Ural bomber
Encyclopedia
The Ural bomber was a program to develop a long-range bomber
for the Luftwaffe
, created and led by General Walther Wever
in the early 1930s. Wever died in an air crash in 1936 and the program ended almost immediately. Albert Kesselring
took over his position in the Luftwaffe, abandoning most of his designs and turning others into tactical bombers.
Wever, the chief of staff of the newly formed Luftwaffe in 1933, realized the importance that strategic bombing
would play in a war. In war with the Soviet Union
he expected that German forces would not attempt to move very far east of Moscow
, which would leave much of Stalin's recently relocated industry out of reach of existing bombers. Wever proposed using a strategic bomber to reduce these factories, ending their ability to fight even without the need for ground forces to advance.
Under the Ural bomber program, he began secret talks with two of Germany
's leading aircraft manufacturers, Dornier
and Junkers, requesting designs for a long-range bomber. The two companies responded with the Dornier Do 19 and the Junkers Ju 89
respectively and the RLM (Reichsluftfahrtministerium, "Reich Aviation Ministry") ordered prototypes for both aircraft in 1935.
Wever was killed in an air crash in April 1936, and the dream of a strategic bomber force died with him. His replacement, Albert Kesselring
, saw no need for such a force, and was much more interested in building a larger number of smaller tactical aircraft instead. He canceled the program outright on April 29, 1937, and the prototypes of the Ju 89 and Do 19 were used for flight research and cargo duties.
The Ju 89 also inspired the Junkers Ju 90
after Deutsche Lufthansa
requested a passenger version with lower-powered engines. When the Ural bomber program was canceled, the partially completed 3rd prototype was converted to passenger layout and served as a Ju 90 prototype instead. Ironically the Ju 90 was later pressed into military service as a patrol aircraft, as it was one of the few really long-range designs available in Germany. The Ju 90, in turn, led to the small-production series of Junkers Ju 290
four engined maritime patrol and long-range reconnaissance aircraft, and even to the two produced prototypes of the six-engined Junkers Ju 390
, which became one of the entrants in the Amerika Bomber
project.
According to some sources, the Ju 89 was considered to be the better performing of the two Ural bomber prototypes and after the cancellation of the project on 29 April 1937 the V1 and V2 prototypes continued to carry out flying trials and briefly served with the transport unit KGrzbV 105 during the Norway invasion.
Some sources contend that contrary to popular belief, it was not Kesselring who killed off the Ural bomber concept; rather it was Hermann Göring
who ceased strategic bomber development in Nazi Germany before the start of World War II, upon the advice of Kesselring, Ernst Udet
and Erhard Milch
. Kesselring was a vocal supporter of twin engine bombers and backed up Udet who preferred dive bombers. This was the questionable decision that was made to convert the Ju 88 medium bomber and the even more disastrous decision to convert the Heinkel He 177
heavy bomber, into a form of "Big Stuka" dive bomber, countering the request of Ernst Heinkel
in November 1938 for the third and fourth He 177 V-series prototypes to be specifically built as true, four-separately-engined heavy bomber prototypes, rather than with the specified pair of DB 606 "twinned DB 601
" power systems, required for the 177 to have the streamlining to accomplish dive-bombing missions.
Milch wanted the project canceled simply because at that stage the German airplane industry was incapable and would remain so, of building a large fleet of heavy bombers. Thus, Göring shelved the project and is later supposed to have said, "The Fuhrer will never ask me how big our bombers are, but how many we have."
It was in the spring of 1942 that what could be considered to be a resuscitation of the Ural Bomber idea, the now trans-oceanic range Amerika Bomber
proposal arrived in Göring's offices at the RLM, with the Messerschmitt Me 264
, Junkers Ju 390
and the nosewheel gear version of the Heinkel He 277
emerging as major competitors. These designs arrived much later than the operational shorter-range heavy bombers of both RAF Bomber Command
and the USAAF had first been flown before, and early in, World War II.
As 1943 progressed, Göring bemoaned the lack of a heavy bomber fleet and cursed those who had told him the medium bomber was superior to the heavy bomber. "Well, those inferior heavy bombers of the other side are doing a wonderful job of wrecking Germany from end to end," was his acid-tongued response. Göring also had thought, as early as the previous year, that the He 177A was actually a "separately engined", true four-engined heavy bomber but since the A-version of Heinkel's "heavy" was actually using the cumbersome Daimer-Benz DB 606 and 610 "power system" powerplants, which the Reichsmarschall derided as zusammengeschweißte Motoren, or "welded-together engines" on numerous occasions, the He 177B development of the A-version was an attempt to solve the problem and was well underway by the summer of 1943 and four prototypes of the Daimler-Benz DB 603
-powered B-version were commissioned, with three of them built and two flying by the end of 1943.
