HEINKEL HE 280


BACKGROUND
   The Heinkel He 280 was the worlds first jet interceptor. Although it 
did not go into production it was nonetheless a highly advanced aircraft.
It is interesting to see what it might have been like to fly one had it 
been produced in quantity and SWOTL affords us this opportunity.

   The He 280 was in several respects even more advanced than the 
outstanding Messerschmitt Me 262. Among other things:
 
1) The He 280 was the first aircraft to be fitted with an ejector seat.
   The ejector seat used compressed air and on 1/13/42 after his He 280
   iced up at 7875 ft. the pilot, Schenk, vacated the aircraft being 
   unaware he had just gained the distinction of being the first person
   to perform an emergency ejection in aviation history!
   
2) From the start The He 280 was equipped with a tricycle landing gear.
   Heinkel's engineers were way ahead of Messerschmitt's on this one.
   Much time was wasted during the development of the Me 262 before it
   was realized that a nose wheel was almost essential for take-off and
   landing.
   
3) The He 280 flew under jet power a full 15 months before the Me 262!
   The first flight of the He 280 took place on April 2, 1941. The Me 262
   did not fly under jet power until July 18, 1942. Not only was it the 
   worlds first flight of a jet interceptor, but the worlds first flight
   of a twin engined jet aircraft also.
   
4) The He 280 would probably have been able to outfly the Me 262.
   With a top speed of 578 mph and an initial climb rate of 4,923 ft./min.
   the He 280 was some 40 mph faster than the Me 262 and possessed a climb
   rate of almost 1000 ft./min. more than the Messerschmitt. It also 
   possessed a much higher service ceiling. In fact, the He 280 can also
   lay claim to being the fastest jet fighter to fly during WWII. Only
   the Messerschmitt and Bachem rocket propelled aircraft were faster.     
          
   Nevertheless, for a variety of reasons the Germans decided to take away 
jet interceptor development from Heinkel and give it to Messerschmitt.
By the end of 1942 further development of the He 280 was terminated.  
     
   
SPECIFICATIONS
Engines:          2-1,540 lbs. thrust Heinkel-Hirth HeS 8A turbojets
Armament:         3-20mm MG 151 cannon (grouped in the nose)
Maximum Speed:    578 mph at 19,685 ft.
Climb rate:       4,923 ft./min. (initial)
Service Ceiling:  49,200 ft.
Range:            435 miles, endurance 46 min.
Weights:          Empty-7,092 lb., Loaded-9,413 lb.


SOURCES
   William Green, Warplanes of the Second World War, Vol. 1, Fighters
(New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1963)

   Victor Cross et al., "He 162 Volksjager",   
(San Rafael, California: LucasArts Entertainment Company, 1992)


SWOTL CONSTRUCTION NOTES
HE280.EXP
   This file reflects the specifications listed above. Starting with
ME262.SPC maximum speed, climb rate, acceleration rate, and most
maneuverability factors have been optimized for what was a lighter,
faster and more maneuverable aircraft. Since the aircraft was over
a ton lighter than the Me 262 armor protection has been reduced as has 
engine reliability (the HeS 8A was a smaller lighter engine and not
very reliable even when compared to Jumo 004 which itself was trouble
prone). Fuel tankage has been decreased to reflect the He 280's limited
range. Since the aircraft was never developed to carry drop tanks none
are included but you could add these as they would have been developed
if the aircraft had gone into production.

   Armament was limited to 3-20mm MG 151 cannon. I have been unable 
to find out how many rounds per gun the He 280 originally carried    
but based upon the aircraft's size and armaments of similar first
generation jets I assigned values of 200 rounds per gun. I chose to
use both fire control buttons for the 3 cannon as this gives the 
correct tracer pattern when both are depressed at the same time.
I also set the cannon kill power to 3 for the two outside 20mm cannon
and to 4 for the middle 20mm cannon (to get the right sound effect).
I believe the values LA uses for 20 and 30mm German weapons are too low. 
You can change these back to 2 per cannon if you wish. The first  
He 280 tested with this armament was the He 280 V2 so that is the 
version this aircraft is based upon. Since no other armaments were 
developed for this aircraft (especially no bombs or rockets) none have 
been included. Basically, what you have is a rather maneuverable,
lighter armored and armed short range interceptor sort of like a twin
engined He 162 which I find not wholly unreasonable. Finally, HE280.EXP
calls the file HE280.INT described below.
 
HE280.INT
   The He 280 was of similar size and general layout to the Me 262. 
Therefore in the HE280.SPC file external views use ME262.PAC files. The
He 280's major distinguishing feature was its twin tail layout. In order  
to give the aircraft a different look and feel from inside the cockpit a
P38.INT file was modified using the wing side views of the Me 262. This 
gives you a P38 cockpit with wing views of the Me 262. Rear views show
the twin tail which the He 280 possessed. Although normally rear views 
in the He 280 would be limited (it did not have a full bubble canopy)
I opted to allow the more open rear view afforded by the P38 for look  
and feel reasons.


FILE USE
   HE280.ARJ contains the files HE280.EXP, HE280.INT and HE280.TXT.
It is assumed you are using Anthony Shimizu's excellent SWOTL Manager
(If you're not - you should be). HE280.EXP and HE280.TXT should be 
placed in your HANGAR directory. HE280.INT should be placed in SWOTL's
CP directory.    
     
                                         J. M. Gottlieb
   