RIFTS WAR BIRDS

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well what do you think?

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other post it please
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Total votes: 15

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ZINO
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Comment: NEVER QUIT..... I got lucky
Location: new york

RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by ZINO »

they just came set up a lagre complexs in north america , germany , south america ,ussria and other loctions . but NO one know better because they all are under diffrent names and are acting as competives ,but in really are one company . they looked for the local persoanl and trained them ( humans) and start sell their porduct and put they in show case and are making a killing . unlike N.E company they have avoided all the pitfalls . lazo , northern gun , all the power bloc except the coalition and NGR .they started with WW2 plane and up


here theyare all
let your YES be YES and your NO be NO but plz no maybe
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ZINO
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Comment: NEVER QUIT..... I got lucky
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by ZINO »

stats for rift warbirds are below

Light main body or fuselage 120
Single Fighter engine 100
Main wings 80 each
Canopy80
Tail wings (3) 50 each
Propellers 25 each

Medium main body or fuselage 150
Single Fighter engine 125
Main wings 100
Canopy 90
Tail wings 30 (3) each
Propellers 25

Heavy main body or fuselage 200
Single Fighter engine 150
Main wings 120 (2) each
Canopy 125
Tail wings 35(3) each
Propellers 30

Fighter main body or fuselage 250
Dual engine 150 (2) each
Main wings 130 (2) each
Canopy 135
Tail wings 45(3) each
Propellers 30 each


Light Bomber main body or fuselage 280
Four engine 175 (each)
Main wings 125 each (2)
Canopy 150
Tail wings 50 each
Propellers 45 each


Medium Bomber main body or fuselage 300
Four engine 190 each
Main wings 150
Canopy 175
Tail wings 55 each (3)
Propellers 50 each

Heavy Bomber main body or fuselage 450
Four engine 220 each
Main wings 200
Canopy 220
Tail wings 60 each
Propellers 60 each
let your YES be YES and your NO be NO but plz no maybe
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ZINO
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by ZINO »

Yakovlev Yak-9



The Yakovlev Yak-9 was a single-engine fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Union in World War II and after. It was the most numerous Soviet fighter of the war and remained in production from 1942 to 1948, with 16,769 built.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... /Yak9d.jpg

The Yak-9 represented further development of the successful Yakovlev Yak-7 fighter, a production version of the lightened Yak-7DI, taking full advantage of the combat experience with its predecessor. Greater availability of duralumin allowed for lighter construction which in turn permitted a number of modifications to the basic design.
Yak-9 variants carried two different wings, five different engines, six different fuel tank combinations and seven types of armament configurations.



General characteristics
• Crew: one
• Length: 28 ft 0 in (8.55 m)
• Wingspan: 31 ft 11 in (9.74 m)
• Height: 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m)
• Wing area: 185.1 ft² (17.2 m²)
• Empty weight: 5,170 lb (2,350 kg)
• Loaded weight: 6,858 lb (3,117 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: lb (kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Klimov M-105 PF V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine, 1,180 hp (880 kW)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 367 mph at altitude (591 km/h)
• Range: 845 miles (1,360 km)
• Service ceiling: 30,000 ft (9,100 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,690 ft/min (13.7 m/s)
• Wing loading: 37 lb/ft² (181 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.17 hp/lb (0.28 kW/kg)
Armament
• 1 × 20 mm ShVAK cannon, 120 rounds
• 1 × 12.7 mm UBS machine gun, 200 rounds


Specifications (Yak-9U (VK-107))
General characteristics
• Crew: one
• Length: 28 ft 0 in (8.55 m)
• Wingspan: 31 ft 11 in (9.74 m)
• Height: 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m)
• Wing area: 185.1 ft² (17.2 m²)
• Empty weight: 5,526 lb (2,512 kg)
• Loaded weight: 7,049 lb (3,204 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: lb (kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Klimov VK-107A V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine, 1,500 hp (1,120 kW)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 417 mph at altitude (672 km/h)
• Range: 420 miles (675 km)
• Service ceiling: 35,000 ft (10,650 m)
• Rate of climb: 3,280 ft/min (16.7 m/s)
• Wing loading: 38 lb/ft² (186 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.21 hp/lb (0.35 kW/kg)
Armament
• 1 × 20 mm ShVAK cannon, 120 rounds
• 2 × 12.7 mm UBS machine guns, 170 rpg


