Nightfighter, Projects

Arado Ar E.583.5 (Planet, Resin)

Gallery

TYPE: Heavy night- and all-weather fighter. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of two

POWER PLANT: Two Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engines, rated at 1,300 kp thrust each

PERFORMANCE: 500 mph

COMMENT: The Arado Ar E. 583.5 project was a heavy night and all-weather fighter that was proposed to the “Entwicklungs-Hauptkommission (EHK, Main commission for development) on 15. March 1945. The design was a 35 degree delta-wing with twin fins and rudders located on the wing trailing edge. The two man crew was seated back-to-back in a pressurized cockpit. The two Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojets were located under the rear fuselage. Four MK 108 30mm cannon were mounted in the nose,  two upward-firing , oblique mounted MK 108 30mm cannon were located in mid fuselage, and two remotely controlled backwards firing MK 108 cannon in the tail. After the WW II construction drawings from Arado came to the US and influenced the design of the Chance Vought F7U Cutlass (Ref. 15, 16, 17).

Nightfighter, Projects

Arado Ar E 583.06 (Planet, Resin)

Gallery

TYPE: Heavy night and all-weather fighter and fighter-bomber. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of three

POWER PLANT: Two Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engines, rated at 1.300 kp thrust each

PERFORMANCE: 466 mph

COMMENT: The Arado Ar E.583.06 was a design of a night and all-weather fighter, presented to the “Entwicklungs-Hauptkommission (EHK, Main commission for development) in March 1945. The layout was a more conventional counterpart to the radical delta-wing design Arado Ar E. 583.05 presented at the same time. Wings were swept-back at 35 degrees and two Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engines were placed under each wing. A crew of three men was seated in the pressurized cabin, which was fitted with ejection seats. The heavy armament consisted of four MK 108 30mm cannon mounted in the nose,  two upward-firing , oblique mounted MK 108 30mm cannon located in mid fuselage, and one remotely controlled backwards firing MK 108 cannon in the tail. The end of WW II stopped any further development (Ref. 15, 16, 17).

Nightfighter, Projects

Heinkel He P.1079A (Planet, Resin)

Gallery

TYPE: Night fighter. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of two

POWER PLANT: Two Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engines, rated at 1,300 kp thrust each

PERFORMANCE: 590 mph

COMMENT:   In mid 1944 the Heinkel design office was working on a heavy night and bad weather fighter with two-turbojet engines, and two crew members under project number P.1079. Initially, two different designs A and B were studied. Project He P.1079A was designed as a night-fighter. The crew of two sat back-to-back in the cockpit which was located near the nose. The wings were swept back 35 degrees and were mounted mid-fuselage, with two Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojets located in the wing roots. A V-tail plane (butterfly tail plane) was provided and armament was to be four MK 108 30mm cannon. Project He 1079B, a night fighter, too, was closer to a flying wing layout, although there was a single, vertical fin which replaced the V-tail of the P.1079A. Furthermore, the wings were gull-shaped and were swept back at 45 degrees. No evidence has been found that any of both P.1079 projects were ever submitted to the RLM, but it is known that members of Heinkel construction bureau were working on these designs under U.S. supervision during the summer of 1945 (Ref.: 16).

Medium Bomber, Projects

Focke-Wulf Fw 3 x 1000 Bomber Projekt C (Unicraft, Resin)

Gallery

TYPE: Fast medium bomber. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: Two Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engines, rated at 1,300 kp thrust each

PERFORMANCE: 621 mph at 40,000 ft

COMMENT: In autumn 1944 the Focke-Wulf company proposed three different designs of fast bombers to meet the RLM’s “1000×1000×1000 Bomber” requirement. The request for proposals called for an aircraft with two turbojet engines and should be able to carry 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb) of bombs over a distance of 1,000 kilometers (620 mi) with a speed of 1,000 kilometers per hour (620 mph). The third design (Projeckt C) was of conventional layout similar to the first design (Projekt A, while Projekt B was a flying wing design. Projekt C had wings and tail plane of parallel chord and the fuselage was deepened. The two Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engines were on underwing pylons to increase the mass-balance effect. They were also turned out of line to help enhance single engine controllability. The pilot was positioned in a forward cockpit, and one 1000 kg bomb (Hermann) could be carried. As with the other two other bomber projects the Focke-Wulf  Fw 1000x1000x1000 Bomber Projekt C remained on the drawing board (Ref.: 16).

Nightfighter, Projects

Focke-Wulf Fw P.0310251-13/II (Planet, Resin)

Gallery

TYPE: Night and all-weather fighter. Project

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of three

POWER PLANT: One Junkers Jumo 222C/D radial engine, rated at 3000 hp and two BMW 003A turbojet engines, rated at 800 kp thrust each

PERFORMANCE: 527 mph

COMMENT: In autumn 1944 the team of Focke-Wulf proposed a design of a mixed-propulsion aircraft as a night and all-weather fighter. Three different projects are planed with different piston engines. Project I with Daimler-Benz DB 603N in-line engine, rated at 2705 hp and driving four-bladed propeller, Project II with Junkers Jumo 222C/D four row radial engine, rated 3000 hp and driving five-bladed propeller (shown here), and Project III with Argus As 413 in-line engine, rated at 4000hp, driving four-bladed propeller. Additionally, the latter two projects featured a pair of BMW 003A turbojets slung under the wings. The mid-fuselage mounted engine drove the rear propeller by an extension shaft and air was fed via two intakes in the wing roots. The wings were swept back and a cruciform tail was fitted, the lower fin also helping to keep the propeller from striking the ground during take-off. A crew of three (pilot, navigator and radar operator) sat together in a pressurized cockpit covered by a bubble canopy. Flight times could be increased up to eight hours with the jet engines shut down and the rear engine operating at half throttle. The aircraft was heavily armed with four forward firing MK 108 30mm cannon in the nose and two upward-firing oblique MK 108 30mm cannon in mid fuselage. In addition, two 500 kg bombs could be carried at the outer wing stations. The defeat of Germany made further plans obsolete (Ref.: 16).

Fighterbomber

Messerschmitt Me 262A-2a Sturmvogel (Stormbird) (Matchbox) with SC 1000 high explosive bomb (Hermann) on Deichselschlepp (tow-bar) (Airmodel)

Gallery

TYPE: Fighter bomber

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: Two Junkers Jumo 004B-1 turbojet engines, rated at 900 kp thrust each

PERFORMANCE: 530 mph at 9,800 ft

COMMENT: The fighter-bomber version of the Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (Swallow) received the appellation Stormbird (Sturmvogel) to distinguish it from those aircraft completed purely as interceptors. It was Hitler’s explicit desire to use this aircraft as a fighter-bomber incomprehensible to the manufacturer. Deliveries of that subtype, now called Messerschmitt Me 262A-2a, began in July 1944. It differed from the Me 262A-1a interceptor fighter solely in having bomb fusing equipment and a pair of pylons side-by-side beneath the fuselage nose, forward of the undercarriage wells. These could be either of the ETC 504 type or of so-called “Wikingerschiff” (“Viking ships”) type, and proposed loads included a single SB 1000 bomb, or two SC 500 bombs, and derivate types, respectively. An unconventional approach was provided by a towed bomb, SC 1000 or SC 500 fitted with a wooden wing and towed by means of a 20-ft tube rigidly attached to the bomb. The tow-bar was attached beneath the tail by means of a swivel joint permitting horizontal and vertical motion, and the wires to detonate the explosive bolts, by which the bomb and its wing were separately jettisoned, passed through the tube. For take-off a two-wheel dolly was fitted to the bomb, this being jettisoned by means of an explosive bolt once aircraft and bomb were airborne. Additionally two Rheinmetall Borsig R 109-502 solid-fuel rockets were attached to the aircraft for assisted take-off. In early 1945 trials were done with the Me 262 V10. With the bomb on tow the speed of the Me 262 was reduced to some 320-330 mph. Furthermore, due to the high lift coefficient of the auxiliary wing the bomb began to porpoise, the motion was transmitted to the aircraft causing uncontrollable flight and the pilot was forced to bail out. Eventually it was concluded that the towed bomb concept was too hazardous and further tests were cancelled (Ref.: 7).

Fighter

Gloster E.28/39 ‘Pioneer’ (Frog)

Gallery

TYPE: Experimental aircraft

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Power Jets W.1 turbojet, rated at 390 kp thrust

PERFORMANCE: 338 mph at 10,000 ft

COMMENT: The Gloster E.28/39, also referred to as the ‘Gloster Whittle’, ‘Gloster Pioneer’, or ‘Gloster G.40’, was the first British turbojet-engined aircraft to fly. It was designed to test the Whittle turbojet engine in flight, leading to the development of the Gloster ‘Meteor‘. In September 1939, the Air Ministry issued a specification to Gloster for an aircraft to test one of Frank Whittle’s turbojet designs in flight. The E.28/39 name comes from the aircraft having been built to the 28th “Experimental” specification of the Air Ministry in 1939. Gloster’s engineers, working closely with Whittle, laid out a small low-wing aircraft of conventional configuration. The jet intake was in the nose, and the single tail-fin and elevators were mounted above the jet-pipe, although due to uncertainty about the spinning characteristics of a jet aircraft, at in an earlier design stage twin fins and rudders were considered. Two jet pipe/rear fuselage arrangements were also originally considered due to the potential loss of thrust through the jet pipe itself, a ‘short jet’ with a cutaway rear fuselage and short exhaust necessitating the tail plane to be carried on booms, and a ‘long jet’ with a fully enclosed jet pipe; the ‘long jet’ was subsequently selected. A contract for two prototypes was signed by the Air Ministry on February 1940, and the first prototype was completed by April 1941. Although the initial flight tests were relatively early in WW II, the German Heinkel He 178 turbojet aircraft, powered by a Heinkel HeS3 turbojet rated at 450 kp had been first test-flown on 27 August 1939, at Rostok-Marienehe on the Baltic Sea, days before the outbreak of the war (Ref.: 23).

