Galleries

Fighter, Fighterbomber, Reconnaissance, Projects

Blohm und Voss Bv. P.194.01-02 (Revell)

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TYPE: Fighter, Dive bomber, Ground attack, and Reconnaissance aircraft. Project.

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One BMW 801D engine, rated at 1,700 hp and one BMW 003 turbojet, rated at 800 kp

PERFORMANCE: 423 mph at 13,600 ft (estimated)

COMMENT: The Blohm & Voss Company had a great experience in designing asymmetrical aircraft as the Blohm  & Voss Bv 141,  Bv P.   176, Bv P.179, Bv P.204, and Bv P.237. In 1944 Blohm & Voss proposed new asymmetrical design to the RLM, which could be used as fighter, destroyer, dive bomber and reconnaissance, respectively. The design featured a mixed propulsion system with a piston engine in the main fuselage/ tail boom and a turbojet under a separated gondola that housed the cockpit.  The main advantage of that arrangement was an excellent and unobstructed view for the pilot and the reduction of torque moments along the vertical axis induced by the propeller of single engine aircraft. Several different designs were proposed, the Bv P.194.01-02, the Bv P.194.03-01, and the Bv P.194.00-101, changes regarding mainly in the layout of the turbojet engine. Due to the threatening defeat of Germany the Bv P.194 development was not pursued (Ref.: 16).

Fighter, Nightfighter, Projects

Dornier Do P.252/2 (Unicraft, Resin)

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TYPE: Long range Bad-weather/Night Fighter. Project.

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of three

POWER PLANT: Two Junkers Jumo 213J, rated at 1,750 hp each

PERFORMANCE: 577 mph (estimated)

COMMENT: The Dornier Do P.252 project dates back to 1943 as replacement of the Do 335 “Pfeil” (Arrow).  In January 1945 the design, that based on the Dornier Do P.247/6 project,  was submitted for the optimum Luftwaffe night fighter contract specification. Three studies P.252/1, P.252/2, and P.252/3 were made from this design, all were very similar despite little differences in dimensions and wing plan forms (straight, 35 and 22.5 degree, respectively). Two Junkers Jumo 213J , rated at 1750 hp each were located in tandem within the fuselage and coupled to an extension shaft that drove two  contra-rotating three bladed propellers that featured a blade sweep of 50 degrees, a novelty at that time. The P.252/2 had a slightly elongated fuselage and room for a crew of three. The wings were swept back at 35 degrees. Although the Dornier Do P.252 promised an excellent performance, equivalent to upcoming turbojet powered aircraft the design was abandoned reluctantly.

Fighter, Fighterbomber, Projects

Dornier Do P.247/6 (Unicraft, Resin)

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TYPE: Fighter/Fighter bomber. Project

ACCOMMODATION:Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Junkers Jumo 213T, rated at 2,000 hp, driving four bladed pusher propeller

PERFORMANCE: 520 mph (estimated)

COMMENT: The excellent performance of the Dornier Do 335 Pfeil (Arrow) proceeded to several Dornier designs of pusher type fighters and fighter bombers. Among these is this Do P.247/6 project from autumn 1944. The swept back wing together with a powerful engine promised an excellent performance and the pusher type propeller offered an excellent visibility and allowed the installation of radar antennas for the adoption as a bad weather/night fighter. This furher development was the Dornier Do P.252 but the project was never realized.

Fighter

Bell XP-83 (Anigrand, Resin)

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TYPE: Long range escort fighter

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: Two General Electric J33-GE 5 turbojets, rated at 1,835 kp each