Yakovlev Yak-1


Yakovlev Yak-1

The Yakovlev Yak-1 was a World War II Soviet fighter aircraft, produced from early 1940.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... f/Yak1.jpg

Although prior to World War II Yakovlev was best known for building light sports aircraft, the Yak-4 light bomber impressed the Soviet government enough to order the OKB to design a new fighter with a Klimov M-106 V-12 liquid-cooled engine. Formal specifications released on 29 July 1939, called for two prototypes - I-26-1 with a top speed of 620 km/h (385 mph) at 6,000 m (16,685 ft), combat range of 600 km (375 mi), a climb to 10,000 m (32,808 ft) of under 11 minutes, and armament of 2 × 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns and 1 × 12.7 mm (0.5 in) Berezin BS heavy machine gun, and I-26-2 with a turbocharged M-106 engine with a top speed of 650 km/h (404 mph) at 10,000 m (32,808 ft) and armament of 2 × 7.62 mm (.3 in) ShKAS machine guns. The design took full advantage of Yakovlev OKB's experience with sports aircraft and promised agility as well as high top speed. Since the M-106 was delayed, the design was changed to incorporate the Klimov M-105P V-12 engine, with a 20 mm (.8 in) ShVAK cannon in the "vee" of the engine block.
I-26-I first flew on 13 January 1940. The prototype suffered from oil overheating problems which were never completely resolved resulting in 15 emergency landings during early testing. Then, on 27 April 1940, I-26-1 crashed, killing its test pilot Yu.I. Piontkovskiy. The investigation of the crash found that the pilot performed two consecutive barrel rolls at low altitude which was in violation of test flight plan. It was believed that during the first roll, the main landing gear became unlocked, causing it to crash through the wing during the second roll. It has been hypothesized that Piontkovskiy's deviation from the flight plan was caused by frustration that his aircraft was being used for engine testing while I-26-2, built with the lessons of I-26-1 in mind, was already performing aerobatics.
Poor quality of subassemblies provided by different suppliers raised the I-26-2's weight 400 kg (882 lb) above projected figues, which restricted the airframe to only 4.4 G while overheating oil was still a problem. The many defects caused I-26-2 to fail government testing in 1940. Fortunately for Yakovlev, its competitors I-200 (future Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3) and I-301 (future LaGG-3) also failed testing. Requested improvements were incorporated into I-26-3 which was delivered for testing on 13 October 1940. Although it passed on 9 December 1940, the aircraft was still very much unfinished with unresolved engine problems.
Troublesome and slow testing and development must have been quite worrisome for Soviet officials considering the fact that the I-26 was ordered into production under the name Yak-1 on 19 February 1940 - a mere month after I-26-1 made its maiden flight! The goal of this gamble was to reduce lag time between prototype and production aircraft. As a backup, the I-200 and I-301 were also ordered into production. Although the Yak-1 was slower than the I-200 and less heavily armed than the I-301, it enjoyed the advantage of having been started earlier which gave it a consistent lead in testing and development over its competitors. Beginning of the Great Patriotic War on 22 June 1941 made development and implementation of several other upcoming promising designs like Polikarpov I-185 unfeasible. The fact that Yakovlev was Stalin's personal favorite likely also played in the Yak-1's favor.
Simultaneous manufacturing and testing of a design that required as many improvements as I-26 wreaked havoc on the production lines. Almost 8,000 changes were made to the aircraft's blueprints by 1941 with an additional 7,000 implemented the following year with 5,000 more changes coming in 1942. Production was further slowed by shortages of engines, propellers, radiators, wheels and cannons. Shortages of quality materials resulted in plywood being torn off the wings on several aircraft. To make matters worse, Factory No.292 which was the main manufacturer of Yak-1s was bombed on 23 June 1943 and burned to the ground. Amazingly, production resumed among the ruins on 29 June. Due to loose tolerances, each aircraft was essentially unique with workers performing the final assembly having the unenviable task of mating what often proved to be very dissimilar components. For example, left and right main landing gear could be of different lengths and different angles relative to the aircraft which required adjusting their attachments to ensure an even stance for the completed aircraft. Parts were often non-interchangeable between aircraft. Production of Yak-1 ended in July 1944 with somewhere around 8,700 built.


