Heinkel Lerche
| Industry | Aerospace, defense |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1922 in Germany |
| Headquarters | Germany |
| Products | Aircraft |
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The Heinkel Lerche (English: Lark) was a series of conceptual designs created by the German aircraft manufacturer Heinkel during 1944 and 1945, intended as a VTOL fighter and ground-attack aircraft for the German military.
As an early example of a coleopter configuration, the Lerche was envisioned to take off and land vertically on its tail while transitioning to conventional horizontal flight. The pilot was positioned in a prone posture within the forward fuselage. Propulsion was to be provided by two contra-rotating propellers, enclosed within a distinctive nine-sided (nonagonal) annular wing structure.
Development commenced in 1944 and concluded by March 1945. While the aerodynamic viability of the annular wing concept was fundamentally valid,Template:Fix/category[clarification needed]Template:Fix/category[citation needed] the design encountered numerous unresolved challenges related to manufacturing complexity and flight control systems, rendering it impractical—especially given the resource constraints faced by late-war Nazi Germany.
Specifications (Lerche II)
- Data below correspond to the 'Lerche II' blueprint dated 25 February 1945.
See also
References
- Luftwaffe Secret Projects - Ground Attack & Special Purpose Aircraft, D. Herwig & H. Rode, ISBN 1-85780-150-4
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- Articles containing explicitly cited English-language text
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- Annular-wing aircraft
- Abandoned military aircraft projects of Germany
- Ducted fan-powered aircraft
- Heinkel aircraft
- 1940s German fighter aircraft
- Tailsitter aircraft
- Aircraft with fixed quad landing gear
- Aircraft with contra-rotating propellers
- Twin-engined single-prop pusher aircraft
- Mid-engined aircraft