[1] In early 1944, the Reich Air Ministry (RLM, for Reichsluftfahrtministerium) became aware of Allied jet developments, and were particularly concerned that they might have to face the Gloster Meteor over the continent.

Since German aircraft engineers were aware that tailless designs might encounter serious stability problems at transonic speeds, much as the prototype Me 163B V18 did on July 6, 1944, in hitting a record 1,130 km/h (702 mph) top speed and nearly destroying its entire rudder surface in the process,[2][3] a variety of stabilization methods such as airbrakes on the wings were considered for such aircraft or simply adding conventional tail surfaces.

Reflecting the dilemma of a shortage of strategic materials, the first option of using aluminum in the construction of the main spar consisting of two tapered I-beams attached together on the top and bottom with shear webs of thin steel sheeting, led to a reappraisal.

The horizontal stabilizer also featured two large trim tabs, the main pitching force actually being provided by what would have appeared to be "ailerons" on most other turbojet-powered fighter airframes of the period.

On 28 February 1945, the Luftwaffe High Command examined the various Emergency Fighter proposals and selected the Junkers EF 128 to be developed and produced; the Focke-Wulf team gained second place.

However, in the last few weeks of the war, it was decided that the Huckebein was really the best design and, at a meeting in Bad Eilsen, Tank was told to arrange mockups and to plan for full production.

The first flight of the aircraft was projected for May 1945, but no finished Ta 183 Versuchs-series prototypes had been completed by 8 April 1945, when British troops captured the Focke-Wulf facilities.

After the end of the war, Kurt Tank, in exile in Argentina, resurrected the Ta 183 project, resulting in the IAe Pulqui II.

[5] This version was modified to place the wings at a shoulder-mounted position, in order to avoid a heavy fuselage spar pass-through structure going around the engine, however this resulted in deep stall problems at high angles of attack.

The MiG-15 does bear a resemblance in layout, sharing the high tailplane and nose-mounted intake, although the aircraft are different in structure, details, and proportions.

The MiG-15's design shared features, and some appearance commonalities with the MiG design bureau's own 1945-46 attempt at a Soviet-built rocket interceptor similar to the Messerschmitt Me 263 rocket fighter, and also common to many contemporary jet fighters — and were derived from aerodynamic and structural considerations (for example, the American Republic F-84F, the Swedish SAAB 29, and the French Dassault Ouragan and Mystère).