Heavy Bomber, Reconnaissance

Tachikawa Ki-74 (“Patsy”) (A+V Models, Resin)

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TYPE: Long-range reconnaissance bomber

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of five

POWER PLANT:  Two Mitsubishi Ha-211-I Ru turbo-supercharged air-cooled radial engines, rated at 2,200 hp each

PERFORMANCE:  354 mph at 27,890 ft

COMMENT: The Tachikawa Ki-74 was a Japanese experimental long-range reconnaissance bomber of WW II. A twin-engine, mid-wing monoplane, it was developed for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. Though already conceived in 1939 as a long-range reconnaissance aircraft, the prototype Ki-74 (designated as A-26 by Tachikawa) only first flew as late as in March 1944. It was powered by two 2,201 hp Mitsubishi Ha-211 (Ha-43-I) radial engines. The following two prototypes were powered by the turbo-supercharged Mitsubishi Ha-21-I Ru (Ha-43-II) engines, but as these experienced teething troubles, the following thirteen pre-production machines substituted the Ha-211 Ru engine for the lower-powered, but more reliable, turbo-supercharged Mitsubishi Ha-104 Ru air-cooled engines, rated at 1,900 hp. The forth pre-production aircraft was modified in 1944 to undertake non-stop flights between Japan and Germany, but the “Third Reich” capitulated before the first of these flights could be made. In total 16 aircrafts have been built, but did not see operational service. Plans were made to use the Ki-74 in bombing attacks against the B-29 bases on Saipan, as soon as sufficient aircraft were available, but the Japanese surrender terminated the project. Nevertheless, the Allies knew of its existence and assigned the type the codename “Patsy” after it was discovered that it was a bomber, not a fighter. Previously it had the code name “Pat” in Allied Intelligence (Ref.: 1, 24).

Fighter-Torpedobomber, Reconnaissance

De Havilland “Mosquito” F-8, 25th BG(R) -802 RG(P) (Matchbox)

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TYPE: Photo-reconnaissance aircraft

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot and radio-operator/navigator

POWER PLANT: Two Packard “Merlin” 31 or 33 liquid-cooled engines, rated at 1,460 hp each

PERFORMANCE: 408 mph at 28,000 ft

COMMENT: Until the end of WW II the de Havilland Company Canada rolled out 1,133 “Mosquito” aircraft of different subtypes.  The “Mosquito” B Mk XX was the Canadian version of the “Mosquito” B. Mk. IV bomber aircraft of which 145 were built. From these 40 were converted into F-8 photo-reconnaissance aircraft for the USAAF and used with the 8th USAAF in the European Theatre of Action. It had the same Packard “Merlin” engines and was equipped with three overload fuel tanks, totaling 3,500 L in the bomb bay. Additionally, for range extension it could also carry two 230 L or 450 L drop tanks.
The de Havilland “Mosquito” of 25th BG(R) -802 RG(P) were painted in normal RAF P.R. Blue finish. In August 1944 the vertical tail was colored in red and in September 1944 all tail surfaces were painted red. This marking was necessitated by frequency of misidentification of “Mosquito” as enemy type. Similar marking were used on Boeing B-17G of 652 BS.
The 25th Bombardment Group (Reconnaissance) was constituted in the days after D-Day and activated in England in August 1944 to carry out photographic and mapping missions over mainland Europe as the Allied armies pushed east. The Group were designated a Bombardment Group but they did not drop bombs. Instead they flew bombers to drop ‘chaff’ screenings for other Bomb Groups. ‘Chaff’, strips of metallic paper, would interfere with the enemy’s ability to detect aircraft using radar (Ref.: 24).

Fighter

Messerschmitt Me 309 V1 (Huma)

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TYPE: Short- and medium-range interceptor

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

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

PERFORMANCE: 496 mph at 26,200 ft

COMMENT: During 1941 the Messerschmitt design bureau began work on a new fighter intended to succeed the Messerschmitt Me 109. Designated Me 309, the new fighter employed a nose-wheel undercarriage. The first prototype Me 309 V1 began taxi-ing trials on June 1942 and the first test flight was not attempted until July 1942. Subsequent flight tests revealed some instability, and the prototype was grounded for several modifications.
Despite continual modifications, the characteristics of the fighter were still not entirely satisfactory. On November 1942 a flight comparison between the Me 309 V1 and a standard Me 109G revealed the fact that the older fighter could turn-out its potential successor. In the meantime three further prototypes were ready for test flights but the results showed that numerous modifications were necessary. During summer 1943, however, the complete program was abandoned owing to the superior qualities of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190D and Focke-Wulf Ta 152.
Prior to the termination of the program several variants of the basic design were proposed including different engines as Daimler-Benz DB 603H and Junkers Jumo 213. Another development, the Messerschmitt Me 609, with two Me 309 fuselages joined by a constant center wing, was not proceeded with (Ref.: 11).

