Category Archives: Fighter

Fighter

Fighter

Messerschmitt Me 209 V5 (A-1) (Huma Models)

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TYPE: Fighter

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Daimler-Benz DB 603G liquid-cooled engine, rated at 1,900 hp

PERFORMANCE: 416 mph at 19,685 ft

COMMENT: Despite the total failure of the Messerschmitt Me 209 V4 and the disappointing performance of the Messerschmitt Me 309, the Messerschmitt design bureau was still determined to provide the successor of the Messerschmitt Me 109 in the Luftwaffe’s fighter arm and a competitor for Focke-Wulf’s Fw 190D and Ta 152 fighters. It was realized that no useful purpose could be served in attempting any further development  of the original Messerschmitt Me 209, and it was decided, therefore, to produce an entirely new fighter design which, in order to accelerate development and subsequent production, was to use a large proportion of standard Me 109 components. The new fighter was designated Messerschmitt Me 209-II and was, in fact, a modernized, more powerful Me 109G and employed sixty-five per cent of the earlier fighter’s components. The Me 209-II adopted an exceptionally wide-track, inward retracting undercarriage. Another major change was the installation of a Daimler-Benz DB 603G with an annular radiator. Overall wingspan was substantially increased and the vertical tail surfaces were enlarged.  The prototype for the Me 209-II, the Me 209 V5 (A-1), was flown for the first time on November 1943 and tests revealed that the aircraft processed an excellent performance and overcame most of the Me 109’s shortcomings. Shortages of the DB 603G engine resulted in a demand for the installation of the Junkers Jumo 213E liquid-cooled engine. Designated Me 209A-2 flight trials began in December 1943. By this time, however, the Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9 was entering service and this fighter had a speed advantage of some 30 mph at altitude, and as the introduction of the Me 209-II would disrupt fighter deliveries at a critical phase of the air war, it was decided to discontinue the development of the Messerschmitt design (Ref.: 11).

Fighter, Fighterbomber, Projects

Messerschmitt Me 329 (Airmodel, Resin)

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TYPE: Heavy fighter, fighter-bomber. Project.

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of two

POWER PLANT: Two Daimler-Benz DB 603 B liquid-cooled engine

PERFORMANCE: 426 mph

COMMENT: In February 1942 severe problems became obvious with the new twin-engine Messerschmitt Me 210, successor of the aging Messerschmitt Me 110. Due to longitudinal instability and lack of performance the series production was stopped and switched back to the inadequately Me 110. So Messerschmitt was forced to redesign the aircraft by lengthening the fuselage and adding more powerful engines what finally became the Messerschmitt Me 410. In the meantime a search was begun on a new design for a twin-engine heavy fighter.
Since beginning of 1939 Prof. A. Lippisch and his design staff was part of the Messerschmitt Company and was well known for many advanced and unorthodox projects. Among these was a design study, the Lippisch LiP.10, a fast, tailless, twin-engine bomber that incorporated many parts of the unsatisfactory Me 210. Independent to this Dr. Wurster from Messerschmitt’s design team was working on a similar project that officially was designated Messerschmitt Me 329. This aircraft was of tailless design and was to be constructed mainly from wood. This would save on strategic materials and keep the weight lower. The large area wing was swept back at approximately 26 degrees, and two Daimler-Benz DB 603 engines were buried in the wings, each driving a 3.4 m four-bladed pusher propeller. A large fin and rudder was mounted at the rear and a tricycle landing gear was provided. Other advanced touches included the pilot and navigator sitting tandem in a broad bubble canopy and a remote-controlled rear gun in the tail aimed via a periscope system from the cockpit. Performance comparison between the Lippisch Li P.10, the Me 329 and the Me 410 showed that the improvement of the Me 329 over the Me 410 was marginal. So development received a low priority, and while a full-scale glider  mock-up was tested in the winter of 1944/5, work on the project was cancelled shortly after (Ref.:  16, 17).