Specifications (Yak-1b)
General characteristics
• Crew: One
• Length: 8.5 m (27 ft 11 in)
• Wingspan: 10.0 m (32 ft 10 in)
• Height: m (ft)
• Wing area: 17.2 m² (185.1 ft²)
• Empty weight: 2,394 kg (5,267 lb)
• Loaded weight: 2,883 kg (6,343 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: kg (lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Klimov M-105PF V-12 liquid-cooled engine, 880 kW (1,180 hp)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 592 km/h at altitude (368 mph)
• Range: 700 km (435 mi)
• Service ceiling: 10,050 m (32,972 ft)
• Rate of climb: 15.4 m/s (3,038 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 168 kg/m² (34 lb/ft²)
• Power/mass: 0.31 kW/kg (0.19 hp/lb)
Armament
• 1 × 20 mm (0.8 in) ShVAK cannon, 1 × 12.7 mm (0.5 in) Berezin UBS machine gun. One-second salvo weight of fire 2 kg (4.4 lb) with both the cannon and the machine gun using high-explosive ammunition


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... f/Yak1.jpg

Yakovlev Yak-7

The Soviet Yakovlev Yak-7 was developed from the earlier Yak-1 fighter, initially as a trainer but converted into a "heavy" fighter. As both a fighter and later reverting to its original training role, the Yak-7 proved to be a capable aircraft and was well-liked by air crews.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... _Jak-7.JPG


IAR 80


The IAR 80 was a Romanian World War II low-wing, monoplane, all-metal construction fighter aircraft. When it first flew in 1938 it was competitive with most contemporary designs like the German Bf 109E, the British Hawker Hurricane and the Supermarine Spitfire. However, production problems and lack of available armament delayed entry of the IAR 80 into service until 1941. Although there were plans to replace it fairly quickly it was forced to remain in front-line use until 1944, by which point it was entirely outdated.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... IAR-80.jpg

Background
In order to ensure that the Aeronautica Regală Română (Royal Romanian Air Force, or ARR) could continue to be supplied with aircraft in time of war, the government subsidized the creation of three major aircraft manufacturers in the 1920s and 1930s. The first was Societatea pentru Exploatări Tehnice (SET) which was formed in Bucharest in 1923. Next came Industria Aeronautică Română (IAR) which set up shop in Braşov in 1925. Finally there was Intreprinderea de Construcţii Aeronautice Romaneşti (ICAR), which was founded in Bucharest in 1932.
In 1930 the Romanian government issued specifications for a new fighter. Although the government did not expect bids from its own aircraft industry, IAR produced several prototype fighters in response to the tender. None of the other Romanian companies entered a bid, and as the industry was rife with corruption, the government nationalized IAR while the other two companies were left to their own devices.
The fighter contract was eventually won by the Polish PZL P.11, which at the time was considered to be the best fighter in the world. The FARR purchased fifty of a modified version called the P.11b, all of which were delivered in 1934. A second contest was also fought between the newer IAR.24 and PZL P.24 designs, and once again the newer PZL design won a contract for another fifty planes.
Although IAR's own designs had not entered production, they nevertheless won the contracts to build many of the airframes under license, as well as providing the engines, licensed versions of the famous Gnome-Rhone 14K. Other licensed contracts included the Potez 25, the Morane-Saulnier 35, and the Fleet 10-G. As a result the company had enough money to fund a design shop even if its designs never saw production.


