Category Archives: Luftwaffe

Deutschland / Germany

Messerschmitt Me 329 (Airmodel, Resin)

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).

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

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).

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

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).

Focke-Wulf Ta 152C-0 (Academy)

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).

Junkers EF 128 Nachtjäger (Night fighter), (Planet, resin)

TYPE: Night- and all-weather fighter. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot and radar observer

POWER PLANT: One Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engine, rated at 1,200 kp

PERFORMANCE: 621 mph at 23,000 ft, estimated

COMMENT: In mid 1944 the OKL (Oberkommando der Luftwaffe, Luftwaffe High Command) issued to tender a development request calling for a fighter powered by a Heinkel He S 011 turbojet engine. Required were a top speed of 612 mph at 23,000 ft and an armament of four MK 108 cannon.  In contrast to the single-seater, proposed by Blohm & Voss, Bv P.212, Focke-Wulf, Ta 183, Heinkel, He P.1078, and Messerschmitt, Me P.1110, Junkers presented the project EF 128 as a two-seater all-weather fighter. In two conferences between the aircraft companies, the OKL and the DVL, held in December 1944 and January 1945, all designs were evaluated. Finally chosen was the design of Junkers EF 128, as well as single-seater, and as two-seater. The production should start in mid 1945. Due to the compact fuselage and the relative high cross section it was possible to seat the crew side-by-side in an pressurized cockpit and to integrate newest radar equipment such as FuG 240 “Berlin” (Ref.: 20).

Blohm & Voss Bv P.193.01-01 (Planet, Resin)

TYPE: Ground attack fighter, dive bomber. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Junkers Jumo 213A inline engine, rated at 1,750 hp

PERFORMANCE: 354 mph, estimated

COMMENT: Independent from each other the design teams of Blohm & Voss, Dornier and Focke-Wulf worked on projects with mid-mounted engines, driving pusher propellers via a long extension shaft. By that the pilot had an excellent view and a wide field of fire. Furthermore it was possible as far as a night- or bad-weather fighter was concerned to install a radar equipment. Dornier worked on the projects Do P.247 and Do 252 and Focke-Wulf on the Fw P.0310251. The Blohm & Voss team designed a ground attack/dive bomber that was similar to the Bv 192.01-01. A Junkers Jumo 213A engine drove a three-bladed pusher propeller via a very long extension shaft and a single fin and rudder was mounted beneath the fuselage to protect the propeller during take-off and landing. The wing had a straight leading edge and tapered trailing edge and a tricycle undercarriage was provided. The armament consisted of two MK 103 30mm cannon in the wings and two MG 151/20 20mm cannon on the nose sides. A bomb load up to 1,000 kg could be carried (Ref.: 17, 18).

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

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).

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

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)

Blohm & Voss Bv P.192.01-01 (Planet, Resin)

TYPE: Ground attack and dive bomber. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Daimler Benz DB 603G liquid-cooled engine, rated at 1,750 hp

PERFORMANCE: No data available

COMMENT:  This project of a ground attack and dive bomber was one of the most unusual designs of Dr. Vogt and his team. The front part including the cockpit was completely separate from the fuselage and only held by two booms projecting from the wing leading edge. A Daimler Benz DB 603 engine, located mid-fuselage immediately behind the cockpit, drove a four-bladed propeller rotating around the fuselage. The wing had a straight leading edge and was pronounced taper on the trailing edge. The aircraft had a tricycle landing gear and was heavily armed with two MG 151/20 20mm cannon located in the nose and two MG 151/20 20mm cannon located in the twin booms that held the front part. Also up to 500 kg bomb load could be carried. This project was never realized (Ref.: 17, 18).

Junkers Ju 268 with Heinkel He 162A-2 (“Mistel 5”, “Mistletoe 5”) (Ju 268 completely scratch-built, He 162 Revell)

TYPE: Anti-ship and -fortification destroyer. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only in the Heinkel He 162

POWER PLANT: Two BMW 003A-1 turbojet engines, rated at 800 kp thrust each in the Ju 268 and one BMW 003A-1 turbojet engine in the He 162A-2

PERFORMANCE: 497 mph

COMMENT: The Junkers Ju 268 was the un-manned bomber component of the “Mistel 5” parasite bomber project designed in Germany during 1944. It was a composite bomber comprising a Heinkel He 162A-2 piloted component and a specially developed Arado Ar E.377 glide bomb. Due to shortages at the Arado design offices, several other composites were studied as replacements for the Arado Ar E.377, and in late 1944 Junkers proposed the Ju268 as an alternate bomber component for the “Mistel 5”, with a Messerschmitt Me 262 studied as an alternative piloted component. The Ju 268 was simply designed with a cylindrical wooden fuselage, a hollow-charge of up to 10 tons of explosive in the nose part, rectangular mid-mounted wings, and a cruciform un-swept tail unit. A jettisonable tricycle landing gear was fixed attached to the fuselage during take-off only and power was provided by two BMW 003 or Junkers Jumo 004 turbojet engines. For suicide- or “Kamikaze”-missions a manned version of the Ju 268 was under study with a glazed cockpit section in the front of the aircraft. No further details are known and the project never left the drawing-board (Ref.: 20, 24).