Germany's Flaming Flying Coffin - Heinkel He 177

Pilots called it the Luftwaffenfeuerzeug: the Luftwaffe's Lighter. The Heinkel He-177 Griffin, a massive four-engine heavy bomber, had a fatal flaw: its engines were crammed together in pairs, generating heat no cooling system could handle. Aircraft exploded on runways before ever reaching combat. Germany desperately needed aircraft to strike deep into Britain and hunt Allied convoys across the Atlantic. Then Heinkel's engineers finally cracked the code. Test pilots reported smooth flight and cool engines. On the night of January 21, 1944, a dozen Griffins lifted off from bases across France, their bomb bays loaded for London. Hitler wanted the capital to burn in retaliation for Allied raids on German cities. He was out for revenge, and he would have it even if every Griffin had to fly over Britain in flames. --- Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between. As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible. All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.