Heinkel He 219 Uhu
Originally conceived as a high-performance reconnaissance aircraft, the Heinkel He 219 Uhu (“Eagle-Owl”) went on to become the Luftwaffe‘s only purpose-built night fighter. The type’s production was bedevilled by political manoeuvring and consequently it was only used in strength by one unit – the Luftwaffe’s elite Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1), despite its many sterling qualities (including being the first operational military aircraft to be equipped with an ejection seat).
As told by Martin Streetly in his book Heinkel He 219 Units, the aircraft’s pilot and bordfunker (radio/radar operator) were seated back-to-back beneath a clear view canopy, with the cockpit being in the aircraft’s nose. The crew were protected by both nose armour and an internal, 64 mm thick, bullet-proof windscreen ahead of the pilot. In more detail, this armoured windscreen has been described as having incorporated fine heating wires, and when looking forward, ended 101 mm away from the starboard side of the aircraft’s curved outer windscreen.
The first operational military aircraft equipped with ejection seat
Both crewmen were seated on compressed air-driven ejector seats. The necessary pressurised gas and pistons were contained in a pair of cylinders that were positioned between the crew seats, with the starboard one serving the pilot and the port one the bordfunker. The pilot’s cylinder was pressurised to 90 atmospheres, while that for the bordfunker’s registered between 70 and 72 atmospheres. Both crew could jettison the canopy for egress, and the seats were equipped with footrests that ensured the crewmen’s legs were tucked in in such a way as to clear their respective instrument and equipment panels when ejecting. Again, both the pilot’s and the bordfunker’s seats had headrests, with the pilot’s example having to be in the upright position to avoid injuring the bordfunker in the event of ejection. When ejecting, the bordfunker is believed to have exited first.
1945
As already noted, the Germans surrounded the He 219’s ejection system with considerable secrecy throughout the type’s operational life, and it was perhaps the most interesting aspect of the aircraft for the Allies. System design began in 1941, with trials involving graduated ground and air tests which culminated in the first human ejection that was made by Rechlin test parachutist Wilhelm Buss. During its development process, problems were encountered with seat trajectories outside the aircraft – a shortcoming that was resolved by installing slightly curved driving pistons.
Multiple successful ejections
Between October 1943 and June 1944 (when the system was deemed to have passed its official test programme), 55 ejections were carried out from two He 219 testbeds (He 219 V6 Wk-Nr 190006 and He 219A-042 Wk-Nr 190113), and the system was first used operationally on 11–12 April 1944 by 2./NJG 1’s Unteroffizier Herter and his bordfunker, Gefreiter Perbix, two months before it was officially cleared for service. Modern research suggests that at least 25 He 219 crewmen made successful ejections using this system, with the figure being possibly as high as 33.
The efficacy of the system is well illustrated by a number of crewmen making multiple successful ejections, with the record being held by Feldwebel Staffa, who exited doomed He 219s by ejector seat on no fewer than three occasions!
At least 25 crewmen made successful ejections from stricken He 219s.
There is little doubt that the He 219’s ejection system was one of its most successful features, and the Luftwaffe attempted to keep it secret for as long as possible. Indeed, it is probable that this ejection system was the reason for much of the post-war evaluation of the type, with its other equipment (and indeed its airframe) being somewhat passé at a time when AI radar was dominated by centimetric technology and the turbojet represented the future of aero engine development.
