One of the first aircraft to be developed from components from multiple countries, it was also one of the most advanced Focke-Wulf designs of World War II, though it never progressed beyond a wind tunnel model.
Design work was begun in 1943, much of it being carried out by French technicians working for Focke-Wulf at the Arsenal de l'Aéronautique at Châtillon-sous-Bagneux near Paris, with contracts for design and construction of major components being awarded to German, French, and Italian[1] companies in an attempt to speed the process and begin construction of prototypes as soon as possible.
With a gross weight of 80.27 tonnes (177,000 lb), the Ta 400 with DB 603 engines was estimated to have a range of 12,000 km (7,500 mi) in the reconnaissance role, cruising at 325 km/h (202 mph).
[citation needed] It never progressed beyond a wind tunnel model, and performance, range and dimensions here are based solely on the designers' estimates.
As the design required more materials and labor than the Me 264, the RLM became convinced that further development of the Ta 400 was a waste, and on 15 October 1943 notified Focke-Wulf that the program would be terminated,[5] but the minutes of a meeting in Italy between Tank and Italian aviation industrialists on 18 April 1944 – just two days before the entire He 277 program was also cancelled[6] – confirmed that work on the design was still ongoing and proposed the cooperation of Italian industry in the project.