Monthly Archives: September 2019

Cargo

Junkers Ju 352 “Herkules”, (“Hercules”), (Airmodel, vacu-formed)

Gallery

TYPE: Transport aircraft

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of three to four

POWER PLANT: Three BMW Bramo 323 R-2 Fafnir radial engine, rated at 1,184 hp with MW-50 each

PERFORMANCE: 230 mph at 16,565 ft

COMMENT: The Junkers Ju 352 “Herkules” (“Hercules”) was a German WW II transport aircraft that was developed from the Junkers Ju 252.
During the late spring of 1942, the Junkers-Dessau project office was instructed by the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM, Reich Air Ministry) to investigate the possibility of redesigning the structure of the Junkers Ju 252 transport to make maximum use of non-strategic materials, simultaneously replacing the Junkers Jumo 211F engines of the Ju 252 (production of which could barely keep pace with the demands of combat aircraft) with BMW Bramo 323R radial engines. The result followed closely the aerodynamic design of the Ju 252 but was an entirely new aircraft. The wing of the Ju 352 was similar in outline to that of the Ju 252 but, mounted further aft on the fuselage, was entirely of wooden construction.
The Ju 352 also had a similar hydraulically-operated “Trapoklappe” (“Transportklappe”, rear loading ramp) to that of the Ju 252. The ramp allowed the loading of vehicles or freight into the cargo hold while holding the fuselage level. Theoretically it was possible for any wheeled vehicle up to the size of a large “Kübelwagen” to drive up the Trapoklappe into the freight hold, although in practice it proved necessary to winch the vehicle into the hold by means of a manually-operated block- and tackle arrangement owing to the risk of damaging the structure.
In general, the Ju 352 was considered a major improvement over the original Junkers Ju 52 but noticeably inferior to the Junkers Ju 252. Deliveries of the Ju 352 had only just begun to get into their stride when, during the summer of 1944, the worsening war situation resulted in the decision to abandon further production of transport aircraft. In September the last two Ju 352As rolled off the assembly line, 10 pre-production Ju 352s and 33 production Ju 352s having been manufactured. Several developments of the basic design were proposed before production was halted, these including the Ju 352B with more powerful engines and increased defensive armament (Ref.: 24).

Heavy Bomber

Boeing B-17G “Flying Fortress”, “Priority Gal”, 486 BG, 8th USAAF, (Hasegawa Models)

Gallery

TYPE: Heavy bomber

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of ten

POWER PLANT: Four Wright R-1820-97 “Cyclone” turbo-supercharged radial engines, rated at 1,200 hp each

PERFORMANCE: 300 mph at 30,000 ft

COMMENT: The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engine heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). From its introduction in 1938, the B-17 Flying Fortress evolved through numerous design advances becoming the third-most produced bomber of all time, behind the four-engine Consolidated B-24 Liberator and the multirole, twin-engine Junkers Ju 88,
The Boeing B-17 began operations in World War II with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1941, and in the Southwest Pacific with the U.S. Army. In July 1942, the first USAAF Boeing B-17Fs were sent to England to join the Eighth Air Force. Later that year, two groups moved to Algeria to join Twelfth Air Force for operations in North Africa. The B-17Fs were primarily involved in the daylight precision strategic bombing campaign against German targets ranging from U-boat pens, docks, warehouses, and airfields to industrial targets such as aircraft factories. In the campaign against German aircraft forces in preparation for the invasion of France, B-17 and B-24 raids were directed against German aircraft production while their presence drew the Luftwaffe fighters into battle with Allied fighters.
Soon, Boeing B-17Fs proved to be unsuitable for combat use over Europe. The defense expected from bombers operating in close formation alone did not prove effective and the bombers needed fighter escorts to operate successfully. Especially the head-on attacks of German fighters were dangerous, To improve defense a modification in form of a power-operated Bendix “chin” turret mounting two 0.5-in. machine guns was introduced in the last production model, the Boeing B-17G.  With the two “cheek” guns and the “chin” turret the protection against incoming fighters was increased enormously. In order to improve the field of fire to the rear a so-called “Cheyenne” tail gun mounting was fitted bringing the total number of guns from seven (B-17F) to 13 (B-17G). Incorporating all changes made to its predecessor, in total 8,680 B-17Gs were built, the last (by Lockheed) on July1945.
During World War II, the B-17 equipped 32 overseas combat groups, inventory peaking in August 1944 at 4,574 USAAF aircraft worldwide (Ref.: 24).
The aircraft shown here belonged to the 486th Bombardment Group (H), 832BS (Bombardment Squadron) stationed at Sudbury, UK. All B-17Gs were in natural metal. Group markings: W in square. In late 1944 red and blue bands forming chevron were painted on wing with blue band towards tip. From January 1945 wing tips and complete tail section painted yellow and three parallel bands of yellow round rear fuselage. In place nose bands and aircraft letter on fuselage (forward national insignia) in squadron color: 832BS in yellow, 833BS in medium blue, 834BS in red, and 835BS in bright green (Ref.: 2).