The German aircraft designed to hunt the world's highest bombers

Wars & Conflicts · Published 16 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: When the B-29 Superfortress appeared, it flew at altitudes where most German planes simply couldn't function. The Luftwaffe needed a desperate solution: a high-altitude interceptor. The result was the BV 155, a project that underwent radical transformations from a carrier-based fighter to a pressurized high-altitude hunter.

The BV 155's origin was a pivot of necessity. It began in 1942 as the Messerschmitt Me 155, originally intended as a navalized fighter for the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin. It was designed to be a simplified version of the Bf 109, featuring folding wings and a wide landing gear track. However, when the carrier project was abandoned, the design was repurposed first as a fast single-seat bomber and then, in late 1942, as a high-altitude interceptor to counter the American B-29. The development was fraught with technical hurdles. In 1943, the project moved to Blohm & Voss, who demanded complete design freedom to fix Messerschmitt's flaws. They introduced a laminar flow wing and a pressurized cabin to reach a service ceiling of 16,950 meters (55,610 ft). Engineers struggled with cooling; early designs suffered from 'blanking' where the wing blocked airflow to the radiators at high angles of attack. This forced a series of redesigns, moving radiators from overwing to underslung positions and eventually to an annular frontal radiator for the final BV 155C variant. Ultimately, the BV 155 was a victim of timing. While the V1 and V2 prototypes flew in late 1944 and early 1945, the war ended before the aircraft could see mass production. Though 30 units were ordered, none were built. The V3 prototype was captured by Allied forces only 75% complete, leaving the BV 155 as a testament to the extreme engineering limits of late-war aviation.

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