PERFORMANCE: 522 mph at 15,700 ft

COMMENT: The Bell XP-83 was a United States prototype escort fighter designed by Bell Aircraft  during World War II. It first flew in 1945. As an early jet fighter, its limitations included a lack of power and it was soon eclipsed by more advanced designs. The early jet fighters consumed fuel at a prodigious rate which severely limited their range and endurance.
In March 1944, the United States Army Air Forces requested Bell to design a fighter with increased endurance and formally awarded a contract for two prototypes on 31 July 1944.Bell had been working on its “Model 40” interceptor design since 1943. It was redesigned as a long-range escort fighter while retaining the general layout of the Bell P-59 Airacomet. The two General Electric-GE-5 turbojet engines were located in each wing root which left the large and bulky fuselage free for fuel tanks and armament. The fuselage was an all-metal semimonocoque capable of carrying 4,350 l of fuel. In addition, two 950 l drop tanks could be carried. The cabin was pressurized and used a small and low bubble style canopy. The armament was to be six 12.7 mm machine guns in the nose.
Early wind tunnel reports had pinpointed directional instability but the “fix” of a larger tail would not be ready in time for flight testing. The first prototype was flown on 25 February 1945, demonstrating that the aicraft was under-powered and unstable. The limited flight testing provided satisfactory flight characteristics although spins were restricted until the larger tail fin was installed. The second prototype did incorporate the extended tail and an aileron boost system. One unique characteristic was the XP-83’s refusal to slow down due to its sleek aerodynamic shape and lack of drag brakes. This meant that test pilots were forced to fly “stabilized approaches” (i.e. very long and flat landing approaches).
The first prototype was used in 1946 as a ramjet test-bed with an engineer’s station located in the fuselage behind the pilot. The second prototype flew on 19 October and was later scrapped in 1947. Apart from range, the XP-83 was inferior to the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star and this led to the cancellation of the XP-83 project in 1947 (Ref.: 24).

Fighter, Fighterbomber

Boeing F8B-1 (Sword)

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TYPE: Fighter, Interceptor, Ground attack aircraft

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One  Pratt & Whitney R-4360-10, rated at 3,000 hp

PERFORMANCE: 432 mph

COMMENT: The estimated excellent performance of  this aircraft, designed for the US Navy, was of great interest for the US Army Air Force, too. So the third (of three) prototype was delivered to the US Army Air Force and tested at Eglin Air Force base. But the advent of new jet fighters led to the cancellation of many wartime piston-engined projects. So consequently, the USAF lost interest in pursuing the project and the prototype was scrapped.

Fighter, Fighterbomber, Torpedobomber

Boeing F8B-1 (Sword)

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TYPE: Fighter, Torpedo bomber, Ground attack aircraft

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Pratt & Whitney XR-4360-10, rated at 3,000 hp

PERFORMANCE: 432 mph

COMMENT: From the logistical point of view the US Navy was most interested to have only one type of aircraft on board its carriers for all operational tasks. An excellent design for all these duties was the Boeing XF8B, a new class of “five-in-one fighter” (fighter, interceptor, dive bomber, torpedo bomber, or level bomber). Designed around a new designed “power egg”, the Pratt & Whitney XR-4360 with 3,000hp this aircraft embodied a number of innovative features in order to accomplish the various roles. Three prototypes were ordered, but despite its formidable capabilities, with the end of the hostilities in the Pacific area the XF8B-1 was fated to never enter series production.

Fighter, Projects

Boeing P. 360 Flying Flapjack (Unicraft, Resin)

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TYPE: Carrier-based STOL-fighter project

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: Not available

PERFORMANCE: Not available

COMMENT: There is some evidence that in the mid 1940’s the Boeing Company was working on a fighter project , named Project B.360, with an oval shaped wing, well suited for Short Take-Off/Landing (STOL) operations on carrier decks. The forerunner was the Chance Vought V-173 Flying Pancake demonstrator as well as the two prototypes of the Chance Vought XF5U-1. The B.390 differed from the Vought design in powering with one piston engine driving counter-rotating three-bladed propellers at the airplane‘s nose. No further details are known as well as the designation Boeing XF9B Flying Flapjack remains unclear.