Fighter, Projects

Messerschmitt Me P.1111 (Frank-Airmodel/Planet, Resin)

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TYPE: Fighter, interceptor. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engine, rated at 1,300 kp

PERFORMANCE: 618 mph

COMMENT: In winter 1944/1945, the Messerschmitt Project Bureau was intensively working on several advanced turbojet powered interceptor aircraft superior to the now in service acting Messerschmitt Me 262 “Schwalbe” (Swallow). Besides projects such as Me P.1110/I, Me P.1110/II, Me P. 1110 “Ente”, and Me P. 1112 was the Me P.1111 jet fighter/interceptor. The innovative design was as an improvement to the Messerschmitt Me P.1110 “Ente” (“Duck”). It was a tailless aircraft with the wings swept back at 45 degrees, being of near-delta shape. There was a single sweptback vertical fin and rudder. The cockpit was pressurized, fitted with an ejection seat and had a fairing extending to the base of the fin. The planned power plant was a Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engine, armament consisted of four MK 108 30mm cannon with 100 rounds each, two in the wing roots and two in the nose. The collapse of the “Third Reich” a few months later stopped all further work but data were transferred to the United Kingdom and influenced the post -war development of the  de Havilland DH 108 “Swallow” (Ref.:  17).

Fighter, Fighterbomber, Projects

Messerschmitt Zerstörer-Projekt, Ausführung I, (Destroyer-project, Scheme I) (Planet, Resin)

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TYPE: Heavy fighter, fighter bomber. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: Two Junkers Jumo 004 turbojet engines, rated at 900 kp each or one Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engine, rated at 1,300 kp

PERFORMANCE: No data available

COMMENT: This project became known through a sketch which was published in France after WW II. Probably it dates back to 1942 and suggests a possibility of the”… installation of a radial turbojet engine”. A later well-known drawing suggests that there were two configurations of the same design, the “Zerstörer-Projekt I and II”. In both the air intakes as well as the tail assembly was different. Apparently, it was planned to utilize two Junkers Jumo 004 turbojets or one Heinkel HeS 011 engine.  In “Zerstörer-Projekt II” the air intake for the turbojet engines were positioned in the wing roots and the tail plane was swept sharp forward and in “Zerstörer-Projekt II” it was swept back so as the wings. Also the turbojet engine was fed by an air intake located on each side of the fuselage under the wings. To extend range, plans were made to mount two 300 liter auxiliary wingtip fuel tanks. Two Mk 108 30mm cannon were installed in the nose part. The design was not pursued (Ref.: 16, 17).

Fighter, Fighterbomber

Focke-Wulf Ta 152C-0 (Academy)

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TYPE: Medium-altitude fighter and fighter-bomber

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Daimler-Benz DB 603LA liquid-cooled engine, rated at 2,300 hp (with MW 50)

PERFORMANCE: 460 mph at 32,810 ft

COMMENT: By autumn 1942, it was obvious that despite earlier opinions, the USAAF had every intension of building up an immense bomber force in Britain for use against Germany, mainly Boeing B-17 “Flying Fortress” and Consolidated B-24 “Liberator”. Furthermore, intelligence reports revealed that tremendous impetus was being placed behind the mass production of a larger, pressurized successor, the Boeing B-29 “Superfortress”, capable of operations at still greater speeds and altitudes. Thus, the development of fighters possessing higher combat ceilings had assumed greater urgency. Both Focke-Wulf and Messerschmitt were, therefore, asked to submit their proposals for a “Hochhleistungsjäger” (High-performance fighter), offering a substantially improved combat ceiling and amenable to adaption for a medium-to-high altitude reconnaissance-fighter role. To meet the requirements Focke-Wulf proposed the Fw 190Ra-2 and Ra-3, a variant based on the Fw 190D, and Messerschmitt offered a long-span derivative of the Me 109, the Me 155B. These submissions were accepted by the “Technische Amt” (Technical Office of the RLM) but in August 1943 it became clear that Messerschmitt was too committed with other development programmes to devote sufficient attention to the Me 155B, this being duly passed to Blohm & Voss.
Prof. Tank, director of Focke-Wulf’s design team, worked on his proposals Fw 190Ra-2 and Ra-3 that soon would receive the RLM type designations Ta 152H and Ta 152K, respectively. Tank envisaged the short-span variant as primarily a “Begleitjäger” (Escort fighter), and the long-span version as a “Höhenjäger” (High-altitude fighter). Furthermore, Tank pressed for permission to install the turbo-charged Daimler-Benz DB 603 engine in the Ta 152 fighter owing to its indisputable superiority to the Junkers Jumo 213E engine, installed in the Focke-Wulf Fw 190D, at high altitudes. The short-span Fw Ta 152C, as it was designated now, was broadly of similar aerodynamic concept to that of the Fw 190D, but was structurally an entirely new airframe. Although test flights showed excellent handling characteristics and performance and although a production order was placed in autumn 1944 the General-Luftzeugmeister Amt (Department of the Chief of Aircraft Procurement and Supply) decided on November 1944 that the highest priority had been given to four key warplanes, the Heinkel He 162, the Messerschmitt Me 262, the Arado Ar 234, and the Dornier Do 335. So all work on the Ta 152 was stopped (Ref.: 7).

Fighter, Fighterbomber

Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9, “Dora 9” (Dragon)

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TYPE: Interceptor and fighter-bomber

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Junkers Jumo 213A-1 liquid-cooled engine, rated at 2,240 hp (with MW 50)

PERFORMANCE: 426 mph at 21,653 ft

COMMENT: The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, perhaps the most successful of Germany’s wartime fighters, was subjected to continuous development in order to keep pace with the rapidly changing requirements of the air war. Before the type had entered wide-spread service in its initial form work on adapting the basic frame to take liquid-cooled engines and improving the high-altitude capabilities was being undertaken by the Focke-Wulf design team, led by Prof. K. Tank. Work on three high-altitude interceptor variants powered by liquid-cooled engines was inaugurated almost simultaneously. The first of these was the Fw 190B with the Daimler-Benz DB 603 engine, this being followed by the similarly powered Fw 190C which featured an extended wing spanning, and the Fw 190Dm powered by the Junkers Jumo 213. The last-mentioned type proved easily most effective of the trio, development of the B- and C-series eventually being abandoned in its favour. The first prototypes began flight trial in early 1942 and shows spectacular performance. Small batches of pre-production Fw 190D-0’s and production Fw 190D-1 for service evaluation were delivered and tested during summer 1943. The Fw 190D-1 was not manufactured in large numbers, the first major production model being the Fw 190D-9 (nicknamed “Dora”; or “Langnasen-Dora” (“Long-Nose Dora“). For some unexplained reasons no sub-series suffix numerals between D-1 and D-9 were allocated, and the Fw 190D-9 was the only D-series fighter intended solely for the interception role. While these “long nose” versions gave them parity with Allied opponents, it arrived far too late in the war to have any real effect. The early production Fw 190D-9 shown here is fitted with original style cockpit canopy, most “Dora-9” fighters having a blown hood (Ref.: 11).

Fighter, Projects

Messerschmitt Me P.1110 “Ente” (“Duck“) (Classic Plane, Resin)

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TYPE:  High-altitude interceptor. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engine, rated at 1,300 kp

PERFORMANCE: 631 mph

COMMENT: The Messerschmitt Me. P.1110 “Ente” (“Duck”) was the third variant of the Me P. 1110 projects proposed for the “Jägernotprogramm” (Emergency Fighter Program). It was of canard configuration with small wings in the front and larger wings in the rear part of the fuselage. This was felt would allow good pitch and lateral stability at low-speed flight characteristics. The air intakes were located on the fuselage sides like in the Me P.1110/I.  The cockpit was located at the nose end of the plane and the wings had a 40° wing sweep back. Projected maximum speed was 631 mph. As with the other two Messerschmitt Me P.1110 designs the project would be soon dropped in favor of the Junkers EF 128 (Ref.: 17)

Fighter, Projects

Messerschmitt Me P.1110/I (Planet, Resin) with Kramer X-4 (Scratch-built)

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TYPE: High altitude interceptor. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engine, rated at 1,300 kp

PERFORMANCE: 621 mph

COMMENT: As part of the “Jägernotprogramm” (“Emergency Fighter Program”) at the beginning of 1945 a program was launched by the OKL for a new generation of fighter/interceptor aircraft in order to replace the Heinkel He 162 “Salamander” or “Volksjäger” (“Peoples fighter” as called by the authorities). The new aircraft was intended to have superior performance in order to deal with high-altitude threats such as the Boeing B-29 “Superfortress”. Messerschmitt designed three different single-seated, high-altitude fighter projects which were submitted in February 1945. One of the designs of the Messerschmitt Me P.1110 series was a turbo-jet powered interceptor with a conventional-looking design with the air intakes located on the fuselage sides (“Rampen-Einlauf”, “Ramp-air-intake”). The wings were swept-back at 40 degrees, as well as the tail-plane. Power was provided by a single Heinkel HeS 011 turbojet engine, projected maximum speed was 621 mph. The project would be soon dropped in favor of the Junkers EF 128 and none of the Messerschmitt designs made it to the prototype stage (Ref.: 17).

Fighter

Focke-Wulf Ta 152H-0 (Academy)

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TYPE: High-altitude fighter-interceptor

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only in pressurized cockpit

POWER PLANT: One Junkers Jumo 213E liquid-cooled inverted V-12 inline engine, rated at 2,250 hp with MW-50 injection

PERFORMANCE: 472 mph at 41,000 ft using GM-1 boost

COMMENT: The superb qualities of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190D fighter did not go unrecognized by the RLM, who rewarded Prof. Kurt Tank, primarily responsible for its design, by permitting him to employ the prefix “Ta” (indicating “Tank”) in place of Fw (Focke-Wulf) for designating of designs produced by his team. Tank took the opportunity provided by the incorporation of some modifications in the Fw 190D design to apply the designation Ta 152 for a modified fighter. Initially there were relatively few differences between the Fw 190D and the Ta 152. The Junkers Jumo 213C engine was similar to the Fw 190D-9’s Jumo 213A but made provision for a 30-mm engine mounted MK 108 cannon which augmented the twin 20-mm MG 151s and the twin 13-mm MG 131s. It was intended to be made in at least three versions – the Ta 152H “Höhenjäger” (“high-altitude fighter”), the Ta 152C designed for medium-altitude operations and ground-attack using a different engine and smaller wing, and the Ta 152E fighter-reconnaissance aircraft with the engine of the H model and the wing of the C model. About 20 Ta 152H-0 were ordered and the first aircraft entered service with the Luftwaffe in January 1945. These were too few and too late to allow the Ta 152 to make a significant impact on the air war(Ref. 11).

Fighter, Projects

Messerschmitt Me P.1104/II (A+V-Models, Resin)

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TYPE: Short-range interceptor. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Walter HWK 509A-2 liquid-fueled rocket, rated at 1,700 kp

PERFORMANCE: 503 mph

COMMENT:  In mid 1944 the RLM called for proposals of a small, cheap, easy to build, reusable short-range, high speed interceptor in the context of the ‘Miniaturjägerprogramm’ (Miniature fighter program).  Aircraft companies such as Bachem,  Focke-Wulf, Heinkel, Junkers and Messerschmitt submitted proposals: Bachem Ba 349 ‘Natter’ (‘Grass Snake’), Focke-Wulf Fw ‘Volksjäger’, (‘People Fighter’), Heinkel He P.1077 ‘Julia’, Junkers EF 126 ‘Lilli’, Junkers EF 127 ‘Walli’ and Messerschmitt the designs Me P.1103 and Me P.1104, each in several variants. The Messerschmitt Me P.1104/II design was a simple wooden construction with a cylindrical fuselage, the wings were shoulder-mounted and un-swept so as the tail-plane. Power was provided by a Walter HWK 509A-2 liquid-fuel rocket engine with a main combustion chamber of 1.700 kp thrust and a smaller cruising chamber of 300 kp thrust. The pilot was in a conventional seated position, the armament consisted of one single MK 108 30 mm cannon beneath the cockpit.  For take-off the fighter was positioned on a trolley so as the Messerschmitt Me 163 ‘Komet (‘Comet’) that was jettisoned when the aircraft was airborne. The tiny plane was towed by a Messerschmitt Me 109G or Messerschmitt Me 262A-1 towards the enemy, released when in attack position and ignited the rocket motor. After attack the aircraft glided back to its base and landed on retractable skids. As with projects of other companies all work was cancelled in favour of the Bachem Ba 349 ‘Natter’ (Ref.: 17, 20)