Fighter

Horten/Gotha Go 229A-1 ( Ho IX V2) (Revell)

Gallery

TYPE: Interceptor, Fighter

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: Two Junkers Jumo 004B Turbojet engine, rated at 900 kp thrust each

PERFORMANCE: 607 mph at 39,000 ft

COMMENT: The Horten Ho IX V2, RLM designation Ho 229 – often called Gotha Go 229 because of the identity of the chosen manufacturer of the aircraft – was a German prototype fighter/bomber designed by the Horten brothers and built by Gothaer Waggonfabrik late in WW II. It was the first pure flying wing powered by turbojet engines. The design based on the Ho IX V1, an unpowered glider built from the onset as a prototype for a turbojet powered fighter and as a trainer for the aircraft when in production. The Horten Ho IX V2, as the first turbojet powered aircraft was designated was of mixed construction, with the center pod made from welded steel tubing and wing spars built from wood. The wings were made from two thin, carbon-impregnated plywood panels glued together with a charcoal and sawdust mixture. The wing had a single main spar, penetrated by the turbojet engine inlets, and a secondary spar used for attaching the elevens. The aircraft utilized retractable tricycle landing gear, with the nose gear on the first two prototypes sourced from a Heinkel He 177‘s tailwheel system, with the third prototype using an He 177A main gear wheel rim and tire on its custom-designed nose gear strut work and wheel fork. A drogue slowed the aircraft upon landing. The pilot in a special pressure suit sat on a primitive ejection seat. The aircraft was originally designed for the BMW 003 jet engine, but that engine was not quite ready, and the Junkers Jumo 004 engine was substituted. The aircraft was found at Friedrichroda by US Forces and later shipped to the US (Ref.: 23).

Trainer

Boulton Paul Defiant T.T.II, 326th BG, 92nd BG, 8th USAAF (Pavla)

Gallery

TYPE: Target tug aircraft.

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of two

POWER PLANT: One Rolls-Royce Merlin III liquid-cooled engine, rated at 1,030 hp

PERFORMANCE: 304 mph at 17,000 ft

COMMENT: The Boulton Paul Defiant was a British interceptor aircraft that served with the RAF during the Second World War. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a “turret fighter”, without any forward-firing guns. It was a contemporary of the Royal Navy’s Blackburne Roc. In combat, the Defiant was found to be reasonably effective at its intended task of destroying bombers, but vulnerable to the Luftwaffe’s more agile, single-seat Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters. The lack of forward armament proved to be a major weakness in daylight combat and its potential was only realized when it switched to night combat. It was supplanted in the night fighter role by the Bristol Beaufighter and de Havilland Mosquito. The Defiant found use in gunnery training, target towing, electronic countermeasures and air-sea rescue. Among RAF pilots it had the nickname “Daffy”.
About 150 Defiant Mk IIs were converted to target tugs. A wind-driven generator provided power for the target winch. The Defiant T.T.II shown here was a former RAF target tug aircraft later transferred to the 326th  BS of the 92nd BG of the US 8th Army Air Force stationed at Podington, UK (Ref.: 23).

Trainer

Curtiss AT-9 Jeep (Pavla)

Gallery

TYPE: Advanced trainer aircraft

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of two – student and instructor

POWER PLANT: Two Lycoming R-680-9 radial engine, rated at 295 hp each

PERFORMANCE: 197 mph

COMMENT: The Curtiss-Wright AT-9 Jeep was a twin-engined advanced trainer aircraft used by the United States during World War II to bridge the gap between single-engined trainers and twin-engined combat aircraft. The AT-9 had a low-wing cantilever monoplane configuration and retractable landing gear. Curtiss-Wright anticipated the requirement for this type of “high-performance” aircraft and designed the Curtiss-Wright CW-25, a twin-engined trainer, which possessed the takeoff and landing characteristics of a light bomber. Using the same basic design as the larger Cessna AT-17 Bobcat, the new CW-25 was designed to be simulate the demands of multi-engined operations. The design featured a small layout, grouping two Lycoming R-680-9 radial engines forward and using a retractable tailwheel landing gear to achieve the performance necessary to meet the requirements of an advanced trainer. The single CW-25 prototype acquired for evaluation had a welded steel-tube fuselage structure with the wings, fuselage and tail unit fabric-covered. The first prototype Model 25 flew in 1941 and the production version entered service as the AT-9 in 1942. Named the “Fledgling” by Curtiss-Wright, it commonly became known as the “Jeep” in the USAAF. The prototype CW-25 had a fabric-covered steel tube fuselage and fabric-covered wings and tail units, but production AT-9s were of stressed metal skin construction. The AT-9 was purposely designed to be less stable and proved to be difficult to fly or land, which made it particularly suitable for teaching new pilots to cope with the demanding flight characteristics of a new generation of high-performance, multi-engined aircraft such as the Martin B-26 Marauder and Lockheed P-38 Lightning. A total of 491 AT-9s were built before production ended and a new production run of 300 of the generally similar AT-9A commenced (Ref.: 23).