Heinkel He 031 Florett(Wikipedia)
type Interceptor
Manufacturer Ernst Heinkel Aircraft Works
First flight project only
The Heinkel He 031 Florett was an interceptor design developed by the German manufacturer Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in the 1950s. A key feature of the design was its hybrid propulsion system (turbine and rocket engine), enabling it to quickly reach a sufficient altitude to intercept enemy bombers.
Story
The He 031 can be considered a precursor to the single-engine, delta-wing He 011 , which was developed by Heinkel between 1954 and 1956 for the Egyptian government. The development team was led by Siegfried Günter , who had already been responsible for many Heinkel designs during the war years.
The Heinkel HeS 053 engine, designed by Fritz Gosslau and developed to test stand readiness, was intended to power the aircraft. It delivered a thrust of 64.4 kN (6500 kp), featured an eleven-stage axial compressor, a two-stage axial turbine, and weighed 1565 kg.
A group of German engineers built a 1:1 scale mock- up of this so-called "Egypt fighter" in Helwan ; however, after the Egyptian government withdrew its order, further development was halted. A few months later, Egypt concluded a contract with the Soviet Union for the delivery of MiG-15 fighter jets.
However, as early as 1955, Heinkel developed a second delta-wing fighter, commissioned by Spain. Initially designated He 021 , later C-He 101 , this aircraft was a typical lightweight fighter with a takeoff weight of 4,000 kg. The design was conceived as a mid-wing monoplane with side air intakes for the intended Bristol Orpheus engine. The He 021, however, never progressed beyond the design stage.
Following the lifting of the occupation statutes in May 1955 and the restoration of full sovereignty to the Federal Republic of Germany, the Federal Ministry of Defense issued a competitive tender for the development of a German interceptor aircraft. The requirements were:
Flight services:
Top speed: Mach 2.0
Landing speed: 200 km/h
Ascent time: 3 minutes to 25,000 m altitude
Service ceiling: 25,000 m
Engine:
The De Havilland Gyron Jr. was recommended because a German engine was not yet available.
Additionally, the installation of a De Havilland Spectre Jr. was recommended to ensure that the required speeds could be achieved safely.
Navigation and FT equipment
Dual UHF system
Radar with ranges of 30 to 50 km
TACAN
IFF facility
Targeting device for jamming transmitters and onboard radar systems, sighting device with automatic firing trigger
Armament:
Two air-to-air missiles with infrared seeker or radar guidance
Batteries of unguided 2-inch air-to-air rockets
The required hybrid propulsion system was also used around the same time in the British Saunders-Roe SR.53 experimental aircraft and was intended to power the supersonic fighter design SR.177 . Heinkel participated in the competition and won with its He 031 design, submitted in February 1957, which partially exceeded the requirements in terms of calculations.
The initial plan was to design, manufacture, and test four prototype aircraft. Series production would then have been fully operational by 1962, and the Air Force could have taken delivery of the first aircraft in 1963.]
However, a prototype aircraft was never built, as NATO air force commands had meanwhile turned their attention to the vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft as a promising new fighter category. On December 2, 1957, the German Federal Ministry of Defense issued a request for proposals for an all-weather fighter with VTOL capabilities. This led to the development of the Dassault Balzac V in France , the Hawker Kestrel (later the Harrier ) in England, and the EWR VJ 101 C in Germany .
construction
The He 031 was designed as a mid-wing monoplane with delta-shaped trapezoidal wings. The fuselage was divided into three sections. The forward section housed an adjustable multi-shock diffuser , which also contained the radar. Two armored launch tubes for 50 mm Oerlikon rockets were located below the nose of the fuselage.
The Gyron Jr. PS 50 jet engine was installed in front of the end bulkhead of the fuselage center section. The complete afterburner system and the Spectre Jr. rocket engine, on the other hand, were located in the rear fuselage.
The delta-shaped trapezoidal wings had a leading edge sweep of 45° and a profile thickness of 5%. They were of three-spar construction, and the wing tanks had a volume of 1100 liters. To increase lift, 12% of the compressor air was diverted from the engine, piped to the wingtips, and expelled at high pressure at the hinges of the flaps and ailerons. A unique technical feature was the jettisonable forward fuselage section, similar in design to the later General Dynamics F-111 escape capsule .
Technical data
Key figure Data
crew 1
length 13.85 m
span 8.64 m
Height 3.87 m (in rolling position)
wing surface 24.90 m²
Empty weight 4110 kg
max. starting mass 8000 kg
Top speed Mach 2.6 with afterburner
At an altitude of 18,000
Service peak 30,000 m at G=6000 kg
reach 2600 km, 3300 km with external tank
Engines 1 × De Havilland Gyron Jr. PS 50
with 44.5 kN (4540 kp) thrust
1 × De Havilland Spectre Jr.
with 19.6 kN (2000 kp) thrust
Armament 60 × 50 mm air-to-air missiles (Oerlikon)
2 × air-to-air missiles (Falcon or Sidewinder)