The He 177B and especially the later Heinkel He 274
high-altitude design and the paper-only Heinkel He 277
Amerika Bomber
trans-Atlantic range candidate, trio of development programs emerging from the He 177A design, came the closest to providing the Luftwaffe with a true heavy bomber. The original He 177A design, with its troublesome coupled Daimler-Benz 606 and 610 "power system" engines, was the basis for the He 177B and He 274 and the initial inspiration for the BMW 801
radial powered He 277, whose nosewheel-equipped fuselage for its Amerika Bomber design had much more of the general appearance of an enlarged Heinkel He 219
. The conversion of four He 177As of various models was the method of creating the flying prototypes of the initial trio of He 177B prototypes built in Austria (with the V104 fourth prototype airframe underway), and the start of the construction of a pair of He 274 prototypes to be built in France. Both the quartet of commissioned He 177B prototype airframes and pair of He 274 prototypes used four individual Daimler-Benz DB 603
engines, with the 274's powerplants having additional turbocharging
for high altitude flight, and would have provided the Luftwaffe with a bombing capability on par with the RAF Bomber Command's Avro Lancaster
.
Of course, the German heavy bomber projects were not dead. After pleas from the Chief of Branch 1 of the Luftwaffe Operations Staff, Major Paul Deichmann to Göring, an amazing about face occurred in late 1937, when specifications were issued to develop an aircraft to deliver a five-ton bomb load to New York. By March of 1942, the Amerika Bomber
project was initiated.
Other
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
for the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
, created and led by General Walther Wever
Walther Wever (general)
Walther Wever was a pre-World War II Luftwaffe Commander.-Early life:Walther Wever was born on 11 November 1887 in Wilhelmsort in the county of Bromberg . He was the son of Arnold Wever, the one-time director of a Berlin bank and the grandson of the Prussian Prosecutor-General Dr...
in the early 1930s. Wever died in an air crash in 1936 and the program ended almost immediately. Albert Kesselring
Albert Kesselring
Albert Kesselring was a German Luftwaffe Generalfeldmarschall during World War II. In a military career that spanned both World Wars, Kesselring became one of Nazi Germany's most skilful commanders, being one of 27 soldiers awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords...
took over his position in the Luftwaffe, abandoning most of his designs and turning others into tactical bombers.
Wever, the chief of staff of the newly formed Luftwaffe in 1933, realized the importance that strategic bombing
Strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability and public will to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces...
would play in a war. In war with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
he expected that German forces would not attempt to move very far east of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, which would leave much of Stalin's recently relocated industry out of reach of existing bombers. Wever proposed using a strategic bomber to reduce these factories, ending their ability to fight even without the need for ground forces to advance.
Under the Ural bomber program, he began secret talks with two of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
's leading aircraft manufacturers, Dornier
Dornier Flugzeugwerke
Dornier Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturer founded in Friedrichshafen in 1914 by Claudius Dornier. Over the course of its long lifespan, the company produced many notable designs for both the civil and military markets.-History:...
and Junkers, requesting designs for a long-range bomber. The two companies responded with the Dornier Do 19 and the Junkers Ju 89
Junkers Ju 89
|-See also:-External links:*...
respectively and the RLM (Reichsluftfahrtministerium, "Reich Aviation Ministry") ordered prototypes for both aircraft in 1935.
Wever was killed in an air crash in April 1936, and the dream of a strategic bomber force died with him. His replacement, Albert Kesselring
Albert Kesselring
Albert Kesselring was a German Luftwaffe Generalfeldmarschall during World War II. In a military career that spanned both World Wars, Kesselring became one of Nazi Germany's most skilful commanders, being one of 27 soldiers awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords...
, saw no need for such a force, and was much more interested in building a larger number of smaller tactical aircraft instead. He canceled the program outright on April 29, 1937, and the prototypes of the Ju 89 and Do 19 were used for flight research and cargo duties.
The Ju 89 also inspired the Junkers Ju 90
Junkers Ju 90
The Junkers Ju 90 was a 40-seat, four-engine airliner developed for and used by Deutsche Luft Hansa shortly before World War II. It was based on the rejected Ju 89 bomber...
after Deutsche Lufthansa
Deutsche Luft Hansa
Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G. was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and throughout the Third Reich.-1920s:Deutsche Luft Hansa was founded on 6 January 1926 in Berlin...
requested a passenger version with lower-powered engines. When the Ural bomber program was canceled, the partially completed 3rd prototype was converted to passenger layout and served as a Ju 90 prototype instead. Ironically the Ju 90 was later pressed into military service as a patrol aircraft, as it was one of the few really long-range designs available in Germany. The Ju 90, in turn, led to the small-production series of Junkers Ju 290
Junkers Ju 290
The Junkers Ju 290 was a long-range transport, maritime patrol aircraft and heavy bomber used by the Luftwaffe late in World War II.-Design and development:...
four engined maritime patrol and long-range reconnaissance aircraft, and even to the two produced prototypes of the six-engined Junkers Ju 390
Junkers Ju 390
The Junkers Ju 390 was a German aircraft intended to be used as a heavy transport, maritime patrol aircraft, and long-range bomber, a long-range derivative of the Ju 290...
