Warbird Information Exchange

I loaded a big batch of photos in a Flickr album.
The series of photos is titled: "Flying from Sicily to Tunisia, towing a Gotha Go-242". I'm assuming 1940-41?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/142209609 ... 709824961/

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“Knowing what’s right, doesn’t mean much unless you do what’s right.”

Nice!

If I remember right, only twelve of these were actually built, and these saw service on the Eastern Front as well. I wonder if that service was just for public relations - good pictures for the masses at home - as twelve aircraft could make no dent in the operational needs of the time.

One of the great examples of wartime improvisation. Still, only 12 aircraft means there must have been issues. Were those issues in airborne handling, limits of airbase runways, or the greater need for 2-engine bombers?

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Kevin McCartney

Those are great images Mark.

Thanks for posting them and the link.

Andy

Amazing images but, man, that must have been a sloooow trip.

The following info is from The Warplanes of the Third Reich by William Green, published in 1970. He says the idea for the Zwilling concept came from Ernst Udet and that the two prototypes, the He 111Z V1 and V2 were built from He 111H-6 components and were flown for the first time in the late autumn of 1941. He states that they were "understandably somewhat unwieldy in the air" but otherwise adequate for a heavy glider tug. He says that 10 production He 111Z-1 aircraft were ordered but only eight completed, three built from He 111H-6 components and five from He 111H-16 components.

As shown in some of Mark's images, when not towing the Ju 322 or Me 321 heavy gliders, the He 111Z-1 could tow two Go 242 gliders in tandem. With a Me 321 the towing speed was 137 m.p.h. and 155 m.p.h. with two Go 242s. Green does mention the planned use of the He 111Zs and Me 321 gliders to help supply the German troops at Stalingrad but it seems that this operation was not completed before the fall of the city. He also says that the He 111Zs were considered a success and that there were plans for a long-range bomber variant, the He 111Z-2 and a reconnaissance version, the He 111Z-3, but it seems neither were built.

If anyone has a better reference on the He 111Z, I would be happy to hear about it. Hope this info is useful if you don't have access to the book.

Randy

God, what a target... makes your trigger finger itch.

Thanks, absolutely stunning pictures. I never thought I would see pictures of the -Z in action. Well done, keep them coming!

Excellent stuff. I always wonder how many of those picturesd aircrew survived the war. One would assume not too many.

How many people can say they have logged 5-engine time?

Probably performed much better than the average He-111 when nothing was in tow, but what a maintenance nightmare!

The 111 must have really been a stout airframe to add that center section. Lots of additional bending and twisting forces are likely. Was it only flown from one side, or could you utilize 4 pilots?

according to this source http://www.diseno-art.com/encyclopedia/strange_vehicles/heinkel_he_111z_zwilling.html

only the left fuselage had a pilot. Previously they were using three twin-engine aircraft (! talk about dangerous) to tow the Me.321 gliders. The He.111Z must have been a much easier proposition. So why did they not build more of them.

The out-sized wingspan makes this almost look like a flying wing, particularly the first Northrup wing design, which had two short tails. Could this shortened tail units, compared to wingspan, had added handling issues, that could have been exacerbated when pulling a glider?

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Kevin McCartney

If the stock -111 had adverse yaw, I imagine the added span amplified the issue.

But more vertical stabilizers may offset the yaw forces. Hard to say.

If the aileron area wasn't increased you are trying to control a much larger aircraft with the ailerons of the original He-111. I'm guessing the aileron response was pretty sluggish.

With regards to pilot positions in the He 111Z, here is what William Green has to say in the same reference used in my earlier post.

"... the pilot was situated in the portside fuselage with five throttles, full instrumentation, and controls for the port undercarriage members and the radiator flaps for the portside pair of engines. The second pilot, situated in the starboard fuselage, was provided with dual flying controls but no throttles, and operated the starboard undercarriage members and the radiator flaps for the centre engine and starboard pair of engines."

Randy

With all the twin fuselage what if's and prototypes.......

This has to be the ultimate.....