Medium Bomber

Mitsubishi Ki-67-I KAI ‘Hiryu’ (“Flying Dragon”), To-Gō , (Special Attack), (LS-Models and scratch parts)

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TYPE: Suicide attack aircraft

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of three

POWER PLANT: Two Mitsubishi Ha-104 radial engines, rated at 1,900 hp each

PERFORMANCE: 334 mph at 19,980 ft

COMMENT: The desperate situation of Japan in the last stages of World War II led the authorities of both the Japanese IAAF as well as INAF to unorthodox proposals. Not only ageing but also brand new aircraft were used for suicide (kamikaze) missions, So Mitsubishi proposed a special attack version of its Mitsubishi Ki-67 “Hiryu”(“Flying Dragon”, Allied code “Peggy”) bomber. As Ki-67 KAI or Sakura-dan models the aircraft were modified by Tachikawa Dai-Ichi Rikugun Kokusho for this new role. All turrets were removed and faired over and the crew reduced to three. A long rod projecting from the nose should trigger to explode on impact either two standard 800 kg bombs or a special charge of explosives weighting 2,900 kg. Only one aircraft was ready when Japan surrendered (Ref.: 1).

Medium Bomber, Torpedobomber, Reconnaissance

Blackburn B.20 (Unicraft, Resin)

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TYPE: Medium-range Maritime Reconnaissance Flying Boat

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of six

POWER PLANT: Two Rolls-Royce “Vulture” liquid-cooled engines, rated at 1,830 hp each

PERFORMANCE: 306 mph at 15.000 ft

COMMENT: One of the most interesting flying boats to be built and flown during the war years  was the Blackburn B.20 medium-range reconnaissance aircraft. The B.20 represented an attempt to reconcile the conflicting requirements for angles of incidence and correct streamlining between the conditions of take-off and level flight, and simultaneously provide adequate clearance between airscrews and water. The novel feature of the B.20 was the use of a retractable planning bottom. The pontoon was attached to the main hull by means of links so designed that when the pontoon was extended the hull and wings automatically assumed the best attitude for take-off. When the pontoon was retracted it presented a good streamline form with the main hull. The B.20 was first flown early in 1940 and a number of flights were made, the aircraft performing well both on the water and in the air, and the retractable pontoon operating successfully. Unfortunately, the B.20 was lost during a test flight and further development of the flying boat was abandoned in favor of the Saro “Lerwick”. However, during the war design work on a flying-boat fighter Blackburn B.44 employed the retractable pontoon principle, but this project never left the drawing-board (Ref.: 14).

Fighter

Messerschmitt Me 209H V1 (Planet Models, Resin)

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TYPE: High-altitude fighter

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Daimler-Benz DB 627B liquid-cooled engine, rated at 2,000 hp

PERFORMANCE: 460 mph at full boost altitude

COMMENT:  In April 1943 the Messerschmitt design bureau submitted proposals for a high-altitude fighter designated Messerschmitt Me 209H. This project envisaged the insertion of an additional rectangular center section in the wing to increase overall span and gross area, and the use of either Daimler-Benz DB 628A high altitude engine or the DB 603U which was a DB 603E equipped with a TKL 15 turbo-supercharger. Owing to the time element Messerschmitt was instructed to embody some of its proposals for the Me 209H into the Me 109H which, making extensive use of Me 109G components, offered a quicker solution to the requirement for a fighter of superior altitude capability.
Nevertheless, the Messerschmitt bureau persisted with the development of the Me 209H, detail design being completed on October 1943, and work on the prototype, the Me 209H V1, began shortly afterwards, but proceeded slowly, and was delayed as a result of an air attack in February 1944 in which the partly assembled prototype was damaged, and some of its components destroyed. Thus, the Me 209H V1 was not rolled out until June 1944, by which time the entire Me 209 program had been officially abandoned. It had been intended that the Me 209H V1 should receive the Daimler-Benz DB 627 which was basically a DB 603 G with aftercooler and two-stage mechanical supercharger, and afforded 2,000 hp for take-off. The engine drove a four-bladed wooden airscrew and the annular radiator was discarded in favor of radiators in the leading edge of the wing center section. No records exists of the results of flight testing or the ultimate fate of the sole Me 209 high-altitude prototype (Ref.: 7).

