During its 24 months of frontline service with the Luftwaffe, the He 219 was fielded in three operational (He 219A-0, A-2 and A-7) and one developmental (He 219 V41/He 219D-1) variants. All four shared a common airframe derived from that used in the He 219 V7 through V12 inclusive, and which differed from the type’s first prototype by virtue of the introduction of a 940 mm longer, more streamlined fuselage, larger fins and rudders, extended engine nacelles and a revised cockpit canopy profile.

The fuselage of the He 219 V1 incorporated dorsal and ventral ‘steps’ (a hangover from the time when the type was intended to have remotely controlled gun barbettes for defence) and a cockpit canopy that was shaped to accommodate a rearward-firing weapon. The use of this ‘standard’ airframe facilitated main component interchange between the three primary operational variants, as was evidenced when the RAF ‘mixed and matched’ fins and rudders to make aircraft airworthy for the trip to England post-May 1945.
This ‘standard’ airframe took the form of a high-wing monoplane with underslung engine nacelles and twin fins and rudders mounted on horizontal tail surfaces that featured upward dihedral. Excluding any installed nose or tail antennas, the He 219 had an overall length of 15.54 m and was approximately 4.40 m off the ground at its highest point. The aircraft had a wingspan of 18.50 m and a total wing area of 44.50 m2. It was equipped with a tricycle undercarriage that had a main wheel track of 5.00 m. In its A-0 form, the He 219 had an empty weight of 8490 kg (± 1.5 per cent). For the same variant, the type’s equipment weight (including communications equipment, flares, crew and fuel) was 9570 kg, giving a loaded weight of 12,260 kg.

The aircraft’s pilot and bordfunker were seated back-to-back beneath a clear view canopy, with the cockpit being in the aircraft’s nose. The crew were protected by both nose armour and an internal, 64 mm thick, bullet-proof windscreen ahead of the pilot. In more detail, this armoured windscreen has been described as having incorporated fine heating wires, and when looking forward, ended 101 mm away from the starboard side of the aircraft’s curved outer windscreen.

Both crewmen were seated on compressed airdriven ejector seats. The necessary pressurised gas and pistons were contained in a pair of cylinders that were positioned between the crew seats, with the starboard one serving the pilot and the port one the bordfunker. The pilot’s cylinder was pressurised to 90 atmospheres, while that for the bordfunker’s registered between 70 and 72 atmospheres. Both crew could jettison the canopy for egress, and the seats were equipped with footrests that ensured the crewmen’s legs were tucked in in such a way as to clear their respective instrument and equipment panels when ejecting.

Again, both the pilot’s and the bordfunker’s seats had headrests, with the pilot’s example having to be in the upright position to avoid injuring the bordfunker in the event of ejection. When ejecting, the bordfunker is believed to have exited first.

As already noted, the Germans surrounded the He 219’s ejection system with considerable secrecy throughout the type’s operational life, and it was perhaps the most interesting aspect of the aircraft for the Allies. System design began in 1941, with trials involving graduated ground and air tests which culminated in the first human ejection that was made by Rechlin test parachutist Wilhelm Buss. During its development process, problems were encountered with seat trajectories outside the aircraft – a shortcoming that was resolved by installing slightly curved driving pistons.

Between October 1943 and June 1944 (when the system was deemed to have passed its official test programme), 55 ejections were carried out from two He 219 testbeds (He 219 V6 Wk-Nr 190006 and He 219A-042 Wk-Nr 190113), and the system was first used operationally on 11–12 April 1944 by 2./NJG 1’s Unteroffizier Herter and his bordfunker, Gefreiter Perbix, two months before it was officially cleared for service. Modern research suggests that at least 25 He 219 crewmen made successful ejections using this system, with the figure being possibly as high as 33.

The efficacy of the system is well illustrated by a number of crewmen making multiple successful ejections, with the record being held by Feldwebel Staffa, who exited doomed He 219s by ejector seat on no fewer than three occasions!

You can read more in COM 159 Heinkel He 219 Units.