Heinkel He 177 A-1

He 177 A-1


He 177 A-1 was the first production series of this aircraft. Production began in March 1942. It was characterized by a tub in front of the fuselage with a cannon MG FF. Another armament consisted of two MG 131 in a remote-controlled tower on back torso, movable machine gun MG 81 forward and machine gun MG 131 na chvoste. As part of the A-1 series, the A-1/U1 variant was also created as a heavy long-range fighter. It had a sub-hull gondola enlarged to accommodate two cannons MK 101 caliber 30 mm. In total, about five A-1/U1s were produced. The production of this series took place in the Heinkel factory until May 1943, when 88 pieces were produced. In addition, the Arado factory produced aircraft under license until June 1943, while 42 pieces were completed here. A total of 130 pieces were built. The first unit armed with this aircraft was KG 40 in Bordeaux/Merignac since the summer of 1942. However, overall the entire A-1 series was one major mechanical disaster and earned the famous nickname Luftwaffefeuerzeug (Luftwaffe Lighter). Insufficiently cooled dual drive motor units contributed to this. As the losses caused by accidents were high, the decision was made to convert the aircraft of this series into a series A-3.



It is interesting that the first He 177 aircraft was shot down by Czechoslovak pilots from 68. perute RAF. S/Ldr Veselý (Cantab 27) together with radar operator Sgt Zbyšek Nečas at Beaufightere Mk. IF V8254 (WM * V) were guided on the night of July 23, 1942 on an unidentified aircraft. As the aircraft was constantly cranking, the crew was unsure of the identification. However, with the help of an intelligence officer, they most likely identified the aircraft as a new type of He 177, and so an order came from the ground to shoot down the aircraft. The Beaufighter approached a distance of 100 meters and hit the plane with heavy fire. Subsequently, the angle of Veselý to the right and the hit He 177 disappeared at the bottom. Veselý, among other things, wrote in his diary: “I chased my German all the way to Holland and shot him down there. All the machines were removed far above the North Sea. Mine - He 177, all the way to Holland. It is the first machine of this type ever shot down! ”[/I] And indeed, two days later, this shooting was confirmed by the British Navy on the basis of the wreckage of the aircraft. Later, he was the first to shoot down a new type of German aircraft S/Ldr Veselý awarded the British Meritorious Air Cross (DFC) and Sgt Zbyšek Nečas Czechoslovak War Cross 1939.



Sources:
www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de
www.luftarchiv.de
http://www.revi.cz/cz/revi/53_1.html

Vlastimil Veselý sice nárokoval sestřel He 177, který mu byl i uznán, žádný letoun tohoto typu však Němci ten den neztratili. Zdá se dokonce, že žádný letoun tohoto typu nebyl v té době na frontě u Kanálu operační a všechny vyrobené kusy byly v Německu na testech.
Stíhači RAF té noci nárokovali celkem 7 vítězství (4x Do 217, Ju 88 a He 177), Luftwaffe však přišla jen o čtyři Do 217.
Veselý tak možná zaútočil na vlastní bombardér, RAF tehdy přišla o 3 Wlingtony a dva Stirlingy. Kromě jednoho Wellingtonu, který byl sestřelen protiletadlovým dělostřelectvem Kriegsmarine u holandského pobřeží (tedy v oblasti, kde Veselý sestřel nárokoval), byly všechny ostatní ztraceny mimo oblast jeho hlídkového letu.
Veselého sestřel tak zůstává trochu záhadným, což ale nemění nic na tom, že se stal prvním spojeneckým stíhačem, který má přiznáno vítězství nad He 177.


Rajlich J.: Na nebi hrdého Albionu, rok 1942, Svět křídel, Cheb, str. 468-473


První He 177 sestřelil až Liberátor 224. perutě během hlídky nad Biskajským zálivem. Stalo se tak 21. listopadu 1943 a jednotka II./KG 40 přišla o dva stroje verze A-3.


Rajlich J.: Na nebi hrdého Albionu, rok 1942, Svět křídel, Cheb, str. 473

Jeden z prvních vyrobených He 177 A-1 z výzbroje KG 40 na francouzském letišti u Châteaudun, rok 1943.


Zdroj: viz výše

He 177 A-1 z výzbroje I./KG 50 používaný k zásobování německých vojsk obklíčených u Stalingradu, letiště v Záporoží, leden 1943.


Zdroj: viz výše