Monthly Archives: February 2016

Heavy Bomber, Torpedobomber, Reconnaissance

Consolidated XP4Y-1 “Corregidor” (Unicraft, Resin)

Gallery

TYPE: Long-range maritime reconnaissance bomber flying boat

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of six to eight

POWER PLANT: Two Wright R-3350-8 Cyclone 18radial engines, rated at 2,300 hp each

PERFORMANCE: 247 mph at 13,600 ft

COMMENT:  The Consolidated XP4Y-1 shore-based patrol, torpedo-bomber and minelayer flying boat, unofficially dubbed “Corregidor”, was a military version of the Consolidated “Model 31”. The prototype of the Model 31 was completed in 1939, and was intended for both civil and military roles. It was intensively modified during its prolonged period of testing, eventually emerging in April 1942 as the XP4Y-1. The rear fuselage was redesigned to provide for the installation of a tail turret, the modified fuselage raised the tail assembly considerably, and, subsequently, the bow of the hull was extensively redesigned, a form of cuff being added, the retractable stabilizing floats were redesigned, and dummy gun turrets were fitted. An order for 200 aircraft was placed and a special plant was established at New Orleans for quantity production of the P4Y-1. But Wright R-3350 Cyclone power plant employed by the flying boat were needed more urgently for the Boeing B-29 “Superfortress” and, in consequence, during summer of 1943 production contracts for the P4Y-1 were cancelled, the New Orleans plant subsequently building the PBY “Catalina” (Ref.: 14).

Fighter, Projects

Blohm und Voss Bv P. 208.03 (Frank-Airmodel, Resin)

Gallery

TYPE: Interceptor, fighter

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Daimler-Benz DB 603L liquid-cooled engine, rated at 2,100 hp

PERFORMANCE: 491 mph

COMMENT: In autumn 1944 the Blohm & Voss team worked on a high performance, piston engine powered fighter aircraft under the internal designation P.208. From the onset the design was a tailless aircraft, the engine imbedded in the aft fuselage behind the cockpit. The advantage of the design was seen in a reduction of the fuselages surface to reduce drag, the abstinence of an extension shaft to drive the pusher propeller, and lower costs and production time. The engine was fed by an air intake located on the starboard side of the fuselage, with the radiator mounted beneath the fuselage.  The cantilevered wings were swept back at 30 degrees and were of a constant cross section. Downturned wingtips were connected aft of the main wing trailing edge by small booms, which served the purposes of elevators and rudders. A tricycle undercarriage was used, with the wide-track main wheels retracting inwards into the center section and the nose wheel retracting forwards. All armament was in the aircraft’s nose, and consisted of three MK 108 30mm cannon. Three different designs were finalized differing solely in the engine used. Design Bv P.208.01 should be powered by a Junkers Jumo 222E piston engine, Bv P. 208.02 utilized an Argus As 413 engine, and Bv P.208.03, which was the favored design, was to be powered by a Daimler-Benz DB 603L engine. Wind tunnel experiments showed excellent performance but the RLM was convinced of the future of the oncoming turbojet engines (Ref.: 16, 21).

Fighter, Projects

Henschel Hs P.135 (Airmodel, Resin)

Gallery

TYPE: Interceptor, fighter. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engine, rated at 1.300 kp thrust

PERFORMANCE: 612 mph

COMMENT: Henschel submitted this design Hs P.135 in autumn 1944 to the OKL (Oberkommando der Luftwaffe, Luftwaffe high-command) based on specification for a single-seat fighter to be powered by a HeS 011 turbojet. This aircraft design was intended to achieve better high speed performance through the reduction of air resistance. The aircraft was tailless and featured an innovative wing design, a compound swept back wing with different angle of sweep: inner wing 42, mid-wing 38, and again positive about 15 degree for the outer wing. This had the effect of reducing turbulent flow by spreading out the compression effect along the length of the wing as Mach speed was approached, enabling the aircraft to carry more weight at higher speed. The wing was thus thicker in both height and width, as well as heavier, which made the aircraft more structurally strong without adversely affecting performance. The cockpit was relative high positioned, the pilot sat on an ejection seat which was in normal position during cruise flight and could be tilted back during aerial combat. The design was considered as “Zweitlösung” (second solution), while an “Optimallösung” (optimal solution) was expected from Messerschmitt( Me P.1101) (Ref.: 16, 21).

