Heinkel He 219 - Historical Background

The history of the He 219 is a fascinating one, filled with political intrigue and engineering excellence.  The He 219 was one of a very few purpose-designed night fighters of WWII.   It was by all accounts a superior platform for night hunting, better than any of the German aircraft adapted to the role such as the Me 110 and Ju 88.

Ernst Heinkel did not curry as much favor with the Luftwaffe high command as did many of his contemporaries such as Willie Messerschmitt, Hugo Junkers and Kurt Tank.  Field Marshall Erhard Milch is widely held to be responsible for the fact that the He 219 never made it into production.
 
This is a sample from the Lehrbildreihe
(training document illustrations) which
Udo Hafner sells.  See Luftfahrt Archiv
Hafner for details.

Fahrwerk ausgefahren = landing gear in
down position
 
 
Another sample from the Lehrbildreihe.
The complete set contains 59 such
illustrations duplicated on high-quality
photographic paper.

Fahrwerk ohne Laufrad = Landing gear
with wheels removed. (mains)
 

Some other internet sites with He 219 info:
 

Heinkel He 219 Archive File
A small page with some good basic info.

Heinkel He 219 "Uhu", The Venus of Rostock
An excellent site with detailed information on the He 219 and some of the follow-on projects.