In early 1939, Dr. Alexander Lippisch moved to the Messerschmitt Aircraft
Company in Augsburg with most of his closest coworkers. Dr. Wurster designed
the P.08.01 in September 1941, which was basically a flying wing design.
The wing featured two different sweepback angles, and contained the armored
fuel tanks. The fuel could also be jettisoned if need be. Four Daimler
Benz DB 615 engines (or DB 613 if teh DB 615 engines were not ready in
time), mounted on the wing trailing edge, provided the power. The engine
radiators were located in the wing's leading edge and a huge bomb bay/cargo
area was to be found in the central fuselage area. A tricycle landing gear
arrangement was chosen, with the main gear having double wheels. The cockpit
was pressurized and a provision was made for remote controlled defensive
armament in the nose and tail. Underwing weapons or loads could also be
carried. The P.08.01 was designed as per a specification for a super
heavy aircraft that could fulfill several different roles. These included:
-
Long range bomber with a bomb load of 20000 kg (44092 lbs) and a range
of 15000 km (9321 miles)
-
Maritime patrol aircraft with a bomb load of 20000 kg (44092 lbs) of radio-controlled
glide bombs, mines or torpedoes
-
Tactical bomber with 50000 kg (110230 lbs) and a range of 2500 km (1554
miles)
-
Long range reconnaissance aircraft with a range of 27000 km (16778 miles)
-
Tactical or strategic wide-body transport with a provision to carry at
least a 25 ton tank or an equivalent amount of equipment
-
Tow aircraft for transport gliders up to 100000 kg (220460 lbs) flying
weight
-
Flak carrier aircraft for four 88mm flak cannons
Messerschmitt Me P.08.01 Data
Span |
Length |
Height |
Wing Area |
Takeoff Weight |
Max. Speed |
Max. Range |
Fuel |
50.6 m
166' |
15.35 m
50' 4" |
8.6 m
28' 3" |
300 m²
3229 ft² |
90000 kg
198414 lbs |
645 km/h @ 8500 m
401 mph @ 27887' |
27150 km
16871 miles |
40000 kg
88184 lbs |
Above image from Geheimprojekte der Luftwaffe
Band II: Strategische Bomber 1935-1945
The diagram to the right shows a tank
being loaded into the cargo bay of the Messerschmitt Me P.08.01