Fighter, Projects

Blohm und Voss Bv P.209.02 (Airmodel, Resin)

Gallery

TYPE: Interceptor, fighter. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engine, rated at 1300 kp thrust

PERFORMANCE: 614 mph

COMMENT: In context with the “Volksjäger Projekt” (Peoples fighter project) designers of the Blohm & Voss Company projected a turbojet engine powered fighter under internal designation Bv P.209. The design was a cantilever shoulder wing airplane with strong forward-swept wing. This was an effort to alleviate compressibility problems of straight wings at high speed, while helping to avoid the instability at low speeds suffered by swept-back wings. The wing was made from steel and the main spar formed the fuel tank. A steel tube formed the fuselage and was used as air intake for the turbojet engine. A second steel tube formed the tail boom with normal and positive swept back tail-plane. Expert’s report from the DVL (Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt, German Aviation Experimental Establishment) was negative concerning forward-swept wing concept and Blohm und Voss cancelled further work on that project in favour of the Blohm und Voss Bv P.212 (Ref.: 16, 17).

Fighter, Projects

Focke-Wulf Fw Ta 283 (Huma)

Gallery

TYPE: Interceptor fighter. Project.

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: Two Pabst-Lorin ramjet engines, rated at 1.500 kp thrust each and one Walter HWK 109-509A liquid-fueled rocket engine, rated at 3.000 kp thrust

PERFORMANCE: 683 mph

COMMENT: In March, 1944, the team of Focke-Wulf worked on a design of a ramjet-powered fighter. The wings were mounted low on the fuselage and were swept back at 45 degrees. It had along, pointed nose and the cockpit was set back into the large vertical fin. The aircraft sat very low on a retractable nose wheel undercarriage and main wheels with extreme short track. The ramjets were located on the tips of the sharply swept tail planes. For take-off a Walter HWK rocket engine, located in the back fuselage was needed as well as to reach speed high enough to operate the ramjets. Ceiling of 36.000 ft should be reached within less than five minutes. Neither detailed design drawings nor models for wind tunnel testing are readied when the defeat of Germany stopped any further studies (Ref.: 16, 18).

Nightfighter, Projects

Arado Ar E.583.5 (Planet, Resin)

Gallery

TYPE: Heavy night- and all-weather fighter. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of two

POWER PLANT: Two Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engines, rated at 1,300 kp thrust each

PERFORMANCE: 500 mph

COMMENT: The Arado Ar E. 583.5 project was a heavy night and all-weather fighter that was proposed to the “Entwicklungs-Hauptkommission (EHK, Main commission for development) on 15. March 1945. The design was a 35 degree delta-wing with twin fins and rudders located on the wing trailing edge. The two man crew was seated back-to-back in a pressurized cockpit. The two Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojets were located under the rear fuselage. Four MK 108 30mm cannon were mounted in the nose,  two upward-firing , oblique mounted MK 108 30mm cannon were located in mid fuselage, and two remotely controlled backwards firing MK 108 cannon in the tail. After the WW II construction drawings from Arado came to the US and influenced the design of the Chance Vought F7U Cutlass (Ref. 15, 16, 17).

Nightfighter, Projects

Arado Ar E 583.06 (Planet, Resin)

Gallery

TYPE: Heavy night and all-weather fighter and fighter-bomber. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of three

POWER PLANT: Two Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engines, rated at 1.300 kp thrust each

PERFORMANCE: 466 mph

COMMENT: The Arado Ar E.583.06 was a design of a night and all-weather fighter, presented to the “Entwicklungs-Hauptkommission (EHK, Main commission for development) in March 1945. The layout was a more conventional counterpart to the radical delta-wing design Arado Ar E. 583.05 presented at the same time. Wings were swept-back at 35 degrees and two Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engines were placed under each wing. A crew of three men was seated in the pressurized cabin, which was fitted with ejection seats. The heavy armament consisted of four MK 108 30mm cannon mounted in the nose,  two upward-firing , oblique mounted MK 108 30mm cannon located in mid fuselage, and one remotely controlled backwards firing MK 108 cannon in the tail. The end of WW II stopped any further development (Ref. 15, 16, 17).