Fighterbomber, Torpedobomber

Martin BTM-1 Mauler (Czechmaster, Resin)

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TYPE: Carrier-based attack aircraft

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Pratt & Whitney R-4360-4 Wasp Major, rated at 3,000 hp

PERFORMANCE: 334 mph at 11,600 ft

COMMENT: Throughout the WW II the US Navy used a variety of carrier-based aircraft for attack duties. They were designated “SB” for scout/dive bombers and “TB” for torpedo-bombers. In 1943/44 a change in military tactics required a new role for an attack aircraft. So the US Navy invited proposals for a new multi-purpose bomber and selected four designs in September 1943: the Curtiss XBTC, Douglas XBT2D Skyraider, Kaiser-Fleetwings XBTK and the Martin XBTM. Two prototypes of the Martin design were ordered. The first flight was made in August 1944 and in January 1945 a production order for 750 aircraft was placed. With the end of WW II only 131 production aircraft, now named AM-1 “Mauler”, were delivered, another 651 aircraft were cancelled.

Fighterbomber, Torpedobomber

Douglas BT2D-1 Skyraider (Airfix)

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TYPE; Carrier-borne dive/torpedo-bomber

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Wright R-3350 Cyclone 18, rated at 2,500 hp

PERFORMANCE:  322 mph at 18,00 ft

COMMENT:The Douglas BT2D-1 Skyraider was an American single-seat piston engines attack aircraft designed during World War II to meet United States Navy requirements for a carrier-based long-range, high performance dive/torpedo bomber, to follow-on from earlier types such as the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver and Grumman TBF Avenger. Designed by Ed Heinemann of the Douglas Aircraft Company, prototypes were ordered on July 1944 as the XBT2D-1. The XBT2D-1 made its first flight on March 1945 and in April 1945, the USN began evaluation of the aircraft at the Naval Air Test Center (NATC). In December 1946, after a designation change to AD-1, delivery of the first production aircraft to a fleet squadron was made to VA-19A.
The low-wing monoplane design started with a Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone radial engine which was later upgraded several times. Its distinctive feature was large straight wings with seven hard points apiece. The Skyraider possessed excellent low-speed maneuverability and carried a large amount of ordonance over a considerable combat radius. The aircraft was optimized for the ground-attack mission and was armored against ground fire in key locations, unlike faster fighters adapted to carry bombs, such as the Vought F4U Corsair or North-American P-5 Mustang.
Shortly after Heinemann began designing the XBT2D-1, a study was issued that showed for every 45 kg of weight reduction, the takeoff run was decreased by 2.4 m, the combat radius increased by 22 mi and the rate-of-climb increased by 18 ft/min. Heinemann immediately had his design engineers begin a program for finding weight-saving on the XBT2D-1 design, no matter how small. Simplifying the fuel system, eliminating an internal bomb bay and hanging external stores from the wings or fuselage, using a new fuselage dive brake; and an older tailwheel design resulted in a reduction ot weight by 820 kg. The first series was initially painted in ANA 623 Glossy Sea Blue, but during its career the color changed depending on its requirements.
The Skyraider went through numerous changes and was built in seven versions, before the Skyraider production ended in 1957 with a total of 3,180 having been built (Ref.: 24).

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Fighterbomber, Fighter-Torpedobomber

Douglas BTD-1 Destroyer (Planet, Resin)

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TYPE: Carrier-borne scout/dive bomber

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Wright R-3350-14 Cyclone 18, rated at 2,300 hp

PERFORMANCE:  334 mph at 16,100 ft

COMMENT: In 1942 the US Navy planned to replace both the Douglas SBD Dauntless and the new Curtiss SB2C Helldiver and the Douglas Company was commissioned for two prototypes of a new two-seat dive bomber, designated XSB2D-1. The design was a large single-engined mid-winged monoplane with two remote-controlled turrets as defensive armament and a tricycle undercarriage, very unusual for a carrier-based aircraft of the time. The first prototype flew on April 1943, demonstrating an excellent performance and being much faster and carrying nearly double the bombload of the Helldiver. Orders for 358 SB2D-1s quickly followed. In the meantime Douglas reworked the SB2D design by removing the turrets and second crewman, while adding more fuel and armor, producing by that the BTD-1 Destroyer. The orders for SB2Ds were converted to BTD-1s, but only 28 aircraft had been delivered at the end of the WWII. Before the end the war, based on that design, Douglas developed the single-seat BT2D-1, later well known as Douglas AD-1 Skyraider.