew of three. Therefore, the pilot, navigator and radar operator will be housed in the pressurized cabin. The pilot shares the cockpit with the radar operator in a side-by-side seating arrangement, while the navigator sits further back in his own aft-facing workspace. Cockpit armor and bulletproof glass panels partially improve survivability.

The tail section is largely unprotected, and no defensive weapons are installed -- the idea being that the jet can fly over any trailing interceptor at will.

Proposed as "Nightrunner" is P. 256 with 4 x MK 108 guns in the nose assembly and another 2 x MK 108 guns in the fuselage. The latter pair would be tilted so that they could engage enemy bombers from a more vulnerable bottom - this was known as a "Schrage Musik" tilt mount in German inventory.

The radar facility would allow the aircraft to steer the aircraft towards incoming bomber formations in the dark, giving the P.256 all the advantages over targets lacking detection facilities. Although the P. 256's primary role was that of a night fighter, it was also equipped with under-wing brackets to carry up to 2,200 pounds of conventional intermediate storage.

This way it can act as a fighter-bomber during the day.

Overall, the design has an overall length of 44.6 feet, a wingspan of 50.8 feet, and a height of 18 feet. Estimated performance specs are an absolute top speed of 550 mph and a range of up to 875 miles. The service ceiling of 29,600 feet requires onboard oxygen supply and cabin pressurization for the crew.

The rate of climb should be 2,200 feet per minute.

Upon review, the submission on page 256 was found to be flawed because it lacked important desirable qualities in competing designs. For jet fighters, mainline aircraft without swept wings were at a disadvantage in terms of speed and high performance hulls, and the placement of pod engines would only increase drag and further reduce power (as seen in the Me 262).

The large area fin is another feature that introduced drag and caused problems with the project.

Because the submission of P. 256 was not highly recommended, it was eliminated, forcing Dornier to continue building bombers for the Luftwaffe. As such, the design was just another abandoned German fighter project and barely survived in its paper form.

This is the fate of many post-war jet platforms.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes