Messerschmitt Me 262A-2a Sturmvogel (Stormbird) (Matchbox) with SC 1000 high explosive bomb (Hermann) on Deichselschlepp (tow-bar) (Airmodel)

TYPE: Fighter bomber

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: Two Junkers Jumo 004B-1 turbojet engines, rated at 900 kp thrust each

PERFORMANCE: 530 mph at 9,800 ft

COMMENT: The fighter-bomber version of the Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (Swallow) received the appellation Stormbird (Sturmvogel) to distinguish it from those aircraft completed purely as interceptors. It was Hitler’s explicit desire to use this aircraft as a fighter-bomber incomprehensible to the manufacturer. Deliveries of that subtype, now called Messerschmitt Me 262A-2a, began in July 1944. It differed from the Me 262A-1a interceptor fighter solely in having bomb fusing equipment and a pair of pylons side-by-side beneath the fuselage nose, forward of the undercarriage wells. These could be either of the ETC 504 type or of so-called “Wikingerschiff” (“Viking ships”) type, and proposed loads included a single SB 1000 bomb, or two SC 500 bombs, and derivate types, respectively. An unconventional approach was provided by a towed bomb, SC 1000 or SC 500 fitted with a wooden wing and towed by means of a 20-ft tube rigidly attached to the bomb. The tow-bar was attached beneath the tail by means of a swivel joint permitting horizontal and vertical motion, and the wires to detonate the explosive bolts, by which the bomb and its wing were separately jettisoned, passed through the tube. For take-off a two-wheel dolly was fitted to the bomb, this being jettisoned by means of an explosive bolt once aircraft and bomb were airborne. Additionally two Rheinmetall Borsig R 109-502 solid-fuel rockets were attached to the aircraft for assisted take-off. In early 1945 trials were done with the Me 262 V10. With the bomb on tow the speed of the Me 262 was reduced to some 320-330 mph. Furthermore, due to the high lift coefficient of the auxiliary wing the bomb began to porpoise, the motion was transmitted to the aircraft causing uncontrollable flight and the pilot was forced to bail out. Eventually it was concluded that the towed bomb concept was too hazardous and further tests were cancelled (Ref.: 7).

Gloster E.28/39 ‘Pioneer’ (Frog)

TYPE: Experimental aircraft

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Power Jets W.1 turbojet, rated at 390 kp thrust

PERFORMANCE: 338 mph at 10,000 ft

COMMENT: The Gloster E.28/39, also referred to as the ‘Gloster Whittle’, ‘Gloster Pioneer’, or ‘Gloster G.40’, was the first British turbojet-engined aircraft to fly. It was designed to test the Whittle turbojet engine in flight, leading to the development of the Gloster ‘Meteor‘. In September 1939, the Air Ministry issued a specification to Gloster for an aircraft to test one of Frank Whittle’s turbojet designs in flight. The E.28/39 name comes from the aircraft having been built to the 28th “Experimental” specification of the Air Ministry in 1939. Gloster’s engineers, working closely with Whittle, laid out a small low-wing aircraft of conventional configuration. The jet intake was in the nose, and the single tail-fin and elevators were mounted above the jet-pipe, although due to uncertainty about the spinning characteristics of a jet aircraft, at in an earlier design stage twin fins and rudders were considered. Two jet pipe/rear fuselage arrangements were also originally considered due to the potential loss of thrust through the jet pipe itself, a ‘short jet’ with a cutaway rear fuselage and short exhaust necessitating the tail plane to be carried on booms, and a ‘long jet’ with a fully enclosed jet pipe; the ‘long jet’ was subsequently selected. A contract for two prototypes was signed by the Air Ministry on February 1940, and the first prototype was completed by April 1941. Although the initial flight tests were relatively early in WW II, the German Heinkel He 178 turbojet aircraft, powered by a Heinkel HeS3 turbojet rated at 450 kp had been first test-flown on 27 August 1939, at Rostok-Marienehe on the Baltic Sea, days before the outbreak of the war (Ref.: 23).

