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LWM-01 Heinkel He-219

Luftwaffe Medium Beam - The Heinkel He 219 Uhu ("Eagle-Owl") is a night fighter designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Heinkel. It primarily served with the Luftwaffe in the later stages of the Second World War. Work on the He 219 begun in mid 1940 as a multi-purpose aircraft designated P.1055. It was a relatively sophisticated design that possessed a variety of innovations, including a pressurized cockpit, twin ejection seats and remotely controlled defensive gun turrets. The P.1055 was initially rejected by the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM – the German Aviation Ministry), but Heinkel promptly reconfigured it as a night fighter, designated P.1060. In this capacity, it was equipped with a Lichtenstein SN-2 advanced VHF-band intercept radar (also used on the Ju 88G and Bf 110G night fighters). The He 219 was also the first operational military aircraft to be equipped with ejection seats and the first operational German aircraft to be equipped with tricycle landing gear. The prototype performed its maiden flight on 6 November 1942.