Development history
Despite the constant race with PZL, an IAR design team led by Dr. Ion Grosu continued work on fighter designs. He was convinced that the low wing design pioneered on the IAR.24 represented a much better design than the PZL gull-wing design, which was often referred to as the "Polish wing". Once again the team studied the new PZL fighter looking to incorporate its best features into a new plane, and the result was the IAR.80.
The design was a true mix of features. The tail section was taken directly from the P.24, and was of semi-monocoque construction. Also taken from the P.24 was the very front of the plane, including the engine, engine mounting, and the cowling design. The fuselage from the engine back to the cockpit was new, consisting of a welded steel tube frame covered with duralumin sheeting. The wings were mounted just behind the engine, and were of the same design as those used on the early IAR.24, which had competed with the P.24.
According to one source, the wing profile was taken directly from the Italian Savoia Marchetti bomber, in service with the FARR at the time, as the design team did not have the time to complete wing design studies. As a result, the profile was less favorable for higher speeds, but gave the aircraft more maneuverability.
The cockpit's interior, instruments, and gunsight were almost entirely imported from foreign suppliers. This effort to aggregate a fighter from various sources was, again, a result of the authorities' indifference during the pre-war years and the last-minute demand to IAR to produce a front-line fighter.
The plane was considerably more modern than the Polish designs, and the team finally had a plane that could beat PZL's best.


Specifications (IAR.80)
This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them.
General characteristics
• Crew: one, pilot
• Length: 8.9 m (29 ft 2 in)
• Wingspan: 10.7 m (35 ft 1 in)
• Height: 3.6 m (11 ft 10 in)
• Wing area: 16 m² (172.16 ft²)
• Empty weight: 1780 kg (3,924 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 2250 kg (4,960 lb)
• Powerplant: × IAR K.14-IV C32 air-cooled 14-cylinder double-row radial, 716 kW (960 hp) each
Performance
• Maximum speed: 510 km/h at 4000 m (275 knots, 317 mph at 13,000 ft)
• Range: 940 km (507 nm, 580 mi)
• Service ceiling: 10,500 m (34,500 ft)
Armament
• 4 × FN (Browning) 7.92 mm with 500 rounds each mounted in the inner portion of the wing
Specifications (IAR.80A)
Data from[citation needed]
General characteristics
• Crew: one, pilot
• Length: 9.22 m (30 ft 3 in)
• Wingspan: 9.09 m (29 ft 10 in)
• Height: 3.82 m (12 ft 6 in)
• Wing area: 17 m² (183 ft²)
• Empty weight: 1617 kg (3,565 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 2,248 kg (4,957 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× IAR K14-1000A air-cooled 14 cylinder double-row radial, 764 kW (1025 hp)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 495 km/h (274 knots, 316 mph)
• Range: 1150 km (621 nm, 715 mi)
• Service ceiling: 9,500 m (31,200 ft)
• Wing loading: 132.35 kg/m² (27.1 lb/ft²)
Armament
• 6 × FN (Browning) 7.92 mm with 500 rounds each mounted in the inner portion of the wing
Specifications (IAR.81C)
Data from[citation needed]
General characteristics
• Crew: one, pilot
• Length: 9.22 m (30 ft 3 in)
• Wingspan: 9.09 m (29 ft 10 in)
• Height: 3.82 m (12 ft 6 in)
• Wing area: 17 m² (183 ft²)
• Empty weight: 2200 kg (4,850 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 2980 kg (6,570 lb)
• Powerplant: × IAR K14-1000A air-cooled 14 cylinder double-row radial, 764 kW (1,025 hp) each
Performance
• Maximum speed: 480 km/h at 7,000 m (297 knots, 342 mph at 22,965 ft)
• Range: 730 km on internal fuel only (394 nm, 454 mi)
• Service ceiling: 9,500 m (31,200 ft)
• Wing loading: 132.35 kg/m² (27.1 lb/ft²)
Armament
• 2 × 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon and 4 × 7.92 mm FN machine guns mounted in the inner portion of the wing


Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Goudkov LaGG-3


The Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Goudkov LaGG-3 (Лавочкин-Горбунов-Гудков ЛаГГ-3) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. It was a refinement of the earlier LaGG-1, and was one of the most modern aircraft available to the Soviet Air Force at the time of Germany's invasion in 1941.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... LaGG-3.jpg

The main deficiency of the LaGG-1 design was power. A more powerful version of its Klimov M-105 engine was tried. The improvement was poor and without an alternative powerplant, the only solution was to lighten the airframe. The LaGG team re-examined the design and pared down the structure as much as possible. Fixed slats were added to the wings to improve climb and manoeuvrability and further weight was saved by installing lighter armament. The LaGG-3 replaced the LaGG-1 immediately.
The result was still not good enough although it came close to its rival Bf-109F in performance and was superior in maneuverability. Still, even with the lighter airframe and supercharged engine, the LaGG-3 was underpowered and proved immensely unpopular with pilots. The novel, wood-laminate construction of the aircraft continued to be poor quality (as with its predecessor) and pilots joked that rather than being an acronym of the designers' names (Lavochkin, Gorbunov, and Goudkov) "LaGG" stood for lakirovanny garantirovanny grob ("guaranteed varnished coffin" - лакированный гарантированный гроб). Some aircraft supplied to the front line were up to 40 km/h (25 mph) slower than they should have been and some were not airworthy. In combat, LaGG-3's main advantage was its strong airframe. Although the laminated wood did not burn it shattered severely when hit by high explosive rounds.
The LaGG-3 was improved during production, resulting in 66 minor variants in the 6,258 that were built. Experiments with fitting a large radial engine to the LaGG-3 airframe finally solved the power problem, and led to the superb Lavochkin La-5.


Specifications LaGG-3
(data for LaGG-3 series 66)[3] General characteristics
• Crew: One
• Length: 8.81 m (28 ft 11 in)
• Wingspan: 9.80 m (32 ft 1.75 in)
• Height: 2.54 m (8 ft 4 in)
• Wing area: 17.4 m² (188 ft²)
• Empty weight: 2,205 kg (4,851 lb)
• Loaded weight: 2,620 kg (5,764 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 3,190 kg (7,018 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Klimov M-105PF liquid-cooled V-12, 924 kW (1,260 hp)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 575 km/h (357 mph)
• Range: 1000 km (621 mi)
• Service ceiling: 9,700 m (31,825 ft)
• Rate of climb: 14.9 m/s (2,926 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 150 kg/m² (31 lb/ft²)
• Power/mass: 350 W/kg (0.21 hp/lb)
Armament
• 2× 12.7 mm (0.50 in) Berezin BS machine guns
• 1× 20 mm ShVAK cannon
• 6× RS-82 or RS-132 rockets up a total of 200kg (441 lb


Lavochkin La-7


The Lavochkin La-7 (Лавочкин Ла-7) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. It was a development and refinement of the Lavochkin La-5, and the last in a family of aircraft that had begun with the LaGG-1 in 1938.

By 1943, the La-5 had become a mainstay of the Soviet Air Force, yet both its head designer, Semyon Lavochkin, as well as the engineers at TsAGI ("Central Aerohydrodynamics Institute") felt that it could be improved upon. The LaGG-1 had been designed at a time when it was considered necessary to conserve strategic materials such as aircraft alloys, and had a structure built almost entirely of plywood. With Soviet strategists now confident that supplies of these alloys were unlikely to become a problem, Lavochkin began replacing large parts of the airframe (including the wing spars) with alloy components. Various other streamlining changes were made as well, increasing performance further. The prototype, internally designated La-120 by Lavochkin, flew in November, and was quickly put into production, entering service the following spring.


