In early 1939, Dr. Alexander Lippisch moved to the Messerschmitt Aircraft
Company in Augsburg with most of his closest coworkers. Dr. Wurster designed
the P.08.01 in September 1941, which was basically a flying wing design.
The wing featured two different sweepback angles, and contained the armored
fuel tanks. The fuel could also be jettisoned if need be. Four Daimler
Benz DB 615 engines (or DB 613 if teh DB 615 engines were not ready in
time), mounted on the wing trailing edge, provided the power. The engine
radiators were located in the wing's leading edge and a huge bomb bay/cargo
area was to be found in the central fuselage area. A tricycle landing gear
arrangement was chosen, with the main gear having double wheels. The cockpit
was pressurized and a provision was made for remote controlled defensive
armament in the nose and tail. Underwing weapons or loads could also be
carried. The P.08.01 was designed as per a specification for a super
heavy aircraft that could fulfill several different roles. These included:
| Span | Length | Height | Wing Area | Takeoff Weight | Max. Speed | Max. Range | Fuel |
| 50.6 m
166' |
15.35 m
50' 4" |
8.6 m
28' 3" |
300 m²
3229 ft² |
90000 kg
198414 lbs |
645 km/h @ 8500 m
401 mph @ 27887' |
27150 km
16871 miles |
40000 kg
88184 lbs |

The diagram to the right shows a tank being loaded into the cargo bay of the Messerschmitt Me P.08.01