Messerschmitt Me 262 HG III (Frank Airmodell, Resin)

TYPE: High-speed experimental aircraft. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: Two Junkers Jumo 004D-1 turbojet engines, rated at 930 kp thrust each

PERFORMANCE: 683 mph at 19.685 ft

COMMENT: The final layout of the Messerschmitt Me 262 “Schwalbe” (“Swallow”) did not come up to all expectations of perfectionist Willy Messerschmitt. He argued that at least the concept of the new revolutionary aircraft is a result of many compromise and need to be improved. One goal is the high speed that can be reached by a turbojet driven aircraft.
Already in 1939 when the first design studies began what later became the Messerschmitt Me 262 Willy Messerschmitt proposed the installation of the turbojet engines into the wing roots in order to reduce drag and save weight. But at that time the plan failed due to the rapid changing dimensions of the first “Sondertriebwerke” (“Exceptional power plants”) as the new turbojet engines are called..
Yet another possibility to reduce drag in high-speed flight was the introduction of swept-back wings. In 1935 Prof. Busemann, an aeronautical research scientist at the aerodynamic institute of the University of Göttingen, discovered the benefits of the swept wing for aircraft at high speeds. He presented a paper on the topic at the Volta Conference at Rome in 1935. The paper concerned supersonic flow only. At the time of his proposal, flight much beyond 300 miles per hour had not been achieved and it was considered an academic curiosity. Nevertheless, he continued working with the concept, and by the end of the year had demonstrated similar benefits in the transonic region as well.
By early 1940 the first precise research findings on swept back wings were available to the German aircraft industry and Messerschmitt proposed in April 1941 to fit up the piston engine driven Messerschmitt Me 262 V1 with a 35 degree swept back wing. Nevertheless, at that time priority was given to the mass-production of the Messerschmitt Me 262 “Schwalbe” (“Swallow”). But with the introduction of this phenomenal aircraft the influence of critical Mach-number (“compressibility”) on subsonic speed became noticeable. In early 1944 research work on development of a high-speed variant of the Messerschmitt Me 262 was done again in three steps as so called “Hoch-Geschwindigkeitsjäger” , suffix “HG” (“High-speed fighter”):

Messerschmitt Me 262 HG I
The leading edge of the inner wing as well as of the vertical tail was increased to 45 degree, the leading edge of the horizontal tail was swept back to 40 degree, a shallow, low-drag cockpit canopy was installed, and the muzzles were faired over.

Messerschmitt Me 262 HG II
A new wing with 35 degree sweep was installed, the engine nacelle was improved, a shallow, low-drag canopy and a butterfly tail-plane was provided.

Messerschmitt Me 262 HG III
Improvements were a new 45 degree swept-back wing, installation of turbojet engines in wing-root, low-drag canopy and swept-back tail-plane.
The last variant was intensively discussed and tested especially the installation of more powerful turbojet engines (Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011).  Of several sub-variants most radical was the Messerschmitt Me 262 HG III/ Concept III. As with many other projects the end of WWII stopped all further work on the Messerschmitt Me 262 HG III and variants (Ref.: 20, 24).

Mitsubishi Ki-202 “Shusui-Kai” (“Sharp Sword”) (A + V Models, Resin)

TYPE: Interceptor aircraft. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Mitsubishi Toku Ro.3 (KR20) liquid fuel rocket engine, rated at 2,000 kp thrust plus one additional rocket, rated at 750 kp thrust

PERFORMANCE: 559 mph at 32,808 ft

COMMENT: The Mitsubishi Ki-202 “Shūsui-Kai” (translated as “Sharp Sword, improved”) was a direct development of the Mitsubishi Ki-200 “Shusui” rocket-powered interceptor aircraft. None were produced before Japan’s surrender that ended WW II.
In a split from the development of the IJ Navy Mitsubishi J8M “Shusui” and Army’s Mitsubishi Ki-200 “Shusui”, the IJ Army instructed Rikugun Kokugijitsu Kenkyujo (Army Aerotechnical Research Institute) to develop a new design originally based  on the German Messerschmitt Me 163 “Komet” (“Comet”), built in Japan as a joint Navy-Army venture.
A fundamental shortcoming of the Messerschmitt Me 163, and all other aircraft based on it, was extremely limited endurance, typically only a few minutes. The Imperial Japanese Navy proposed to improve the endurance of the J8M1 by producing a version with only one cannon, thereby saving weight and space for more fuel, designated J8M2. The Imperial Japanese Army, on the other hand, opted to keep both cannon, but enlarge the airframe to accommodate larger tanks, resulting in the Mitsubishi Ki-202 “Shusui-Kai”, which was to have been the definitive Army version of the fighter. Power was to be supplied by a 2,000 kg thrust delivering Mitsubishi Toku Ro.3 (KR20) rocket motor. An additional rocket engine with reduced thrust was used for cruising speed. Undercarriage was to have been a sprung skid and tail-wheel.
Similar development was done in Germany. The Messerschmitt Me 163 variant Messerschmitt Me 163C had a lengthened fuselage to accommodate larger fuel tanks while the Messerschmitt Me 263 was a complete new design with increased flight endurance (Ref.: 24).

