TYPE: Night and bad weather fighter
ACCOMMODATION: Crew of four
POWER PLANT: Two Junkers Jumo 213A, rated at 1,750 h.p. each
PERFORMANCE: 331 m.p.h. at 19,400 ft
TYPE: Anti-submarine strike aircraft
ACCOMMODATION: Crew of two
POWER PLANT: Pratt & Whitney R-2800-48W Double Wasp, rated at 2,400 h.p.
PERFORMANCE: 350 m.p.h. at 15,000ft
COMMENT: In contrast to the radar equipped AF-2W, the Grumman AF-2S was armed with one torpedo or two bombs or two depth-charges in weapons bay. The AF-2S carried a smaller wing mounted APS-30 radar and a search light. Both, the AF-2W and the AF-2S operated in a “hunter” and “killer” role. A total of 193 AF-2S were produced
TYPE: Anti-submarine search aircraft
ACCOMMODATION: Crew of four
POWER PLANT: Pratt & Whitney R.2800-48W Double Wasp, rated at 2,400 h.p.
PERFORMANCE: 317 m.p.h. at 16,000 ft
COMMENT: Originally designed as a replacement of the highly successful Grumman TBF Avenger anti-submarine search aircraft. In place of defensive armament the new torpedo-bomber had a Westinghouse 19XB turbojet in the tail to give it a high escape speed. Later the the design was revised and a large ventral radar set was built in. In that configuration the aircraft was used as a hunter in cooperation with the Grumman AF-2S as a killer. A total of 153 AF-2W were built.
TYPE: High Altitude Fighter
ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only
POWER PLANT: Wright R-2160-6 Tornado, rated at 2,500 h.p.
PERFORMANCE: 453 m.p.h.
COMMENT: This project was designed as a fast high altitude fighter capable of intercepting and destroying high altitude enemy bombers. The design incorporated new innovations such as a pressurized cabin, laminar flow wing, and contra-rotating propellers. A mock-up was built, but the project was cancelled because the Wright R-2160 42-cylinder engine was never produced. In 1944 Republic modified a two P-47D’s for testing Chrysler XI-2220 inverted-Vee liquid-cooled engines (Republic XP-47H). This made an extremely finely-streamlined cowling of low frontal area necessary similar that project shown here.
TYPE: Close Support Fighter Bomber. Project
ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only
POWER PLANT: Daimler-Benz DB-ZTL 109-007 Bypass turbojet, rated at 1.150 kp each
PERFORMANCE: Not available
COMMENT: Project of a heavily armed jet aircraft from 1941. Pilot’s cockpit, engines and ammunition compartments were heavily armoured from underside. Due to lack of experience with nose landing gear on earth fields a nose skid was planned. Thrust deflecting flaps behind the exhausts allowed short take-off runs
TYPE: Bomber Formation Destroyer (” Pulkzerstörer”) as as pickaback (“Mistel”) combination of a Ta 154 and a Fw 190
ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only in the Fw 190
POWER PLANT: Two Junkers Jumo 213E, rated at 1,750 h.p. (Ta 154) and BMW 801D-2, rated at 1,700 h.p. (Fw 190)
PERFORMANCE: Not available
COMMENT: Six Ta 154 pre-production aircraft should be adapted for the “Huckepack” composite role. The Ta 154 had an explosive charge in the forward fuselage and was piloted by a Focke Wulf Fw 190 . It was proposed that the Mistel combination – reportedly designated “Mistel 7” (“Mistletoe 7”) – should be aimed at the bomber formation, the pilot detached his aircraft from the superstructure and then detonated the charge by radio signal. None combination was realized.
TYPE: Medium Bomber
ACCOMMODATION: Crew of five
POWER PLANT: Two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-27 air-cooled radial turbocharged engines, rated at 2,000 hp each
PERFORMANCE: 372 m.p.h. at 25,000 ft
COMMENT: The North American XB-28 (NA-63) Dragon was an aircraft proposed by North American Aviation to fill a strong need in the United States Army Air Corps for a high-altitude medium bomber. It never entered production, with only two prototypes being built.
The order for a high-altitude medium bomber was put out on 13 February 1940; the XB-28 first flew on 26 April 1942. The XB-28 was based on North American Aviation‘s’s highly successful B-25 Mitchell, but as it evolved it became a completely new design, much more reminiscent of the Martin B-26 Marauder. The overall configuration of the B-25 and XB-28 were fairly similar; the most important distinction was that the twin tail of the B-25 was changed to a single tail on the XB-28. It was among the first combat aircraft with a pressurized cabin.
The XB-28 proved an excellent design, with significantly better performance than that of the B-25, but it was never put into production. High-altitude bombing was hampered significantly by factors such as clouds and wind, which were frequent occurrences in the Pacific. At the same time, medium bombers were becoming much more effective at lower altitudes. The gains in aircraft performance that came with high-altitude flight were not considered sufficient to justify switching from low-altitude bombing.
Even though the Army Air Forces rejected the XB-28 as a bomber, they ordered another prototype. Designated XB-28A, it was meant to explore the possibility of use as a reconnaissance aircraft. The XB-28A crashed into the Pacific Ocean off Southern California after the crew bailed out on 4 August 1943 (Ref.: 24).
TYPE: Fighter-bomber, close support aircraft
ACCOMMODATION: Pilot and observer/radio operator
POWER PLANT: Junkers Jumo 213E, rated at 1,750 h.p. each
PERFORMANCE: 332 m.p.h. at sea level
COMMENT: Projected close support fighter bomber on the basis of the Ta 154A-1. None built
TYPE: Carrier-borne STOL-fighter
ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only
POWER PLANT: Two Westinghouse J 34-WE-30 turbojet, rated at 760 kp each
PERFORMANCE: Not available
COMMENT: Projected jet version of the piston engine powered XF5U-1. No further details available
TYPE: Night and Bad-weather fighter
ACCOMMODATION: Pilot and Radar observer
POWER PLANT: Two Junkers Jumo 213E, rated at 1,750 h.p. each
PERFORMANCE: 404 m.p.h. at 23,250 ft.
COMMENT: The Ta 154V 15, the eighth pre-production Ta 154A-0, was equipped with the FuG 220 Lichtenstein SN-2 radar, fitted with a “Hirschgeweih” (Stag’s Antlers) antennae array