By 1943, the La-5 had become a mainstay of the Soviet Air Force, yet both its head designer, Semyon Lavochkin, as well as the engineers at TsAGI ("Central Aerohydrodynamics Institute") felt that it could be improved upon. The LaGG-1 had been designed at a time when it was considered necessary to conserve strategic materials such as aircraft alloys, and had a structure built almost entirely of plywood. With Soviet strategists now confident that supplies of these alloys were unlikely to become a problem, Lavochkin began replacing large parts of the airframe (including the wing spars) with alloy components. Various other streamlining changes were made as well, increasing performance further. The prototype, internally designated La-120 by Lavochkin, flew in November, and was quickly put into production, entering service the following spring.


Operational history
The La-7 earned itself a superb combat record by the end of the war, and was flown by the top Soviet ace of the conflict Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub. Turning a full circle took 19-21 seconds. The aircraft was also used as a testbed to explore advanced propulsion systems, including a tail-mounted liquid-fuelled rocket engine (La-7R), two under-wing pulsejets (La-7D), and two under-wing ramjets (La-7S). None of these variants proved worth pursuing, and turbojet technology quickly overtook them.
The La-7 was the only Soviet fighter to shoot down a Messerschmitt Me-262, by Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub on one occasion over Germany on February 15, 1945.
Two La-7s from the PLAAF shot down a Cathay Pacific airliner off the coast of Hainan Island in 23 July 1954.[1]
Total production of the La-7 amounted to 5,753 aircraft, including a number of La-7UTI trainers. Those aircraft still in service after the end of the war were given the NATO reporting name Fin. The follow-up model, La-9 despite its outward similarity was a complete reworking of the design.


Specifications (Lavochkin La-7)
General characteristics
• Crew: One
• Length: 8.60 m (28 ft 2 in)
• Wingspan: 9.80 m (32 ft 1 in)
• Height: 2.540 m (8 ft 4 in)
• Wing area: 17.5 m² (188 ft²)
• Empty weight: 2,638 kg (5,803 lb)
• Loaded weight: 3,265 kg (7,183 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 3,400 kg (7,480 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Shvetsov ASh-82FN radial engine, 1,380 kW (1,850 hp)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 680 km/h (423 mph)
• Range: 990 km (615 miles)
• Service ceiling: 9,500 m (31,168 ft)
• Rate of climb: 18.3 m/s (3,602 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 38 lb/ft² (187 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.42 kW/kg (0.25 hp/lb)
Armament
• 2 × 20 mm ShVAK cannons; 200 rpg or 3 × 20 mm Berezin B-20 cannons; 100 rpg
• 200 kg (440 lb) of bombs

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... y-2007.jpg



Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3


The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 (Russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-3) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. It was a development of the MiG-1 by the OKO (opytno-konstrooktorskiy otdel — Experimental Design Department) of zavod (factory) No.1 to fix the issues that had been encountered seen over its development and deployment cycle.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/de/MiG-3.jpg