Horten/Gotha Go 229A-1 ( Ho IX V2) (Revell)

TYPE: Interceptor, Fighter

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: Two Junkers Jumo 004B Turbojet engine, rated at 900 kp thrust each

PERFORMANCE: 607 mph at 39,000 ft

COMMENT: The Horten Ho IX V2, RLM designation Ho 229 – often called Gotha Go 229 because of the identity of the chosen manufacturer of the aircraft – was a German prototype fighter/bomber designed by the Horten brothers and built by Gothaer Waggonfabrik late in WW II. It was the first pure flying wing powered by turbojet engines. The design based on the Ho IX V1, an unpowered glider built from the onset as a prototype for a turbojet powered fighter and as a trainer for the aircraft when in production. The Horten Ho IX V2, as the first turbojet powered aircraft was designated was of mixed construction, with the center pod made from welded steel tubing and wing spars built from wood. The wings were made from two thin, carbon-impregnated plywood panels glued together with a charcoal and sawdust mixture. The wing had a single main spar, penetrated by the turbojet engine inlets, and a secondary spar used for attaching the elevens. The aircraft utilized retractable tricycle landing gear, with the nose gear on the first two prototypes sourced from a Heinkel He 177‘s tailwheel system, with the third prototype using an He 177A main gear wheel rim and tire on its custom-designed nose gear strut work and wheel fork. A drogue slowed the aircraft upon landing. The pilot in a special pressure suit sat on a primitive ejection seat. The aircraft was originally designed for the BMW 003 jet engine, but that engine was not quite ready, and the Junkers Jumo 004 engine was substituted. The aircraft was found at Friedrichroda by US Forces and later shipped to the US (Ref.: 23).

Boulton Paul Defiant T.T.II, 326th BG, 92nd BG, 8th USAAF (Pavla)

TYPE: Target tug aircraft.

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of two

POWER PLANT: One Rolls-Royce Merlin III liquid-cooled engine, rated at 1,030 hp

PERFORMANCE: 304 mph at 17,000 ft

COMMENT: The Boulton Paul Defiant was a British interceptor aircraft that served with the RAF during the Second World War. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a “turret fighter”, without any forward-firing guns. It was a contemporary of the Royal Navy’s Blackburne Roc. In combat, the Defiant was found to be reasonably effective at its intended task of destroying bombers, but vulnerable to the Luftwaffe’s more agile, single-seat Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters. The lack of forward armament proved to be a major weakness in daylight combat and its potential was only realized when it switched to night combat. It was supplanted in the night fighter role by the Bristol Beaufighter and de Havilland Mosquito. The Defiant found use in gunnery training, target towing, electronic countermeasures and air-sea rescue. Among RAF pilots it had the nickname “Daffy”.
About 150 Defiant Mk IIs were converted to target tugs. A wind-driven generator provided power for the target winch. The Defiant T.T.II shown here was a former RAF target tug aircraft later transferred to the 326th  BS of the 92nd BG of the US 8th Army Air Force stationed at Podington, UK (Ref.: 23).

Curtiss AT-9 Jeep (Pavla)

TYPE: Advanced trainer aircraft

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of two – student and instructor

