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When the RLM revised requirements in 1935 to favor Messerschmitt’s Henschel developed a new variant with solid nose featuring fixed guns.

Henschel was unable to procure DB-600 engines, so much lower power Junkers Jumo 210C radials were used instead. Difficulties with the nose turret led to the use of a simplified one that could only traverse vertically. Almost immediately, however, the ambitious project met problems. The bomb bay was to carry up to eight 50kg bombs, and power was to come from two DB-600 engines. Armament was to be two 20mm cannon in an electrically driven nose turret and a single defensive MG 15. The Hs 124 was a high-winged twin-tail monoplane, featuring a glazed nose and a greenhouse canopy for the pilot. Henschel’s Kampfzerstorer proposal, the Hs 124, was more akin to a medium bomber than a heavy fighter. In 1935, however, Ernst Udet had realized the futility of such conflicting requirements, and thus pressured the RLM to change the requirements to be better suited to a pure heavy fighter. The request was issued to seven companies, but only Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (Messerschmitt), Focke Wulf, and Henschel responded with proposals. The Kampfzerstorer was to be a twin-engined, three-seat all-metal monoplane featuring a cannon armament and internal bomb bay. The first real effort to develop a heavy fighter in Germany was launched in 1934, when the fledgeling RLM issued unusual requirements for what they called a Kampfzerstorer. Kampfzerstorers: The German Heavy Fighters After a very brief period of validation, heavy fighters were quickly surpassed by modern single-engined designs, being largely relegated to niche (while far from unimportant) roles, persisting in some form until finally meeting its end with the coming of the jet age. As multi-engined bombers were expected to outpace contemporary fighters, a twin-engined fighter seemed the solution - offering the speed and heavy armament to take on enemy bombers, while having the range to escort friendly ones. While the concept had its origins in the Zeppelin-killer aircraft developed by Britain in the First World War, the heavy fighter as it would be known during the Second World War didn’t come about until the latter half of the 1930s. Generally, they were larger twin-engined fighters with heavy armament and multi-man crews, although there were exceptions. Actually defining a heavy fighter is difficult - it’s fairly obvious what isn’t a heavy fighter, but actually setting criteria is hard. Perhaps the most popular failed concept in military aviation during the mid -30s all the way to the late -40’s was the Heavy Fighter. It’s time for another episode of /k/ Planes! This time, we’ll be looking at one of the most interesting failed concepts in aviation: heavy fighters.