Heinkel He 343B-1 (Airmodel, Vacu)

TYPE: Heavy fighter, medium bomber.  Project.

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot and observer

POWER PLANT: Four Heinkel/Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engines, rated at 1,300 kp each

PERFORMANCE: 565 mph

COMMENT: The Heinkel He 343 was a four-engine jet bomber project by Heinkel Aircraft Company in the last years of WW II. In 1944 a total of 20 of these aircraft were ordered. For shortening the development time and for re-use of existing parts, its general design was envisioned along the lines of an enlarged Arado Ar 234 “Blitz” (“Lightning”). For a choice of engines, the Junkers Jumo 004 and the Heinkel HeS 011 were planned. The DFS (Deutsche Forschungsinstitut für Segelflug),  (German Research Institute for Gliding Flight) was involved in the project and created the project known as P.1068. By the end of 1944, work was nearly finished by the Heinkel engineers, with parts for the He 343 prototype aircraft either under construction or in a finished state, when the order was cancelled due to the “Jägernotprogramm (Emergency Fighter Program). Four versions were planned: the He 343A-1 bomber, the He 343A-2 reconnaissance aircraft, and the He 343A-3 and He 343B-1 Zerstörer (“Destroyer”) heavy fighters.
The Heinkel He 343B-1 differed from the He 343A-1 bomber version especially in the tail unit. Instead of the two fixed rear firing guns in the fuselage rear, a FHL 151Z remote controlled turret was installed in the extreme rear fuselage. This necessitated a tail redesign to a twin fin and rudder set up. A rear facing periscope in the cockpit was used to aim the FHL 151Z turret, which was armed with two MG 151 20mm cannon. The twin tail would have made for extended flight testing, plus would have added additional weight and drag (Ref.: 17, 24).

 

Junkers Ju 388J-1V4 (Airmodel, Vacu, Parts from Italeri)

TYPE: Night and All-weather Interceptor

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of four

POWER PLANT: Two BMW 801TJ, rated at 1,410 h.p. at 40,300 ft each

PERFORMANCE: 362 m.p.h. at 40,300 ft

COMMENT: With the Ju 388J-1V4 the FuG 220 “Lichtenstein SN-2” radar with “Hirschgeweih” aerial array was replaced by FuG 218 “Neptun” with a pointed wooden nose cone enclosing much of the “Morgenstern”-type antennae. Also, the FuG 350 “Naxos Z” was built into the “Morgenstern” compartment to receive H2S emissions. A “schräge Musik” arrangement of two 20-mm MG 151 cannon was introduced in the aft fuselage. These weapons fired obliquely upward at an angle of 70° from the horizontal.

Junkers Ju 388K-1 (Airmodel, Vacu, Parts from Italeri)

TYPE: High-altitude bomber

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of three

POWER PLANT: Two BMW 801TJ engines, rated at 1,410 h.p. at 40,300 ft each

PERFORMANCE: 370 m.ph. at 40,300 ft

COMMENT: As the Ju 388L-1 the bomber variant Ju 388K-1 was fitted with a wooden ventral panner and it was intended to install the FA 15 tail barbette for defence. But neither the prototype Ju 388 V3 nor the 10 pre-production Ju 399K-0 bombers were equipped with the tail barbette. It was intended to replace the BMW 801TJ engines by BMW 801TM engines with ratings of 1,820 h.p. at 33,400 ft. Apart from e few sorties by the Ju 388L-1 reconnaissance model, the Ju 388 failed to see combat

Junkers Ju 388J-1V2 “Störtebecker” (Airmodel, Vacu, Parts from Italeri)

TYPE: High Altitude Night and Bad-weather Fighter

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of four

POWER PLANT: Two BMW 801TJ rated at 1,890 h.p. at 9,840 ft each

PERFORMANCE: 362 m.p.h. at 40,300 ft

COMMENT: This prototype was converted from a Ju 188T and carried a FuG 220 “Lichtenstein SN-2” radar with “Hirschgeweih” (Stag’s Antlers) aerial array and an assymetrically mounted “Waffentropfen” (Weapon Drops) under portside mid-fuselage. This held two forward-firing 20-mm MG 151 cannons and two 30-mm MK 108 cannons. A remotely-controlled twin-gun tail barbette with MG 131Z cannons was aimed by means of a PVE 11 double periscopic sight. The code name “Störtebecker” is a reminiscent of a legendary German pirate of the 14th century

Junkers Ju 388L-1 (Airmodel, Vacu, Parts from Italeri)

TYPE: Photographic-Reconnaissance Aircraft

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of three

POWER PLANT: Two BMW 801TJ rated at 1,890 h.p. each

PERFORMANCE:  383 m.p.h at 40,300 ft

COMMENT: The production Ju 388L-1 differed from the pre-production version Ju 388L-0 in several aspects. The wooden three-blade airscrews were replaced by VDM-Dural four-bladers, a FuG 217 “Neptun” tail-warning radar was installed and the “Waffentropfen WT81Z” (Weapon Drop), housing two fixed aft-firing MG 81 machine guns, were replaced by  a large wooden ventral pannier to accommodate both cameras and a jettisonable auxiliary fuel tank. A total of 47 Ju 388L reconnaissance aircraft were delivered

Junkers Ju 388L-0 (Airmodel, Vacu, parts from Italeri)

TYPE: Photographic Reconnaissance Aircraft

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of three

POWER PLANT: Two BMW 801TJ rated at 1,800 h.p. each

PERFORMANCE: 407 m.p.h. at 29,800 ft

COMMENT: This first version of the Ju 388 was derived from a Junkers Ju 188T-1.  In all 10 pre-production examples were finished. These were followed by  the Ju 388L-1

Republic XP-72 (Alliance)

TYPE: Long-range Escort Fighter

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Pratt & Whitney R-4360-13 Wasp Major engine, rated at 3,450 h.p.

PERFORMANCE:  490 m.p.h. at 25,000 ft

COMMENT: At the time when the famous Republic P-47 “Thunderbolt” was not ordered by USAAF for mass production, Republic worked on a completely different fighter, the Republic XP-69. But in 1943 this project was cancelled in favour of a less radical design, the XP-72, and two prototypes were ordered. The first flew on 2 February 1944 with a four bladed propeller; the second XP-72 prototype had Aero Product contra props. An initial production contract for 100 aircrafts was ordered, which were foreseen as being useful for combat with V-1s, being launched in Europe at that time. But the need for long-range escort fighters declined, so the order was cancelled

Republic P-47N-25-RE Thunderbolt, 73 FS, 318 FG (Sword)

TYPE: Long-range escort fighter

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: Pratt & Whitney R-2800-77 ‘Double Wasp’ radial engine, rated at 2,800 hp

PERFORMANCE: 460 mph at 30,000 ft

COMMENT: The Republic P-47N was the last Thunderbolt variant to be produced. It was designed as an escort fighter for the Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers flying raids on the Japanese home islands. Increased internal fuel capacity and drop tanks had done much to extend the Thunderbolt’s range during its evolution, and the only other way to expand the fuel capacity was to put fuel tanks into the wings. Thus, a new wing was designed with two 50 U.S. gal fuel tanks. The redesign proved successful in extending range to about 2,000 miles, and the squared-off wingtips improved the roll rate. The P-47N entered mass production with the uprated R-2800-57 engine, with a total of 1,816 built. The very last Thunderbolt to be built, a P-47N-25, rolled off the production line in October 1945. Thousands more had been on order, but production was halted with the end of the World War II in August 1945.

Republic P-47D-30-RA Thunderbolt, 509 FS, 405FG (Revell)