Category Archives: Heavy Bomber

Heavy Bomber

Heavy Bomber, Reconnaissance, Cargo

Blohm & Voss Bv 238 V1, (Airmodel, Vacu)

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TYPE: Long-range Transport, Maritime Patrol and Bomber Flying Boat

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of 12

POWER PLANT: Six Daimler-Benz DB 603D liquid-cooled engines, rated at 1,900 hp each

PERFORMANCE: 264 mph at 60,000 kg at 20,000 ft

COMMENT: The Blohm & Voss BV 238 was a German flying boat, built during World War II. It was the heaviest aircraft ever built when it first flew in 1944, and was the largest aircraft produced by any of the Axis powers during World War II.
Development of the BV 238 giant flying boat began in 1941, following the success of the smaller but still enormous Blohm & Voss Bv 222 Wiking.
An approximately quarter-scale model of the Bv 238 was commissioned to test the new, long and slim hull design. Built by the Flugtechnische Fertigungsgemeinschaft GmbH in Prag (FGP), the FGP 227 arrived too late to contribute any data to the program.
Although extensive defensive armament was planned the first prototype, the Bv 238 V1, had none. It began flight trials in April 1944 but was strafed and partially sunk while moored on Lake Schaal, some miles to the east of Hamburg. One wing remained above water and it was salvaged, but by this time the war had ended and the Allies refused to let it be restored so it was taken out to deeper water and sunk.
The Bv 238 was an extremely large flying boat of conventional aerodynamic design, but bearing the usual B&V structural hallmarks of all-metal construction with a tubular steel wing main spar which also acted as the armoured main fuel tank. Of the era, only the earlier soviet Tupölev ANT-20, the americam Martin XPB2M-1 and the later Hughes H-4 Hercules had a bigger wing span. However it would be the heaviest yet flown, at 100 tonnes  fully loaded.
The hull had an unusually long and slim planing bottom, of essentially two-step design but with a row of smaller auxiliary steps behind the main one. A large nose door opened onto its cavernous interior, with the main crew cabin immediately above and behind it.
The wing was of straight, constant-chord form with tapered outer sections. Auxiliary floats were integrated into underside panels of the outer sections and could be retracted to lie flush with the wing. A catwalk ran internally along the wing in front of the tubular steel main spar, providing access to the engines in flight.
Power was provided by six 1,750 hp Daimler-Benz DB 603 liquid-cooled inverted V12 piston engines, arranged in nacelles along the leading edge of the centre section.
A landplane version, initially called the Bv 238-Land, was proposed, capable of carrying out transport, long-range bombing and transatlantic reconnaissance duties. The lower hull was replaced by a plain fairing with retractable undercarriage comprising twelve main and two nose wheels. One bomb bay filled the space between the wheel bays, another lay behind the main undercarriage. The wing floats were similarly replaced with retractable outrigger stabilising wheels. The nose wheel could be folded up, making the aircraft “kneel” and allowing vehicles to drive directly on- and off-board via a loading ramp to the nose doorway. Alternatively, passenger seating could be fitted. A further, upper deck behind the crew cockpit accommodated further passengers, bringing the total capacity to 300 troops.
Renamed the Blohm & Voss Bv 250 in 1942, three prototypes were ordered but none were finished by the end of the war (Ref.: 24).

 

Heavy Bomber

Blohm & Voss Ha 139B/MS (Airmodel, Vacu)

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TYPE: Transport, reconnaissance and mine-swiping floatplane

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of four to five

POWER PLANT: Four Junkers Jumo 205C opposed piston diesel engines, rated at 600 hp each

PERFORMANCE: 179 mph at 9,850 ft

COMMENT: The Blohm & Voss Ha 139 was an all-metal inverted gull wing floatplane. With its four engines it was at the time one of the largest float-equipped seaplanes that had been built. The inboard engines were mounted at the joint between the inboard anhedral and outboard dihedral wing sections, above the pylon-mounted floats.
The aircraft were flown by Deutsche Luft Hansa (DHL) on transatlantic routes between 1937 and 1939. Catapult-launched from an aircraft tender they were able to transport 500 kg of mail over a distance of up to 5,000 km.
On the outbreak of WW II, the planes were transferred to the Luftwaffe and used for transport, reconnaissance and minesweeping work over the Baltic Sea. They were not particularly suited for military use. After service with DLH, the Ha 139B was modified as the Ha 139B/Umbau (Reconstruction) with an extended glazed nose accommodating a navigator and a spherical Ikaria mount for a machine-gun. Further machine guns were mounted in the cockpit roof hatch and in lateral mountings on either side of the rear fuselage. The Ha 139B/Umbau was later modified into a mine sweeping (Minensuch) aircraft Ha 139B/MS fitted with a large magnetic sensing loop strung between the nose, floats, wing-tips, and tail unit.
Further development of the Ha 139 led to the land based version Blohm & Voss Bv 142 which had its first flight in October 1938 (Ref.: 24).

Heavy Bomber

Blohm & Voss Bv 142 V2/U1 (Airmodel, Vacu)

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 TYPE: Long-range maritime patrol aircraft

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of six

POWER PLANT: Four BMW 132H-1air-cooled radial engines, rated at 870 hp

PERFORMANCE: 232 mph at sea level

COMMENT: The Blohm & Voss BV 142 was a civil aircraft developed for the transatlantic airmail service, originally designed for the Deutsche Luft Hansa (DHL). The first prototype was flown on 11 October 1938. The aircraft had four engines mounted on a low inverted gull monoplane wing, high horizontal stabilizer, and a double vertical tail, based on the Blohm & Voss Ha 139 float plane.The wing center section was strengthened by a typical Blohm & Voss cross-girder, which consisted of a large-diameter pipe. This transverse tube (divided internally into five sections) also acted as a fuel tank. The center wing was metal-covered, while the outer wings were fabric-covered. The fuselage was of metal and had an approximately circular cross-section. Each main landing gear leg had dual wheels and was fully retractable, as was the tailwheel. The landing gear was hydraulically lowered and retracted.
Only four prototypes (V1 through V4) were built. These aircraft were tested by Lufthansa and used briefly in the postal service. However, the outbreak of WW II ended further development of the civilian project. Soon after, it was proposed to convert all four prototype BV 142’s to long-range maritime patrol aircraft. The BV 142 V2 thus underwent a trial modification. It was fitted with an extended nose section with extensive glazing (like the Heinkel He 111H-6), defensive armament (MG 15 machine gun in the nose, twin-beam positions, a ventral cupola, and a powered dorsal turret), a compartment for ordnance in the fuselage, and navigation and military radio equipment. The BV 142 V2 was redesignated BV 142 V2/U1 while the V1 was similarly converted. Both were used operationally from late 1940 and were posted to the Luftwaffe’s Second Surveillance Group. However, their performance was disappointing, and after only a few missions, they were withdrawn from service in 1942. The two other aircraft (V3 and V4) were used as transport aircraft and could transport 30 fully equipped soldiers over 4,000 km. The ultimate fate of V3 and V4 is unknown. It was later planned to use the V1 and V2 to carry the Henschel GT 1200C guided torpedo, but the plan was scrapped (Ref: 24).