Heinkel Lerche
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Heinkel 'Lerche' (Ger.:"Lark") was the name of a set of project studies made by German aircraft designers Heinkel in 1944 and 1945 for a revolutionary VTOL fighter and ground-attack aircraft.
The Lerche would take off and land sitting on its tail, flying horizontally like a conventional aircraft. The pilot would lie prone in the nose. Most remarkably, it would be powered by two counter-rotating propellors whcih were contained in a donut-shaped annular wing.
The remarkably futuristic design was developed starting 1944 and concluding in March 1945. The aerodynamic principles of an annular wing were basically sound, but the proposal was faced with a whole host of unsolved problems of manufacture and control which would have made the project highly impractical even were it not for the materials shortages of late World War Germany.
[edit] Specifications (Lerche II)
Figures below are given for the 'Lerche II' plan dated 25th Feb 1945.
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 10.00 m to wheels ()
- Wingspan: 4.55 m max width ()
- Height: ()
- Wing area: 12.00 m2 ()
- Loaded weight: 5,600 kg ()
Performance
- Maximum speed: 750-800 km/h
Armament
[edit] References
- Luftwaffe Secret Projects - Ground Attack & Special Purpose Aircraft, D. Herwig & H. Rode, ISBN 1-85780-150-4
- Heinkel Lerche at Luft46.com
[edit] Related content
Comparable aircraft
Related lists
See also
Timeline of aviation
Aircraft · Aircraft manufacturers · Aircraft engines · Aircraft engine manufacturers · Airports · Airlines
Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft
Notable military accidents and incidents · Notable airline accidents and incidents · Famous aviation-related deaths
Flight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft
This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them.
