POWER PLANT: Two de Havilland Gipsy Major IC inline piston engine, rated at 140 hp each
PERFORMANCE: 102 mph
COMMENT: In 1941 the Air Ministry issued specification B.11/41 calling for a fast bomber operating from aircraft carriers. Beside high speed and bomb load main requirement was a lay out of the aircraft to give the pilot the best view possible for landing on aircraft carriers. Miles proposed a tandem wing experimental aircraft based on its M.39 design. To prove the concept Miles designed and built a 5/8th scale version, the M.39B Libulella which flew for the first time on July 1943. Flight evaluation showed no “undesirable handling” characteristics and its design coincided with interest by the authorities in unorthodox designs for large aircraft. The rear wing was higher than the forward one to avoid downwash and give ground clearance for the propellers. The M39B design had inboard flaps and outboard ailerons on the rear wing and the front wing had an auxiliary aerofoil/flap/elevator device, which could vary the wing area without changing lift coefficient. Miles continued testing, generating more flight data and submitted an improved M.39 design in early 1944. Meanwhile, the sole M.39B passed to the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough in 1944, where it was damaged and repaired after two accidents, only to be broken up with the full-sized bomber project’s cancellation (Ref.: 24).
POWER PLANT: One Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engine, rated at 1,300 kp thrust
PERFORMANCE: 615 mph
COMMENT: As part of the “Jägernotprogramm” (Fighter emergency program), at the beginning of 1945 a programme was launched by the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe, (OKL, Luftwaffe High Command) in order to replace the Heinkel He 162 “Salamander”
(“Volkskjäger”, “Peoples fighter” ). The new aircraft was intended to have superior performance in order to deal with high altitude threats such as the Boeing B-29 “Superfortress”, first missions expected in summer 1945. To meet this requirement, power was to be a single Heinkel HeS 011 turbojet. Proposals were brought forward by other German aircraft makers so as the Blohm & Voss Bv P.212, Focke-Wulf Ta 183, Heinkel He P.1078,Junkers EF 128, and Messerschmitt Me P.1110. The designs of the official winner of the competition, the Junkers EF 128, were submitted in February 1945. This more advanced fighter attracted more interest than the austere Miniaturjäger (Midget fighter) among German aircraft manufacturers, but at the time of the end of WWII only models had been built. It had swept wings of 45 degrees which included wood in their construction. The air intake for the turbojet was with boundary layer suction aerodynamically refined, the air left the fuselage behind the cockpit. A model for wind-tunnel experiments and a mock-up of the fuselage are built. Estimated flight characteristics and performance were optimistic and led to an order for mass production starting in mid1945. There was a projected variant of a two-seater all-weather and night fighter with a lengthened fuselage, pressure-cabin and FuG 240 “Berlin” radar. (Ref.: 22, 24).
POWER PLANT: One Ranger XV-770-7 air cooled engine, rated at 520 hp, driving a two-bladed propeller
PERFORMANCE: 330 mph at 4,000 ft
COMMENT: The rapid expansion of aircraft production in the USA before WWII inevitably led to shortage in the supply of light alloy. Interest therefore began to be focused upon the substitution of non-critical materials such as wood. In October 1941discussion between USAAF personnel and engineers of the Bell Aircraft Corp began with the view of developing a lightweight “non-strategic” fighter, designated XP-77. The aircraft was a very small low wing monoplane using resin-bonded laminated wood construction with a stressed skin. The engine was a 520 hp Ranger V-770 air-cooled in-line unit that was intended to be developed in a supercharged version, the V-770-9. Six prototypes of the XP-77 were ordered in September 1942, plus two static test airframes, a mock-up and a full-scale model for wind-tunnel testing. But the lack of the supercharged engine, growth in the bare weight of the prototypes, reduced performance estimates, overrunning costs and increasing supplies of light alloys let to interest in the XP-77 programme waning during 1943. The contract was reduced to only two flying prototypes and the first of these was not ready for flight test until April 1944. Both prototypes were tested briefly by the USAAF but in December 1944 the entire development contract was terminated, the consensus of opinion being that the XP-77 was operationally unsuitable and that its performance showed no improvement over heavier fighters of conventional construction (Ref.: 8).
POWER PLANT: Two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-31 Double Wasp radial engines, rated at 2,000 hp each
PERFORMANCE: 282 mph at 13,700 ft
COMMENT: The Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon , ordered by the US Navy on June, 1943, differed in several respects from the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura. The power plant and general configuration remained unchanged, but wing span and fuel capacity were increased, larger fins and rudders were fitted, and the armament was improved. Delivery of a batch of 500 Harpoons began in March 1944. These aircraft served primarily in the Pacific area for the last year of the WWII (Ref.: 23).
POWER PLANT: One Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engine, rated at 1,300 kp thrust
PERFORMANCE: 621 mph
COMMENT: Initial troubles with the Walter HWK 509 rocket engine caused a delay in production of the Messerschmitt Me 163 “Komet”. To bring an effective interceptor into service as soon as possible chief designer Lippisch designed a turbojet engine equipped variant of the Me 163 that used, in order to speed up production and reduce costs, as many parts from other aircraft as possible. The nose of the aircraft was taken from the Heinkel He 162, the wing came from the Messerschmitt Me 163B and C, the tail plane from the Junkers Ju 248 (Messerschmitt Me 263), and the landing was taken from the Messerschmitt Me 109. A single Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011A turbojet or, as temporary solution, a BMW 003 turbojet was provided. A mock-up was finished when WW II ended (Ref. 17, 22).
