Heinkel P.1080

German fighter project

The Heinkel P.1080 was a German Emergency Fighter proposed by Heinkel.

Design and Development

Work on the P.1080 began in early 1945 when the Ministry of Aviation issued specifications for a fighter powered by two ramjets. The specifications called for two DFS ramjet engines, each with 3,440 pounds (1,560 kg) of thrust.^[1] The aircraft would have been tailless, with the elevators built in to the swept wing, which was based on that of the Heinkel P.1078, and would have had a single vertical stabilizer. The cockpit was located far forward in the fuselage, and the two engines were mounted at the wing roots. The nose would have housed a radar and two 30 mm MK 108 cannon. For takeoff, the aircraft would have been fitted with solid-fuel RATO boosters and jettisonable undercarriage. Landing would have been accomplished with a retractable skid. No prototypes were built.^[1]

Specifications (Heinkel P.1080, as designed)

Data from ^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 8.2 m (26 ft 10 in)
• Wingspan: 8.9 m (29 ft 4 in)
• Wing area: 20 m² (215.2 sq ft)
• Powerplant: 2 × DFS ramjet engine, 15.3 kN (3,440 lbf) thrust each
• Powerplant: 4 × Solid-Fuel RATO Boosters, 9.8 kN (2,205 lbf) thrust each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 1,000 km/h (621 mph, 540 kn)

Armament

• Guns: 2x MK 108 autocannon

See also

Related development

• Heinkel P.1078

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• EFW N-20
• Gloster Javelin
• Northrop X-4 Bantam

References

1. Myhra, David (1998). Secret Aircraft Designs of the Third Reich. Schiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0764305646.