The German heavy bomber that became a flying fire hazard

Wars & Conflicts · Published 16 October 2026 · Updated 25 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Designed to strike deep into Soviet territory, the Heinkel He 177 Greif was meant to be a revolutionary high-speed strategic bomber. Instead, it became infamous among its own crews as the "Reich's lighter," plagued by persistent engine fires and technical delays that crippled its potential.

The He 177 was born from a 1936 requirement for a purely strategic bomber capable of reaching Soviet manufacturing hubs in the Ural Mountains. To achieve this, designers sought a "Schnellbomber" concept: a plane fast enough to outrun contemporary fighters while carrying a heavy payload of at least 1,000 kg over 5,000 km. However, the project lost its primary political champion, Generalleutnant Walther Wever, in an air crash on June 3, 1936—the very day the official "Bomber A" specifications were released.

To meet power requirements without the drag of four engines, chief designer Siegfried Günter utilized two complex Daimler-Benz DB 606 "power systems." These consisted of pairs of liquid-cooled inline engines mounted side-by-side to drive a single propeller. While this configuration offered superior maneuverability and reduced drag, it was plagued by cooling issues. The original plan for surface evaporative cooling—a system used on high-speed racing seaplanes—was abandoned because it could not handle the heat of these massive powerplants, forcing the use of heavy annular radiators that increased weight.

The technical failures were so severe that the aircraft earned the nicknames "Reichsfeuerzeug" (Reich's lighter) and "Luftwaffenfeuerzeug" (Air Force lighter) due to frequent engine fires. Additionally, planned remote-controlled gun turrets proved too complex for German engineers to perfect in time, forcing structural modifications to accommodate heavier manned positions. Though it eventually saw action on the Eastern Front and during Operation Steinbock in 1944, the He 177 arrived too late and in too poor a state to fulfill its original strategic ambitions.

During World War II, the Luftwaffe's sole functional long-range heavy aircraft was the He 177. Despite its flaws, it possessed payload and range capabilities comparable to the four-engined heavy bombers used by Allied forces in the European theater.

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