POWER PLANT: Two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-31 Double Wasp radial engines, rated at 2,000 hp each
PERFORMANCE: 312 mph at 13,800 ft
COMMENT: The Ventura had been developed initially from the commercial Lockheed Model 18 to a British specification for an improved successor of the Lockheed Hudson. Powered by more powerful engines it was larger and heavier than the Hudson. First flight was made on July 1941 and the RAF ordered 873 aircraft. Further contracts were placed by the USAAF as B-34 which had a larger bomb-bay as well by the US Navy under the designation PV-1. Deliveries of the Navy variant began in December 1942 which procured a total of 1,600 PV-1. These aircraft served primarily in the Pacific area until the end of the WWII (Ref.: 23).
POWER PLANT: Two Rolls-Royce Merlin 61 liquid-cooled engines, rated at 1,520 hp each
PERFORMANCE: 440 mph at 28,000 ft
COMMENT: The possibility of Luftwaffe aircraft operating over the United Kingdom at altitudes beyond the capabilities of existing RAF fighters led the Air Ministry to the decision to call for a specialized high altitude interceptor according to specification F.16/40. Vickers tendered the Type 432, which at one time dubbed unofficially the “Mayfly” that flew for the first time in December 1942 some seven weeks after the competitive Westland P.14 “Welkin”. Embodying a pressurization system similar to that for the Wellington V and VI bombers, the Type 432 prototype had a relatively small, self-contained pressure cabin for the pilot whose head projected through a small, double-glazed dome or bubble which hinged to one side for better entrance and exit. Initial trials proved the Type 432 to be difficult to handle on the ground, although it processed an excellent performance once in the air, with a substantially higher maximum speed than that of the “Welkin”. Nevertheless, the Westland fighter was selected for production and flight trials with the sole Type 432 prototype continued until December 1944 when the machine was finally scrapped (Ref.: 12).
POWER PLANT: Two Mitsubishi Ha 112-II air-cooled radial engines, rated at 1,500 hp each
PERFORMANCE: 360 mph at 19,685 ft
COMMENT: While the first prototype of the Kawasaki Ki-96 twin-engine heavy fighter was nearing completion the Kawasaki design team suggested to the Imperial Japanese Army that a version of the aircraft be built as a replacement for the Kawasaki Ki-45 “Toryu” used in ground attack role. In August 1943 after approval to the project the construction of prototypes began under the designation Kawasaki Ki-102. In its original two-seat configuration additional armour and petrol tank protection was fitted as well as a nose-mounted 37 mm Ho-203 cannon. The first of three prototypes was flown in March 1944. For production two versions were proposed, the Ki-102-Ko as high-altitude interceptor with Ru-102 turbo-superchargers and the Ki-102-Otsu ground attack aircraft without turbo-superchargers, a nose-mounted 57 mm Ho-401 cannon and two fuselage-mounted 20 mm Ho-5 cannon. In October 1944 the aircraft was placed in production. Most of the aircraft were kept in reserve in Japan, but a few saw limited action during the Okinawa campaign were the Ki-102-Otsu became known as Randy to the Allied forces. In total 238 Ki-102 aircraft were built, most of them as Ki-102-Otsu. By the end of 1944, when the B-29 operations against Japan were intensified, a specialized night-fighter version was developed as Kawasaki Ki-102-Hei. Only two prototypes were finished when WW II ended (Ref.: 1, 5).
POWER PLANT: One Junkers Jumo 004C turbojet engine, rated at 1.000 kp thrust
PERFORMANCE: 568 mph
COMMENT: The Lippisch P.20 jet fighter project dated from April 1943 and was a further development of the Messerschmitt Me 163 “Komet”. It was the final design of Dr. Alexander Lippisch for the Messerschmitt Company before his design department became an independent engineering office in Vienna. The P.20 was similar in appearance to the Me 163, with an air intake mounted low in the nose which fed a single Jumo 004 turbojet. Armament consisted of two MK 108 30mm cannon mounted in the forward fuselage sides and two MK 103 30mm cannon mounted in the wing roots. As the end of WWII became apparent this project was not pursued (Ref.: 17, 22).
POWER PLANT: One Daimler-Benz DB 605C liquid-cooled engine, rated at 1.475 hp
PERFORMANCE: Data not available
COMMENT: In spring 1943 Dr. Lippisch’s design team, part of the Messerschmitt Aircraft Company, was working on the fighter project Me 334 that originally was to be powered by new developed turbojet engine. But due to shortcoming of turbojet engines the design was modified to incorporate a Daimler-Benz DB 605 12 cylinder piston engine. A three-bladed pusher type propeller was driven via an extension shaft. The wings were mounted mid-fuselage and were swept back at a 23.4 degree angle. The main landing gear retracted inwards and the front gear retracted to the rear. In summer 1943 when deliveries of turbojet engines began slowly, all work on the Me 334 was abandoned in favor of the turbojet engine driven Lippisch Li P.20 (Ref. 17, 22).
Messerschmitt Me 334
Messerschmitt Me 334
Messerschmitt Me 334
Messerschmitt Me 334
Messerschmitt Me 334
Messerschmitt Me 334
Messerschmitt Me 334
Messerschmitt Me 334
Messerschmitt Me 334
Messerschmitt Me 334
Messerschmitt Me 334
Messerschmitt Me 334
Messerschmitt Me 334
Messerschmitt Me 334
Scale 1:72 aircraft models of World War II
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