POWER PLANT: Two Lycoming R-680-9 radial engine, rated at 295 hp each

PERFORMANCE: 197 mph

COMMENT: The Curtiss-Wright AT-9 Jeep was a twin-engined advanced trainer aircraft used by the United States during World War II to bridge the gap between single-engined trainers and twin-engined combat aircraft. The AT-9 had a low-wing cantilever monoplane configuration and retractable landing gear. Curtiss-Wright anticipated the requirement for this type of “high-performance” aircraft and designed the Curtiss-Wright CW-25, a twin-engined trainer, which possessed the takeoff and landing characteristics of a light bomber. Using the same basic design as the larger Cessna AT-17 Bobcat, the new CW-25 was designed to be simulate the demands of multi-engined operations. The design featured a small layout, grouping two Lycoming R-680-9 radial engines forward and using a retractable tailwheel landing gear to achieve the performance necessary to meet the requirements of an advanced trainer. The single CW-25 prototype acquired for evaluation had a welded steel-tube fuselage structure with the wings, fuselage and tail unit fabric-covered. The first prototype Model 25 flew in 1941 and the production version entered service as the AT-9 in 1942. Named the “Fledgling” by Curtiss-Wright, it commonly became known as the “Jeep” in the USAAF. The prototype CW-25 had a fabric-covered steel tube fuselage and fabric-covered wings and tail units, but production AT-9s were of stressed metal skin construction. The AT-9 was purposely designed to be less stable and proved to be difficult to fly or land, which made it particularly suitable for teaching new pilots to cope with the demanding flight characteristics of a new generation of high-performance, multi-engined aircraft such as the Martin B-26 Marauder and Lockheed P-38 Lightning. A total of 491 AT-9s were built before production ended and a new production run of 300 of the generally similar AT-9A commenced (Ref.: 23).

Lippisch Li P.13b (Anigrand, Resin)

TYPE: Interceptor, fighter. Project.

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Kronach-Lorin coal burning ramjet, power output unknown

PERFORMANCE: 650 mph (estimated)

COMMENT: The Lippisch Li P.13b was a follow-on design from the Lippisch Li P.13a, and was also a ramjet fighter. Designed in December 1944, it featured Lippisch’s favorite wing plan, a delta design (sweepback was 60 degrees) with downturned wingtips. A double fin and rudder was chosen to provide steady flight, and the cockpit was moved forward for better pilot’s visibility, ahead of the delta wing’s apex. On each side of the cockpit on the wing’s leading edge were the air intakes which fed the ramjet. For take-off a liquid-fuel rocket driven trolley was used; additional rockets were necessary to accelerate the aircraft to speed for operating of ramjets. The main landing gear was a retractable landing skid, and the rear rested on the reinforced downturned wingtips. No armament was planned at this stage. Because of the fuel shortage in Germany at this stage in the war, an ingenious plan to use coal (or paraffin coated lignite dust) for fuel was to be tried. A centrally installed round or hexagonal heat-resistant ceramic combustion chamber was fitted in the interior of the wing, and was fillable from above. No tests were ever carried out with this design or with the unique power source and the project only stayed in stage of concept sketches on the drawing board (Ref.: 16).

Cornelius XFG-1(Frank-Airmodel, Vacu-formed)

TYPE: Fuel transporting towed glider

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: None

PERFORMANCE: 250 mph

COMMENT: The Cornelius XFG-1 was a military fuel transporting towed glider, without a tail plane and with a forward-swept wing. Its designation “FG” stood for fuel glider and its role was as a fuel transport. It was to be towed behind another aircraft rather like contemporary troop carrying gliders, but its two fuselage tanks held 677 US gal of aviation gasoline. Unlike other troop carrying gliders like the Waco CG-4A Hadrian, the XFG-1 could be towed by bombers or transports at a cruise speed of 250 mph. Proposals seem to have included a piloted tow version behind a large transport, the glider landing loaded on skids having jettisoned its wheels after take-off; or a pilotless version towed behind a B-29 bomber, disconnected and abandoned after fuel transfer was completed; the intent of the scheme being for the glider to act, essentially, as a giant, winged drop tank for extending the range of the towing aircraft. The XFG-1 was a high-wing monoplane, its wing set far back towards its vertical stabilizer. The wing was quite high aspect ratio and of modest forward sweep. Though the earlier Cornelius aircraft had wings that had their incidence variable in the air, the incidence on the XFG-1 could only be adjusted on the ground, with two settings of 3˚ and 7˚. There was no horizontal tail. It had a simple fixed tricycle undercarriage and a conventional single seat cockpit; two examples of the type were built for test purposes only (Ref.:  24).