Junkers EF 009

The Junkers EF 009 Hubjäger (German: "lift-fighter") was an unrealized design for an unorthodox jet fighter dating from the late 1930s.

Design & development
The EF 009 was designed as a point defense interceptor, to be positioned around vital locations then launched when they were in trouble. The plane was to be powered by ten jet engines clustered around its nose and was expected to sustain flight for six minutes. It would then land unpowered on a central skid mounted on the front of the plane. To cope with g-forces during takeoff, the pilot would lie in a prone position. Takeoff would most likely be from a specially-designed cart, or vertically like a rocket. Armament was to consist of two MG 151/20 20 mm cannons or two MK 108 30 mm cannon. Aircraft design advances made this project obsolete almost before the plans were even complete.

General characteristics

 * Crew: one, pilot
 * Length: 4.95 m (16 ft 3 in)
 * Wingspan: 3.98 m (13 ft 1 in)
 * Height: m ( ft in)
 * Wing area: m² ( ft²)
 * Empty: kg ( lb)
 * Loaded: 2,000 kg (4,400 lb)
 * Maximum Take-Off Weight: kg ( lb)
 * Powerplant: 10× turbojets of unspecified type and thrust

Performance

 * Maximum speed: 905 km/h (560 mph)
 * Range: endurance of 6 minutes
 * Service ceiling: 15,700 m (51,500 ft)
 * Rate of climb: 5,600 m/min (15,000 ft/min)
 * Wing loading: kg/m² ( lb/ft²)
 * Thrust-to-weight: >1

Armament

 * 2× 30 mm MK 108 cannon

Related content
Related development:

Comparable aircraft:

Bachem Ba 349

Focke-Wulf Triebfluegeljaeger

Designation sequence: EF 008 - EF 009 - EF 010 - EF 011 - EF 012