The Heinkel He 343 was a quadjet bomber project designed by the German aircraft manufacturer Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke during the final years of the Second World War. It was intended to perform aerial reconnaissance and fighter-bomber operations in addition to its use as a fast bomber.
The project commenced work in January 1944 as a new jet-powered bomber that emphasised flexibility in terms of mission role and engine fitout. Munitions were to be carried both externally and internally. Four variants of the He 343 were envisioned to perform bombing, reconnaissance, and direct fire support roles. The Government Air Ministry (Reichsluftfahrtministerium) quickly issued an initial order for 20 aircraft, which Heinkel worked on fulfilling. Despite lobbying efforts by the company's founder, Ernst Heinkel, to maintain the project, during late 1944, work was halted on the project and the order cancelled on account of Germany's deteriorating military situation necessitating the diversion of limited resources towards other programmes closer to production. Both design information and many of the components were recovered from Heinkel by the Soviet Union near the end of the conflict. The He 343 was allegedly studied in great detail by the Soviets and played a crucial role in the development of the Ilyushin Il-22, the first Soviet jet-bomber.
Design and development
Work on what would become the He 343 commenced during January 1944. That same month, the German aircraft manufacturers Heinkel and Junkers were both personally approached by Siegfried Knemeyer, the Head of Technical Development at the Government Air Ministry (Reichsluftfahrtministerium), with a request to develop a four-engined jet-powered bomber as a "crash" programme with a short development window of roughly one year. By that point, Heinkel had already played a key role in pioneering jet propulsion during the 1930s, and was keen to develop combat-ready jet-powered aircraft that would be procured in large numbers to meet the wartime needs of the Luftwaffe.
Accepting this request, Heinkel quickly designed a four-engined bomber with unswept wings that were attached at the center of the fuselage.
From at early stage, four distinct models of the aircraft were planned.
The Air Ministry reviewed Heinkel's proposal, as well as a competing design produced by Junkers. While the Air Ministry did place an initial order for 20 aircraft, which included the prototype and pre-production units. The company's founder, Ernst Heinkel, personally lobbied in favour of the project, pointing to its simplicity, lower material cost, and more rapid development schedule. The DFS designated the project P.1068. However, during late 1944, Heinkel was ordered to stop all work on the programme and the order was cancelled. The incomplete airframes and components were initially stored by Heinkel in the hope that the project would be resumed. The results of these tests were used in development of the Ilyushin Il-28.