Nightfighter, Projects

Heinkel He P.1079A (Planet, Resin)

Gallery

TYPE: Night fighter. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of two

POWER PLANT: Two Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engines, rated at 1,300 kp thrust each

PERFORMANCE: 590 mph

COMMENT:   In mid 1944 the Heinkel design office was working on a heavy night and bad weather fighter with two-turbojet engines, and two crew members under project number P.1079. Initially, two different designs A and B were studied. Project He P.1079A was designed as a night-fighter. The crew of two sat back-to-back in the cockpit which was located near the nose. The wings were swept back 35 degrees and were mounted mid-fuselage, with two Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojets located in the wing roots. A V-tail plane (butterfly tail plane) was provided and armament was to be four MK 108 30mm cannon. Project He 1079B, a night fighter, too, was closer to a flying wing layout, although there was a single, vertical fin which replaced the V-tail of the P.1079A. Furthermore, the wings were gull-shaped and were swept back at 45 degrees. No evidence has been found that any of both P.1079 projects were ever submitted to the RLM, but it is known that members of Heinkel construction bureau were working on these designs under U.S. supervision during the summer of 1945 (Ref.: 16).

Medium Bomber, Projects

Focke-Wulf Fw 3 x 1000 Bomber Projekt C (Unicraft, Resin)

Gallery

TYPE: Fast medium bomber. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: Two Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engines, rated at 1,300 kp thrust each

PERFORMANCE: 621 mph at 40,000 ft

COMMENT: In autumn 1944 the Focke-Wulf company proposed three different designs of fast bombers to meet the RLM’s “1000×1000×1000 Bomber” requirement. The request for proposals called for an aircraft with two turbojet engines and should be able to carry 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb) of bombs over a distance of 1,000 kilometers (620 mi) with a speed of 1,000 kilometers per hour (620 mph). The third design (Projeckt C) was of conventional layout similar to the first design (Projekt A, while Projekt B was a flying wing design. Projekt C had wings and tail plane of parallel chord and the fuselage was deepened. The two Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engines were on underwing pylons to increase the mass-balance effect. They were also turned out of line to help enhance single engine controllability. The pilot was positioned in a forward cockpit, and one 1000 kg bomb (Hermann) could be carried. As with the other two other bomber projects the Focke-Wulf  Fw 1000x1000x1000 Bomber Projekt C remained on the drawing board (Ref.: 16).

Nightfighter, Projects

Focke-Wulf Fw P.0310251-13/II (Planet, Resin)

Gallery

TYPE: Night and all-weather fighter. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of three

POWER PLANT: One Junkers Jumo 222C/D radial engine, rated at 3000 hp and two BMW 003A turbojet engines, rated at 800 kp thrust each

PERFORMANCE: 527 mph

COMMENT: In autumn 1944 the team of Focke-Wulf proposed a design of a mixed-propulsion aircraft as a night and all-weather fighter. Three different projects are planed with different piston engines. Project I with Daimler-Benz DB 603N in-line engine, rated at 2705 hp and driving four-bladed propeller, Project II with Junkers Jumo 222C/D four row radial engine, rated 3000 hp and driving five-bladed propeller (shown here), and Project III with Argus As 413 in-line engine, rated at 4000hp, driving four-bladed propeller. Additionally, the latter two projects featured a pair of BMW 003A turbojets slung under the wings. The mid-fuselage mounted engine drove the rear propeller by an extension shaft and air was fed via two intakes in the wing roots. The wings were swept back and a cruciform tail was fitted, the lower fin also helping to keep the propeller from striking the ground during take-off. A crew of three (pilot, navigator and radar operator) sat together in a pressurized cockpit covered by a bubble canopy. Flight times could be increased up to eight hours with the jet engines shut down and the rear engine operating at half throttle. The aircraft was heavily armed with four forward firing MK 108 30mm cannon in the nose and two upward-firing oblique MK 108 30mm cannon in mid fuselage. In addition, two 500 kg bombs could be carried at the outer wing stations. The defeat of Germany made further plans obsolete (Ref.: 16).