, which became one of the entrants in the Amerika Bomber
Amerika Bomber
The Amerika-Bomber project was an initiative of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium, the Nazi Germany Air Ministry, to obtain a long-range strategic bomber for the Luftwaffe that would be capable of striking the continental United States from Germany, a range of about 5,800 km...
project.
According to some sources, the Ju 89 was considered to be the better performing of the two Ural bomber prototypes and after the cancellation of the project on 29 April 1937 the V1 and V2 prototypes continued to carry out flying trials and briefly served with the transport unit KGrzbV 105 during the Norway invasion.
Some sources contend that contrary to popular belief, it was not Kesselring who killed off the Ural bomber concept; rather it was Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
who ceased strategic bomber development in Nazi Germany before the start of World War II, upon the advice of Kesselring, Ernst Udet
Ernst Udet
Colonel General Ernst Udet was the second-highest scoring German flying ace of World War I. He was one of the youngest aces and was the highest scoring German ace to survive the war . His 62 victories were second only to Manfred von Richthofen, his commander in the Flying Circus...
and Erhard Milch
Erhard Milch
Erhard Milch was a German Field Marshal who oversaw the development of the Luftwaffe as part of the re-armament of Germany following World War I, and served as founding Director of Deutsche Luft Hansa...
. Kesselring was a vocal supporter of twin engine bombers and backed up Udet who preferred dive bombers. This was the questionable decision that was made to convert the Ju 88 medium bomber and the even more disastrous decision to convert the Heinkel He 177
Heinkel He 177
The Heinkel He 177 Greif was the only operational long-range bomber to be operated by the Luftwaffe. Starting its existence as Germany's first purpose-built heavy bomber just before the war, and built in large numbers during World War II, it was also mistakenly tasked, right from its beginnings,...
heavy bomber, into a form of "Big Stuka" dive bomber, countering the request of Ernst Heinkel
Ernst Heinkel
Dr. Ernst Heinkel was a German aircraft designer, manufacturer, Wehrwirtschaftführer in the Third Reich, and member of the Nazi party. His company Heinkel Flugzeugwerke produced the Heinkel He 178, the world's first turbojet aircraft and jet plane, and the Heinkel He 176, the first rocket aircraft...
in November 1938 for the third and fourth He 177 V-series prototypes to be specifically built as true, four-separately-engined heavy bomber prototypes, rather than with the specified pair of DB 606 "twinned DB 601
Daimler-Benz DB 601
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Mankau, Heinz and Peter Petrick. Messerschmitt Bf 110, Me 210, Me 410. Raumfahrt, Germany: Aviatic Verlag, 2001. ISBN 3-92550-562-8.* Neil Gregor Daimler-Benz in the Third Reich. Yale University Press, 1998-External links:...
" power systems, required for the 177 to have the streamlining to accomplish dive-bombing missions.
Milch wanted the project canceled simply because at that stage the German airplane industry was incapable and would remain so, of building a large fleet of heavy bombers. Thus, Göring shelved the project and is later supposed to have said, "The Fuhrer will never ask me how big our bombers are, but how many we have."
It was in the spring of 1942 that what could be considered to be a resuscitation of the Ural Bomber idea, the now trans-oceanic range Amerika Bomber
Amerika Bomber
The Amerika-Bomber project was an initiative of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium, the Nazi Germany Air Ministry, to obtain a long-range strategic bomber for the Luftwaffe that would be capable of striking the continental United States from Germany, a range of about 5,800 km...
proposal arrived in Göring's offices at the RLM, with the Messerschmitt Me 264
Messerschmitt Me 264
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Duffy, James P. Target: America. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 2004. ISBN 0-275-96684-4....
, Junkers Ju 390
Junkers Ju 390
The Junkers Ju 390 was a German aircraft intended to be used as a heavy transport, maritime patrol aircraft, and long-range bomber, a long-range derivative of the Ju 290...
and the nosewheel gear version of the Heinkel He 277
Heinkel He 277
The Heinkel He 277 was a four-engine, long range heavy bomber design, a derivative of the He 177, intended for production and use by the German Luftwaffe during World War II. The main difference was in engine configuration...
emerging as major competitors. These designs arrived much later than the operational shorter-range heavy bombers of both RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
and the USAAF had first been flown before, and early in, World War II.
