Monthly Archives: September 2015

Fighterbomber, Projects

Blohm & Voss Bv P. 163.02 (RS Models, Resin)

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TYPE: Heavy fighter bomber. Project.

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of five

POWER PLANT: One BMW 803, a combination of two BMW 801 radial engines, coupled back to back, rated at 3,847 hp, driving three-bladed contra-rotating propellers

PERFORMANCE: 354 mph

COMMENT: This very unorthodox Blohm & Voss design of a single-engine heavy attack bomber dates back to 1942. Basic concept was the construction of a heavy aircraft around the most powerful engines available in Germany at that time. Two versions were proposed to the RLM differing primarily in the power units.  While the Bv P. 163.01 was powered by a Daimler-Benz DB 613C liquid-cooled engine, a side-by-side arrangement of two DB 603G engines, rated together at 3,800 hp, the Bv P. 163.02 was to be powered by a BMW 803 engine, a back-to-back combination of two BMW 801 radial engines, rated at 3,850 hp. All engines drove three-blades, contra-rotating propellers. Very unusual were the location of the cockpits for crew-members. The pilot and navigator/radio operator sat in a nacelle located at the extreme end of port wing, with a rear gunner in a turret with two twin mounted MG 151 15mm machine guns to the rear. Another nacelle was located on the starboard wingtip and was manned by two gunners, one firing a machine gun forward from the front and a second from turret on the top of the nacelle, the other gunner sat in a turret at the rear, also with two machine guns. The bomb-bay was located mid-fuselage, over-load bombs could be carried under wing-root mounted racks. In order to test this unusual arrangement an asymmetrical Blohm & Voss Bv 141 was equipped with a second cockpit installed on the wingtip, the controls coupled with those in the main cockpit. The results showed that this arrangement warranted no advantage and the projects were cancelled (Ref.: 17).

Fighter, Glider

Northrop MX-324 (Unicraft, Resin)

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TYPE: Experimental rocket-powered flying-wing aircraft

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only, in prone position

POWER PLANT: One Aerojet XCARL-2000A-1 rocket engine, rated at 920 kp thrust

PERFORMANCE: 348 mph

COMMENT: In 1942, Northrop Company was working an ambitious design for a rocked driven flying wing fighter aircraft under the designation Northrop XP-79. To test the radical design, rocket-powered glider prototypes were built under the designation MX-324. Positioned on a trolley the first aircraft was towed into the air on 5 July 1944 by a Lockheed P-38 Lightning. Once released towline the rocket engine was ignited for three minutes, making the Northrop MX-324 the first US-built rocket-powered aircraft. After successful flight the aircraft landed on skids. In late 1944 the MX-324 was retrofit with a tricycle landing gear enabling take-off and landing on runways. Results from flight tests were incorporated in the final aircraft, the Northrop XP-79B (Ref.: 23)

Nightfighter, Projects

Gotha P. 60C (Planet, Resin)

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TYPE: Night fighter. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot and radar operator

POWER PLANT: Two Heinkel-Hirth HeS-11 turbojet engines, rated at 1,500kp

PERFORMANCE: 596 mph, estimated

COMMENT:  In August 1944 the Gotha Aircraft Company was given the order of series production of the Horten Ho IX flying wing fighter, designated Go 229A. But additionally, in January 1945 the Gotha engineers proposed a series of altrenate all-wing design to the RLM which used many of the construction techniques as the Horten aircraft but had the advantage of being able to be modified with new equipment and engines without changing the flying characteristics. Three designs were proposed, and designation Gotha Go P.60A, Go P.60B, and Go P.60C was given. All were of delta-shaped., flying wing design, and powered by two turbojet engines at the rear end, one engine above the wing, the other slung under the fuselage. A two men crew sat in a pressurized and armored cockpit, located in the extreme nose. For its duty as night fighter the aircraft was equipped with the most modern radar available at that time. The Gotha Go P.60A was powered by two BMW 003A-1 turbojet engines, rated at 800 kp each, the crew laid in prone position. The Gotha Go P.60B was a further development of the P.60 series which simplified construction by utilizing an easier to build airframe and a conventional rudder. The two-seat cockpit was located behind the radar equipment in a fuselage section. The two engines were upgraded to Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojets. The RLM approved the construction of the project in 1945, but later construction of the prototype was halted in favor of the Go P.60C. This was the final design of the Gotha Go P.60 series, the P.60C night fighter. The fuselage was lengthened to accommodate the installation of the newest radar set with its “Morgenstern” (Morningstar) or the the FuG 240 “Berlin” antenna. The end of the war prevented further development (Ref.: 16).