Heinkel He 274 - Abandoned Prototypes

Abandoned Prototypes

Construction of the two prototypes, the He 274 V1 and V2 did not commence until 1943. They were to have been built in France by SAUF at Suresnes, France, but the prototypes were not completed in time. The He 274 V1 was being readied for flight testing at Suresnes in July 1944 when the approach of Allied forces necessitated the evacuation of Heinkel personnel working on the project. Minor difficulties had delayed the flight testing and transfer of the aircraft to Germany, and orders were therefore given to destroy the virtually completed prototype. Only minor damage was actually done to the airframe of the He 274 V1, and repairs were begun after the Allied occupation.

The He 274 V1 was repaired by Ateliers Aéronautiques de Suresnes(AAS) and used by the Armée de l'Air (French Air Force) for several years as a high-altitude research plane. It was renamed the AAS 01A. The He 274 V2 was eventually completed as the AAS 01B, complete with the Hirth 2291 turbochargers.

Eventually the V2 flew exactly two years (on December 27, 1947) after the AAS 01A. By this time, the AAS organization had been absorbed into the French SNCASO (Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques du sud-ouest, or commonly, Sud-Ouest) aviation conglomerate. Both of the AAS 01 completed and airworthy versions of the He 274 were eventually broken up in late 1953, after serving as "mother ships" for aerial launching, in the manner of a composite or parasite aircraft, of a number of early French advanced jet and rocket test aircraft, almost always launched from a strut-braced, above-fuselage position.