Heinkel He 219 (oz1933)

About this Plan

Heinkel 219. Scale twin engined German night fighter for control line.

Quote: "Germany's Famous World War Two Ace Aids American Designer In Developing Authentic Control Line.

The heavily armed He.219 made its initial appearance in the dark skies over war-torn Europe on the night of June 11-12, 1943 when it intercepted a bomber stream of four-engine Avro Lancasters on their way to Berlin. With night fighter Ace Major Werner Streib at the controls and Unteroffizier Fischer handling the radar the large twin-engine German fighter destroyed five of the big British bombers in rapid succession during its combat debut.

During the next ten days the Heinkel 219 finished off twenty more bombers and destroyed six de Havilland Mosquitos which were protecting the Allied bombers during this period. The agile seventeen-ton fighter was specially employed later against the swift Mosquitos in order that the other type German night fighters could reach bombers coming from the British Isles.

Powered with two Daimler-Benz 603G, twelve-cylinder inverted V, liquid-cooled, 1,900-hp engines the Heinkel 219 attained a top speed of 416-mph. At a cruising speed of 335-mph the range was 1,243 miles. Ceiling was 41,660-ft.

Armament varied depending upon what was available during the time of production. Generally four 20-mm or 30-mm rapid 'fire cannon were installed in the ventral tray under the fuselage with two more cannon buried in the wing roots. Two 30-mm cannon were also installed in the mid-fuselage firing obliquely upward and forward at an 80° angle. A special sight was provided in the cockpit in order that the 219 could fly under a bomber and fire the two large guns into its belly. The upward firing guns were called 'Schrage Musik' or Jazz Music.

Exceptional performance, heavy armament and elaborate radar and other electronic apparatus made the 219 the finest night fighter of the second World War. The craft might have stemmed the tide of Allied nocturnal bombing. But the German Air Ministry hesitated to produce the craft in great numbers, instead employed converted Messerschmitt 110's, Junkers 88's and Dornier 17's. Less than three hundred Heinkels reached the night fighter fields despite the pleas of the pilots for more production on the Heinkel 219.

Our model plans are drawn to the scale of one inch equals one foot which produces a 'man-sized' model with a 5 foot wing span. Engines from .45 to .60 cubic inch displacement are recommended, although a pair of real hot .35 cubic inch engines could handle this craft.

Builders who desire a smaller Heinkel 219 can reduce the full-size plan to three-quarter size (where 4 inches becomes 3 inches, for example). This model would then span forty-five-inches and could accommodate two engines of from .23 to .45 cubic inch displacement. Then the tail surfaces could be solid balsa and wing leading edge can be eliminated. Reduce landing gear wire to 3/32 and engine mounts to 5/16 x 5/8.

A reduction to one half size in Hobby Helpers' full size plans will produce a thirty inch beauty which could use two engines from .09 to .23 cubic inch dis-placement. This model should use 3/32 thick planking, ribs and wing sheet covering. Reduce the fuselage sides to 3/16 balsa and the landing gear wire to 11/16 for .09 powered models. Tail can be solid and wing leading edge deleted. Plywood can be reduced to 3/32 thickness.

The 60 in model was designed to be light but strong with construction simplicity of paramount importance. Do not be worried by that large cockpit canopy on the one-inch-to-the-foot scale model. If any builder does not want to form the canopy himself over a mold in the oven he can purchase a rugged plastic transparent canopy made specially for this model. The author has made arrangements with Supercraft Models, 174 Main Street, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey to manufacture a clear plastic scale canopy for only $2 postpaid. Now you have no excuse not to start with the model.

Contruction starts with the wing. Cut the three pieces of the main spar to shape and carefully cut the rub notches as shown..."

Update 20/07/2016: article pages, text & pics added, thanks to RFJ.

Update 31/07/2018: Replaced this plan with a clearer copy, scanned from fullsize at 400 dpi, thanks to dfritzke.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, text & pics.
Previous scan version.

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