Curtiss SC-1 “Seahawk” (SMER Models)

TYPE: Scout seaplane

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Wright R-1820-62 “Cyclone” radial engine, rated at 1,350 hp

PERFORMANCE: 125 mph

COMMENT: The Curtiss SC “Seahawk” was a scout seaplane designed by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company for the US Navy. The existing Curtiss SO3C “Seamew” and the Vought OS2U “Kingfisher” were 1937 designs that, by 1942, needed to be replaced.
Work began in June 1942, following a US Navy Bureau of Aeronautics request for scout seaplane proposals. Curtiss submitted the “Seahawk” design on 1 August 1942, with a contract for two prototypes and five service test aircraft awarded on 25 August that year. A production order for 500 SC-1s followed in June 1943, prior to the first flight of the prototypes.
While only intended to seat the pilot, a bunk was provided in the aft fuselage for rescue or personnel transfer. Two 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine guns were fitted in the wings, and two underwing hardpoints allowed carriage of 113 kg bombs or, on the right wing, surface-scan radar. The main float, built by Edo Company was designed to incorporate a bomb bay. But this suffered substantial leaks when used in that fashion, and was modified to carry an auxiliary fuel tank.
The first flight of a prototype XSC-1 took place on February 1944. Flight testing continued through April, when the last of the seven pre-production aircraft took to the air. Nine further prototypes were later built, with a second seat and modified cockpit, designated Curtiss SC-2 “Seahawk”; series production was not undertaken.
The first serial production “Seahawks” were delivered on October 1944, to the USS CB-2 “Guam”. All 577 aircraft eventually produced for the Navy were delivered on conventional landing gear and flown to the appropriate Naval Air Station, where floats were fitted for service as needed.
Capable of being fitted with either float or wheeled landing gear, the “Seahawk” was arguably America’s best floatplane scout of WW II. However, its protracted development time meant it entered service too late to see significant action in the war. It was not until June 1945, during the pre-invasion bombardment of Borneo, that the “Seahawk” was involved in military action. By the end of the war, seaplanes were becoming less desirable, with the “Seahawk” being replaced soon afterward by helicopters (Ref.: 24).

Focke-Wulf Projekt VII “Flitzer” (“Streaker“ or „Dasher”), (Revell)

TYPE: Interceptor fighter

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011A turbojet engine, rated at 1,300 kp thrust plus one Walter HWK 509A-2 liquid-fuel rocket engine, rated between 300 and 1,500 kp thrust

PERFORMANCE: 593 mph (estimated)

COMMENT: In March 1943 the Focke-Wulf design team in Bremen initiated a series of studies for single-seat, single turbo jet powered fighters. “Entwurf 6”, also known as “Projekt VI”, was approved for mock-up construction in February 1944. The designation was later changed to “Projekt VII” and was given the code name “Flitzer (“Streaker” or “Dasher”). The design had mid-fuselage mounted wings with moderate sweepback (32 degrees), air inlets in the wing roots, twin booms, a high mounted tail plane and a tricycle landing gear. For high speed interception the single He S 011A turbojet was to be supplemented with a Walter HWK 509 A-2 bi-fuel rocket mounted below the turbojet engine. This arrangement was later revised and the rocket engine was eliminated. Projected armament consisted of two MK 103 30mm cannon or two MK 108 30mm cannon in the lower nose and two MG 151/20 20mm cannon in the wings. The Focke-Wulf Flitzer” was well advanced in development, a full-size mock-up and some prototype sub-assemblies being completed. The project was eventually abandoned in favor of the Focke-Wulf Ta 183 “Huckebein”. In the meantime this design was in an advanced stage for series production.

Noteworthy is the fact that the Focke-Wulf “Flitzer” project had great similarity with the contemporary British de Havilland DH 100 “Vampire” (Ref.: 17, 24).