history;

The Heinkel He 277 was a four-engine, long-range heavy bomber design, originating as a derivative of the He 177, intended for production and use by the German Luftwaffe during World War II. The main difference was in its engines. While the He 177 used four engines in two coupled pairs which proved troublesome, the He 277 was intended to use four unitized BMW 801E 14-cylinder radial engines, in single nacelle installations.

The design was never produced and no prototype airframe was completed.[1] The deteriorating condition of the German aviation industry late in the war and the competition from other long-range bomber designs from other firms, led to the design being cancelled.

Although not intended for it at first, the He 277 design became Heinkel's entry in the Amerikabomber programme for a long range bomber that could reach North America.

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Designation

For many years after the war, a substantial number of aviation history books and magazine articles stated that Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, early in World War II, was becoming so frustrated by the 177A's problems with its twin DB 606 "coupled" powerplants, that he forbade Ernst Heinkel from doing any work on a four-engined version of the 177 airframe, or even mentioning a new "He 277" design with four separate engines – by one account, in the late autumn of 1941 – until Heinkel brought the disagreement directly to Adolf Hitler, who supposedly not only approved of calling the new version of the 177 the "He 277", but overruled Göring's prohibition on working on the design (which Heinkel referred to as "He 177B" as a "cover designation" to hide its existence from Göring, and the RLM.)[2][3]

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