Fighter

Nakajima J8N “Kitsuka” (“Kikka”) (“Orange Blossom”) (Pegasus Models)

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TYPE: Interceptor, fighter

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: Two Ishikawajima Ne-20 turbojet engines, rated at 475 kp each

PERFORMANCE: 433 mph at 32,800 ft (estimated)

COMMENT: Design work on the Nakajima J8N “Kitsuka” (“Kikka”) – the only Japanese turbojet powered aircraft capable of taking-off on its own power, albeit only twice during World War II – began in September 1944. The enthusiastic reports on the progress of the Messerschmitt Me 262 twin-jet fighter received from the Japanese Air Attaché in Germany had prompted the Naval Staff to instruct Nakajima to design a single-seat twin-jet attack fighter based on the German Me 262.
The aircraft externally resembled the Me 262 but was smaller. Two turbojets were mounted in separate nacelles under the wing to allow the installation of engines of various types. Provisions were made for folding wings, to enable the aircraft to be hidden in caves and tunnels and also for ease of production by semi-skilled labor. Initial plans to power the aircraft by two N-12 turbojet engines each delivering 340 kp thrust were refused due to insufficient thrust. Fortunately, photographs of the German BMW 003 axial-flow turbojet had been obtained and from these the Japanese were able to design a similar turbojet, designate Ne-20, offering a thrust of 475 kp.
Completed in August 1945, the first “Kikka” made its maiden flight. Four days later the pilot aborted a take-off during the second flight, the accident being caused by mounting the two rocket-assisted-take-off (RATO) rockets at an incorrect angle. A second prototype (shown here) was almost ready for flight trials and eighteen additional prototypes and pre-production aircraft were ready in various stages of assembly when with the end of WW II the development of the aircraft was terminated (Ref.:  1).

Fighter-Torpedobomber

Grumman TBM-3 “Avenger” of VMTB-233, CVE-106 “Block Island II”, (Airfix)

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TYPE: Carrier-based Torpedo-bomber,

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of three

POWER PLANT: One Wright R-2600-20, rated at 1,900 hp

PERFORMANCE: 276 mph at 16,500 ft

COMMENT:  To meet the growing production requirements, General Motors Corporation was asked to establish a second source for Grumman TBF-1 “Avengers” at its Eastern Aircraft division, already building the Grumman F4F “Wildcats”. The first contract was placed on March 1942, and deliveries began in November of the same year, this version being designated TBM-1. Grumman production continued until early 1944, with a total of 2,290. These were primarily of the TBF-1 or TBF-1C version. Eastern produced 2,882 TBM-1 and later went on to build 4,664 more powerful and improved TBM-3s (Ref.: 1).

The escort aircraft carrier CVE-106 “Block Island II” was laid down and launched as CVE-106 “Sunset Bay”. On July 1944 she was renamed “Block Island II” in honor of CVE-21 “Block Island I”, sunk by German submarine in June 1944.

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

Mitsubishi J2M3 “Raiden” (“Thunderbolt”), (“Jack”), 302nd Kokutai

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TYPE: Interceptor fighter

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Mitsubishi MK4R-A Kasei 23a radial engine, rated at 1,800 hp

PERFORMANCE: 365 mph at 17,390 ft

COMMENT: The Mitsubishi J2M “Raiden” was a single-engine land-based fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force in World War II. The Allied reporting name was “Jack”. The J2M was designed to be a strictly local-defense interceptor, intended to counter the threat of high-altitude bomber raids, and thus relied on speed, climb performance, and armament at the expense of maneuverability. The J2M was a sleek, but stubby craft with its over-sized Mitsubishi Kasei engine buried behind a long cowling, cooled by an intake fan and connected to the propeller with an extension shaft.
Teething development problems stemming from the Kasei engine cooling system, and the main undercarriage members led to a slowdown in production.  The first few produced J2M2s were delivered to the development units in December 1942 but severe problems were encountered with the engines. Trials and improvements took almost a year and the first batch of the serial built J2M2 was delivered in December 1943. Parallel with the J2M2, production of the J2M3 “Raiden” started. The first J2M3s appeared in October 1943 but deliveries to combat units started at the beginning of February 1944.The “Raiden” made its combat debut in June 1944 during the Battle of Philippine Sea. Several J2Ms operated from Guam and Saipan and a small number of aircraft were deployed to the Philippines.
Primarily designed to defend against the Boeing B-29 “Superfortress”, the lack of a turbocharger handicapped the aircraft at high altitude. However, its four-cannon armament supplied effective firepower and the use of dive and zoom tactics allowed it to score occasionally. Insufficient numbers and the American switch to night bombing in March 1945 limited its effectiveness (Ref.: 24).