Heinkel Postwar Fighters

[Yankee_Aviator]

You may find it interesting that in German Wikipedia an article on the Heinkel He-031 Florett has recently appeared (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinkel_He_031). It is obviously in German, but can be easily understood even without help of the Google Language Tools.

Anyway, the article says the Florett was to be armed, besides the wing-tip mounted missiles, with two batteries of unguided 50mm rockets. Personally I cannot see these batteries in drawings of the fighter that are being available here (albeit they are not of the highest quality). Could anybody clarify the issue?

Best regards,
Piotr

The Wikipedia article claims that the Florett was cancelled in the early 60s due to the Luftwaffe's desire to procure VTOL tactical aircraft, however, as far as I'm aware, those specifications didn't come until later in the decade. Considering the timeline of the He 031's development, I have to question whether this design was killed not by the Luftwaffe's desire to structure their air force around VTOL tech, but rather the F-104G. Are there any details pertaining to this? Was the Florett one of the designs considered alongside the F-104 for that procurement, or was the Florett intended as a domestic follow-on with a more specialized focus on the interceptor role to complement the F-104? (The latter scenario would explain it being passed over in favor of VTOL development). I'm aware such designs as the SR.177 were considered alongside the F-104, I'm curious if the Florett was among the contenders. Could it have been eliminated along with the 177 on the grounds of mixed propulsion being deemed unfavorable by the Luftwaffe? On the topic of propulsion, what of the HeS 053? The Wikipedia article claims that the British DeHavilland Gyron Jr. turbojet was being recommended for use as West Germany did not have a domestic engine available for the Florett. This would seem to contradict the existence of the Heinkel engine that was created on behalf of Egypt for the He 011 fighter. My question is, if the HeS 053 did indeed exist and was actually bench tested, why the hell did the Heinkel team not investigate the possibility of using it for the Florett? I'm aware it was a larger engine and the 011 a larger fighter. If it was too large for the Florett, why not scale if down like, ironically, the Gyron Jr.? Alternatively, why not scale up the airframe? Heinkel was apparently also studying an enlarged 'Florett B' to be powered by the Orenda Iroquois. Was the 053's existence being concealed so as to avoid scrutiny from the Western Allies? This would be plausible, I could understand how the prospect of Germany having an advanced domestic jet engine and an advanced, domestic supersonic fighter in the pipeline could have potentially been politically unpalatable for the West German govt in the mid/late 50s, but I want confirmation, I want to know for sure if:
A. The Florett was competing with the F-104 for the same contract
B. The HeS 053 actually existed and if so, why it wasn't considered for adaptation to the Florett

 

[Apophenia]

The Wikipedia article claims that the Florett was cancelled in the early 60s due to the Luftwaffe's desire to procure VTOL tactical aircraft, however, as far as I'm aware, those specifications didn't come until later in the decade. Considering the timeline of the He 031's development, I have to question whether this design was killed not by the Luftwaffe's desire to structure their air force around VTOL tech, but rather the F-104G...

Florett B with the Orenda Iroquois is a cool find! Thanks for that.

As for F-104G vs planned VTOL, dating works for both. The BMVg issued its tender for a VTOL all-weather fighter on 02 Dec 1957. By then, Heinkel had dropped the He 031 Florett interceptor project. Heinkel's design team led by Siegfried Günter were already exploring a J79-powered tail-sitter followed by what became the 1957-58 He 231 canard with nose- and tail-mounted J85s (prior to the shift to rotating engine concepts).

 

[Yankee_Aviator]

Florett B with the Orenda Iroquois is a cool find! Thanks for that.

As for F-104G vs planned VTOL, dating works for both. The BMVg issued its tender for a VTOL all-weather fighter on 02 Dec 1957. By then, Heinkel had dropped the He 031 Florett interceptor project. Heinkel's design team led by Siegfried Günter were already exploring a J79-powered tail-sitter followed by what became the 1957-58 He 231 canard with nose- and tail-mounted J85s (prior to the shift to rotating engine concepts).

I forgot that the West German Luftwaffe was rearming at a breakneck pace, also admittedly wasn't certain of the timeline on their VTOL requirements, I didn't realize they were put forward as early as 1957. I guess the combination of the F-104G procurement along with the coinciding requirement for a future aircraft to have VTOL capabilities left no reason for Heinkel to continue work on the Florett, abandoning it in favor of the 231 and further VTOL concepts. I do wonder about the timeline on the Florett B concept and again, why the in-house HeS 053 was never considered for this airframe.