Dornier P 256


The Dornier P 256 was a turbojet night fighter proposed by Dornier for the Luftwaffe toward the end of the Second World War. It was never built.

Development

Developed from Dornier's unusual centerline thrust fighter project, the Do 335, the P 256 was to meet a Luftwaffe requirement issued 27 February 1945. It was designed to carry a crew of three, with pilot and radar operator together under the canopy, while the navigator was in the fuselage, an idea copied from Arado. Departing from centerline thrust, it was to have two Heinkel HeS 011 engines of 1,300 kPs each, podded under the wings in the fashion of the Me 262. The low-mounted wing was unswept, and had an aspect ratio of 5.8:1.
Designed armament was four MK 108 cannon in the nose; a field conversion kit was to retrofit two MK 108s in a Schräge Musik configuration. A fighter-bomber variant would have carried two bombs.
Its loaded weight would have included of fuel, giving a wing loading of 276 kg/m2. Maximum speed was achieved at, maximum range at. Endurance with fuel was calculated as 2.6 hours.
Its electronics would have included FuG 24SE with ZVG 24, FuG 29, FuG 25a or c, and FuG 244 Bremen with Gnome weapon triggers.
Criticized for having poor cross-sectional area and unduly large tail surfaces, it was not adopted.

Specifications (projected, from Dornier tender)

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