German Plane Concepts

I found a really interesting website just now.

http://www.luft46.com/

Take a look. It has a whole bunch of concept aircraft thought up by the Luftwaffe during the waning days of ww2.

 

and have you noticed how similiar some of the modern Russian and US a/c are to these prototypes ? Scary huh ?

E

 

yeah i have. I swear one of those planes is a B-2...

 

......and isn't it interesting the major powers have taken over 50 years to figure how the forward wing config would look or even be plausible in the air....... weird !

E

 

It just goes to show how ahead of the times German engineers really were. The V-2 was rushed into completion before better parts even existed, which contributed to shaky accuracy. And these plans for concept planes were likely not feasible with the resources Germany had. But given the time and material needed...who knows.

 

I think the reason is that back then there was money available for everything, never mind how crazy it looked or sounded at first glance. Any idea was immediately supported and tested extensively, so no wonder they got far. Something new was always needed desperately, so they desperately tried to concieve and build new things.

In the Cold War every proposal had to go through a hundred steps before being authorized. How long did it take to design and build the He 162? Half a year I think? Compare that to the Eurofighter - one and a half decades?

One reason is probably also that in WW2 people slapped into the planes what equipment there was. They didn't say "no we won't build this until we can install radar X or radio set Y". I think they do that today, with all these delays...

[ 29. October 2002, 12:56 AM: Message edited by: Andreas Seidel ]

 

Nice Site!

Some of the links don't work though

It is amazing how many of these planes look modern, I saw a few A- 10 look a likes too.

 

Agreed Andreas. Beauracracy has taken over. Although, a lot of people died testing stuff that shouldnt have been flown yet.

Both us and the Russians took one look at German aircraft ideas and decided to build on them. In a very abstract way, most of the air combat after ww2 was done in German planes.

 

That is a weird bt site! Thanks!

 

http://www.adlertag.de/flugzeuge/projekteeng.htm

Bf 109 TL:

Because some leaders in RLM feared, that the new developed jetfighter "Me 262" would at first have some difficulties, it was planned to install the new jet-engines in a plane, as fast as possible. So it was also examined to reconstruct the "Bf 109" in a way, that it could get two of this jet-engines, and so would make an interim solution, until the expected problems of "Me 262" would be solved. This idea came up first in January 1943. It was planned to take the fuselage of the "Me 155" (a figther-bomber, based on "Bf 109"), the undercarriage of the projected "Me 309" and the wings of the also planned "Me 409".
Already two months later it was recognized, that it was not so easy, to combine this components to get an useful plane. This difficulties were so hard to solve, that this project soon was canceled.

 

Messerschmitt Me 309



Type: Single-seat fighter
Origin: Messerscmitt AG
Models: V1 and V2
First Flight: June 1942
Service Delivery: None
Final Delivery: None


Engine:
Model: Daimler-Benz DB 605B
Type: Inverted V12 liquid-cooled
Horsepower: 1,475

Dimensions:
Wing span: 11.04m (36 ft. 2¾ in.)
Length: 9.46m (31 ft. ½ in.)
Height: 3.45m (11 ft. 3 in.)
Wing Surface Area: N/A

Performance:
Maximum Speed: 733km/h (455 mph)
Initial climb: NA
Range: N/A
Service Ceiling: N/A

Armament: (V4)
Four 13mm Machine Guns
Two 20mm Cannon
Two 30mm Cannon

The 309 was originally designed to be the definitive successor to the 109. Innovative features included a pressurized cockpit, tricycle landing gear, and a retractable radiator. However, the 309 could be out turned by the Bf 109G and was judged inferior to the Fw 190D and never reached production. The Me 609 was to be a twinned version similiar to the P-82.

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http://cloud.prohosting.com/hud607/uncommon/aircraft/me309/main.html

The Messerschmitt Me 309 was proposed as an advanced replacement for the venerable Bf 109 fighter. Its design features included tricycle landing gear, retractable radiators and coolers and a pressurized cockpit. These concepts were first tested on four modified Bf 109F prototypes, the Bf 109V24, V30, V30A and V31. Nine prototypes were planned, with the first, the Me 309V1, being rolled-out in June of 1942. However, during taxiing trials, wobble problems were experienced with the nose gear (which had been utilized instead of a conventional "tail-dragger" layout in hopes of preventing this very problem). After trying several different tail configurations (sources vary between two and five), the V1 took to the air, but more problems arose with the cooling system, resulting in a brief flight of only seven minutes duration. Three additional protoypes were built, but so many accidents (mostly involving the troublesome landing gear) occurred that parts meant for the remaining prototypes were needed to keep the existing aircraft flyable.






[ 17. April 2003, 05:44 AM: Message edited by: Kai-Petri ]

 

Have you ever seen any blue-prints for a FW190 that had a jet intake in the nose in absence of the prop? Saw a small caption in Jet Planes of the Third Reich: The Secret Projects Vol. 1. Said that propulsion was obtained by exhausts through cowling and over length of the fuesalage, and wondered how cockpit was to be insullated.

 

which one ? Ta 183 Ra 4 or Fw. Volksflugzeug with BMW 003 A turbojet or Messerschmitt Me P 1101 V-1 with Junkers 004 B or HeS 011 A ?

~E~

 

Will have to look it up when I get back to my abode. Will get back and thanks for the reply.

 

Focke-Wulf investigated the possibility of converting their FW190 A into a jet aircraft. The FW190 TL, proposed toward the end of 1942. It was to be fitted with a turbojet having a two-stage centrifugal-flow compressor, an annular combustion chamber and a single stage turbine. (located where the piston engine normally would be) (wish I could send a picture of this but my digital camera is giving me problems) The fuel was injected downstream and the exhaust outlet was also annular, the gasses being ejected over the fuselage surfaces. The aircraft was expected to reach a max speed of 528 MPH at about 19,700 ft with flight endurance calculated to be just over one hour. Due to a lack of range and a lack of suitable jet units, development was stopped in 1943. Griehl, Manfred. Jet Planes of the Third Reich, The Secret Projects. Vol. 1. Massachusetts: Monogram Aviation Publications, 1998. pp.24-25.