             The Heinkel He277B-6/R3 Heavy Bomber

Intended as a follow-on development of the He177, the He277
started out without any support from the Luftwaffe High
Command.  The simplest solution to the Heinkel 177's engine
fire problems would have been to have 4 seperate engines.
However, Professor Heinkel was receiving pressure from
Goering and was in fact forbidden to even mention the He277.
Work secretly continued on it under the designation "He177B",
and in 1944 priority was increased by Goering's order that
heavy bombers were "the kernel of aerial armament."

The He277 went through several prototypes before work was
suspended due to the Emergency Fighter Program.  One of these
was the incredibly armed He277B-6/R3 heavy bomber.  This
bomber had a FDL 131V quad 13mm machinegun turret in the nose
and a HDL 131V quad 13mm turret in the tail.  There were two
top turrets: the forward was a remotely controlled FDL 151Z
twin MG151 20mm barbette, and the rear top turret was a
manned twin MG151 20mm position.  The bottom turret was also
a twin FDL 151Z 20mm cannon position.  Offensive weapons
included internal 1,102 pound bombs, plus (externally) one
5,502 pound bomb, or one Hs293 or Hs294 missile, or two Fritz
X missiles.  SPECS:  Maximum speed 348 mph at 17,700 feet;
cruise speed 280 mph, range 4,475 miles, ceiling 43,960 feet.
Crew of 6.

SPECIAL NOTES:  This plane has been specially hexed to
represent the He277B-6/R3.  As such, it has TWO top turrets
<Grin>.  The forward top turret occupies the left waist gun
slot and represents the remotely controlled barbette, which
has a limited traverse facing backwards.  To simulate it
correctly, you should place it on "autofire" and leave it
alone after that.  The aft top turret is represented normally
by the normal top turret, and has a 360 degree arc.  The ball
turret represents the ventral position and also has a limited
traverse facing to the rear.
Offensively, the plane has either 4 1102 lb. bombs or 8
551's.  Also, the missiles represent the Fritz X radio guided
missile.  Although my version of this guided missile is not
guided per se, I attempted to make up for that by giving it a
very high velocity and flat trajectory.  Point and shoot!
The range is just short of three miles, which is about right.

TO USE THIS PLANE:

1.  Make a backup copy of your DO335.SPC file.  Call it
    "DO335.ORI"   Now, place the HE277B6.EXP file into the
    SWOTL\AC subdirectory.

2.  Copy the special interior files HE277B6.INT and
    B17ZGUN.INT into the SWOTL\CP subdirectory.  No file
    swapping is necessary; the bomber accesses these files
    directly.

3.  Copy the files DO17.PAC and DO17S.PAC into the SWOTL\AC
    subdirectory.  These give the bomber the outward
    appearance of a Do17, the closest resembling plane.

4.  Swap the HE277B6.exp file for the DO335.SPC file, with a
    dos copy command such as "COPY HE277B6.EXP DO335.SPC"
    The game will now access the Do335.SPC file, but that
    file now has the He277 values in it.

5.  To return things to normal, all you have to do is copy
    the original values back into the Do335.SPC file, for
    example, "COPY DO335.ORI DO335.SPC"  This is why you made
    the backup of the original plane.

6.  Owners of SWOTL manager should follow the instructions,
    except they will place the .EXP file and the .TXT file
    into the SWOTL\HANGAR subdirectory and swap the plane in
    and out normally.  Be sure to place it in the Do335 slot.

Enjoy!  Direct any comments to Gregory M. "Sturmer" Smith,
Prodigy ID gnjf20a.
Historical data taken from "Warplanes of the Third Reich" by
William Green.