Nightfighter, Projects

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

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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).

Fighter, Fighterbomber, Projects

Bell Model 3 (Unicraft, Resin)

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TYPE: Fighter, fighter-bomber. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Allison V-1710-35 liquid-cooled engine, rated at 1,150 hp

PERFORMANCE: 350 mph at 10,000 ft

COMMENT: In 1936 the Bell Aircraft Corporation’s design team began work on the Bell XP-39, a radical design of a single-seat fighter with the engine mounted behind the pilot, driving the airscrew by means of an extension shaft. This arrangement appeared to offer superior manoeuvrability, the engine weight being concentrated around the fighter’s center of gravity. But the first flight test proved that this unorthodox fighter had a low ceiling, slow rate of climb and relative lack of manoeuvrability. So alternatively the engine was mounted forward and the cockpit was positioned to the back.  This and some more minor changes led to the design of the Model 3. But calculations proved no advantage of this model compared to the P-39 “Aircrobra”, so the project was not further followed (Ref.: 13).

Fighterbomber, Projects

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

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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).

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)

Fighterbomber, Projects

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

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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).

Missiles, Composite, Projects

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

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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).

Trainer

Arado Ar 199A (Frank-Airmodel, Resin)

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TYPE: Ship-board trainer

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of three

POWER PLANT: One Argus As 410C inverted V-12 air-cooled inline engine, rated at 450 hp

PERFORMANCE: 162 mph at 9,843 ft

COMMENT: The Arado Ar 199 was a floatplane trainer aircraft built by Arado Flugzeugwerke. It was a low-wing monoplane designed in 1938 to be launched from a catapult and operated over water. The enclosed cockpit had two side-by-side seats for instructor and student, and a third rear seat for a trainee navigator or radio operator. Only a few aircraft were built, because the Luftwaffe found that many elder aircraft are suitable for training duties (Ref.: 24).

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).

Helicopter

Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 “Bachstelze” (“Wagtail”) (Completely scratch-built)

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TYPE: Autogiro kite

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: None

PERFORMANCE: 25 mph on tow

COMMENT: The Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 “Bachstelze” (“Wagtail”) was a type of rotary-wing kite, known as a gyro glider or rotor kite. They were towed behind German submarines during WW II to allow a lookout to see farther. Because of their low profile in the water, submarines could not see more than a few miles over the ocean. To solve this, the German admiralty considered a number of different options, including a folding sea plane e.g. Arado Ar 231. In the end, they chose the Fa 330, a simple, single-seater, autogyro kite with a three-bladed rotor. The Fa 330 could be deployed to the deck of the submarine by two people and was tethered to the U-boat by a 500 ft cable. The airflow on the rotors as the boat motored along on the surface would spin them up. The kite would then be deployed behind the U-boat with its observer-pilot aboard, raising him approximately 400 ft above the surface and allowing him to see much farther — about 25 nautical miles, compared to the 5 nautical miles visible from the conning tower of the U-boat. If the U-boat captain were forced to abandon it on the surface, the tether would be released and the Fa 330 descend slowly to the water. When not in use, the Fa 330 was stowed in two watertight compartments aft of the conning tower. Recovering, dismantling, and stowing the Fa 330 took approximately 20 minutes and was a difficult operation. The Allies came into possession of a Fa 330 in May 1944 when they captured the U-852 intact. After the war, the British government did successful experiments towing Fa 330s behind ships and jeeps, but the development of the helicopter quickly occupied the attention of the military. It is noteworthy that in early 1940 the British made similar experiments with the Hafner “Rotachute”, an autogiro kite to transport a paratrooper (Ref. 24).