Heinkel He 111Z Zwilling

The Heinkel He 111Z Zwilling was a design that entailed the merging of two He 111s. The design was originally conceived to tow the Messerschmitt Me 321 glider. Initially four He 111H-6s were modified. This resulted in a twin-fuselage, five-engined aircraft. They were tested at Rechlin, and the pilots rated them highly. A batch of ten were entered into production and five were built from existing H-6s. The machines were joined by a center wing formed by two sections 6.15 m (20 ft) in length. The powerplants were five Jumo 211F engines at 1,000 kW (1,340 hp) each. Total fuel capacity was 8.25 l (2 US gal). It could tow a Gotha Go 242 glider or Me 321 for up to ten hours at cruising speed. It could also keep airborne if the three centralized powerplants failed. The He 11Z-2s and Z-3s were also planned as heavy bombers carrying 1,800 kg (3,968 lb) of bombs and having a range of 4,000 km ( mi). The ETC extensions allowed for a further four 600 l (159 US gal) drop tanks to be installed. The He 11Z-2 could carry four Henschel Hs 293 anti-shipping guided missiles, which would be guided by the FuG 203b Kehl III missile control equipment. With this load the He 111Z had a range of 1,094 km (680 mi) and a speed of 314 km/h (195 mph). Its maximum bombload was 7,200 kg (15,873 lb). To increase power the five Jumo 211F-2 powerplants were to be fitted with Hirth TK 11 superchargers. The armament was the same as the H-6 with the addition of one MG 151/20 in a rotating gun-mount of the center section. The variant did not display "any convincing performance".

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