As 1943 progressed, Göring bemoaned the lack of a heavy bomber fleet and cursed those who had told him the medium bomber was superior to the heavy bomber. "Well, those inferior heavy bombers of the other side are doing a wonderful job of wrecking Germany from end to end," was his acid-tongued response. Göring also had thought, as early as the previous year, that the He 177A was actually a "separately engined", true four-engined heavy bomber but since the A-version of Heinkel's "heavy" was actually using the cumbersome Daimer-Benz DB 606 and 610 "power system" powerplants, which the Reichsmarschall derided as zusammengeschweißte Motoren, or "welded-together engines" on numerous occasions, the He 177B development of the A-version was an attempt to solve the problem and was well underway by the summer of 1943 and four prototypes of the Daimler-Benz DB 603
Daimler-Benz DB 603
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9* Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London. Studio Editions Ltd, 1989. ISBN 0-517-67964-7...
-powered B-version were commissioned, with three of them built and two flying by the end of 1943.
The He 177B and especially the later Heinkel He 274
Heinkel He 274
The Heinkel He 274 was a German Luftwaffe heavy bomber developed during World War II, purpose-designed for high-altitude bombing with pressurized crew accommodation.- He 177 ancestry :...
high-altitude design and the paper-only Heinkel He 277
Heinkel He 277
The Heinkel He 277 was a four-engine, long range heavy bomber design, a derivative of the He 177, intended for production and use by the German Luftwaffe during World War II. The main difference was in engine configuration...
Amerika Bomber
Amerika Bomber
The Amerika-Bomber project was an initiative of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium, the Nazi Germany Air Ministry, to obtain a long-range strategic bomber for the Luftwaffe that would be capable of striking the continental United States from Germany, a range of about 5,800 km...
trans-Atlantic range candidate, trio of development programs emerging from the He 177A design, came the closest to providing the Luftwaffe with a true heavy bomber. The original He 177A design, with its troublesome coupled Daimler-Benz 606 and 610 "power system" engines, was the basis for the He 177B and He 274 and the initial inspiration for the BMW 801
BMW 801
The BMW 801 was a powerful German air-cooled radial aircraft engine built by BMW and used in a number of German military aircraft of World War II. The engine's cylinders were in two rows of seven cylinders each, the bore and stroke were both 156 mm , giving a total capacity of 41.8 litres...
radial powered He 277, whose nosewheel-equipped fuselage for its Amerika Bomber design had much more of the general appearance of an enlarged Heinkel He 219
Heinkel He 219
The Heinkel He 219 Uhu was a night fighter that served with the German Luftwaffe in the later stages of World War II. A relatively sophisticated design, the He 219 possessed a variety of innovations, including an advanced VHF-band intercept radar...
. The conversion of four He 177As of various models was the method of creating the flying prototypes of the initial trio of He 177B prototypes built in Austria (with the V104 fourth prototype airframe underway), and the start of the construction of a pair of He 274 prototypes to be built in France. Both the quartet of commissioned He 177B prototype airframes and pair of He 274 prototypes used four individual Daimler-Benz DB 603
Daimler-Benz DB 603
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9* Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London. Studio Editions Ltd, 1989. ISBN 0-517-67964-7...
engines, with the 274's powerplants having additional turbocharging
Turbocharger
A turbocharger, or turbo , from the Greek "τύρβη" is a centrifugal compressor powered by a turbine that is driven by an engine's exhaust gases. Its benefit lies with the compressor increasing the mass of air entering the engine , thereby resulting in greater performance...
for high altitude flight, and would have provided the Luftwaffe with a bombing capability on par with the RAF Bomber Command's Avro Lancaster
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
.
Of course, the German heavy bomber projects were not dead. After pleas from the Chief of Branch 1 of the Luftwaffe Operations Staff, Major Paul Deichmann to Göring, an amazing about face occurred in late 1937, when specifications were issued to develop an aircraft to deliver a five-ton bomb load to New York. By March of 1942, the Amerika Bomber
Amerika Bomber
The Amerika-Bomber project was an initiative of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium, the Nazi Germany Air Ministry, to obtain a long-range strategic bomber for the Luftwaffe that would be capable of striking the continental United States from Germany, a range of about 5,800 km...
project was initiated.
See also
Related lists- List of World War II military aircraft of Germany
- List of WW2 Luftwaffe aircraft prototype projects
Other
- The Ural mountains in Nazi planningThe Ural mountains in Nazi planningThe Ural mountains played a prominent role in Nazi planning. Adolf Hitler and the rest of the Nazi German leadership made many references to them as a strategic objective of the Third Reich, in the event that it decisively won the battle on the Eastern Front against the Soviet Union.-As a...