Mikoyan and Gurevich made a large number of modifications to the MiG-1 design following both field use and research in the T-1 wind tunnel belonging to the Central Aero and Hydrodynamics Institute (TsAGI). These changes were mostly done piecemeal on the assembly line.
These changes included:
• Moving the engine forward 100 mm (4 in) which improved stability.
• Increase the outer wingpanel dihedral by one degree which also increased stability.
• Introduction of a new water radiator (OP-310), which allows for an additional 250 l (66 US gal) fuel tank.
• Adding an additional oil tank under the engine.
• Venting and piping exhaust gas into the fuel tanks to reduce fire in case of enemy fire.
• Adding 8 mm armor behind the pilot (increased to 9 mm in later models).
• Streamlining supercharger intakes.
• Strengthening the main landing gear.
• Increasing the size of the main wheels to 650 x 200 mm (25.5 x 7.87 in).
• Improved canopy, which improved views to the rear and allowed for the installation of a shelf behind the pilot for an RSI-1 radio (later upgraded to an RSI-4).
• Redesign of the instrument panel.
• Upgrade of the PBP-1 gunsight to the PBP-1A gunsight.
• Increase in ammo load for the ShKAS guns to 750 rpg.
• Additional underwing hardpoints added to carry up to 220 kg (485 lb) of bombs, spray containers or 8 RS-82 unguided rockets.
The first aircraft to see all of these changes applied to them was I-200 No.04, which was the fourth prototype of the I-200, which later became the MiG-1. It first flew in late October 1940. Following its successful first flight it was then passed to VVS (Voyenno-voz-dooshnyye seely - Military Air Forces) for State trials.
During this testing, NKAP (Narodnyy komissariat aviatsionnoy promyshlennosti - People's Ministry of the Aircraft Industry) announced that the three zavods building the MiG-3 at the time would be required to build a total of 3,600 in 1941.
Operational history
The first production MiG-3 rolled off the assembly line on 20 December 1940. By March 1941, 10 of these aircraft were coming off the production line every day. It was not long before the type would see combat, claiming a pair of German Junkers Ju 86 reconnaissance aircraft even before the start of hostilities between Germany and the Soviet Union.
By the time of Operation Barbarossa, over 1,200 MiG-3s had been delivered.
During initial testing of production aircraft was found to be inferior to the MiG-1 due to its weight increase, and fuel consumption was well over what Mikoyan and Gurevich were promised by the manufacturer (zavod No.24), but the fuel consumption was actually found to be an issue with the testing of the aircraft and the failure to take into account altitude correction. Mikoyan and Gurevich went as far as arranging for two more flights between Leningrad and Moscow to prove the MiG-3 could fly 1,000 km (621 mi).
However that was not the end of the issues that the MiG-3 encountered during its deployment. Several MiG-3s produced were found to have unacceptable performance at altitude due to oil and fuel pressure. It was also found that pilots attempted to fly the MiG-3 as if it were an earlier aircraft (especially the forgiving Polikarpov I-15, I-153 and I-16s), which led to several other problems. Soon new oil and fuel pumps were introduced as well as attempts at better pilot training to familiarize them with the MiG-3.
Over the next two years of the MiG-3, several new changes made it into production, including up-gunning to UBS machine guns and ShVAK cannons.
Due to the conditions of battle with the German forces, the MiG-3 was forced into a low altitude and even a ground-attack role, but it was quickly found to be inferior, and withdrawn from this role. The death knell for the MiG-3 was the discontinuation of its AM-35 engine so that Mikulin could concentrate on AM-38 production for the Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik. It was eventually used as a reconnaissance plane — its high service ceiling of 13,500 m (44,291 ft) and fast high altitude speed made well suited for such a role.
Even with the MiG-3's limitations, Aleksandr Pokryshkin, the second leading Soviet ace of the war with 59 official victories, recorded most of those victories while flying a MiG-3.
On 3 December 1941, a Ukrainian defector flew a MiG-3 to Melitopol airfield and surrendered to Romanian troops. The pilot's aircraft was repainted in Romanian markings and flown at Brasov by Captain 'Bazu' Cantacuzino, one of Romania's top pilots, and used as an "aggressor" for training purposes. The Soviets later seized this aircraft in the early fall of 1944, following Romania's break away from the German Alliance. This aircraft was known to have been seen in at least two different paint schemes during the time it was in the hands of Captain Cantacuzino.
Variants
Throughout the rest of the war, Mikoyan and Gurevich continued to develop the MiG-3 along the high-altitude interceptor lines that it had originally been designed for, which led to a series of ever-larger and more powerful prototypes, serially designated from the I-220 to the I-225[2]. (Some sources mistakenly assign the MiG-7 designation to one of these aircraft.) While promising enough, the air war over Germany was demonstrating that the heyday of the piston-engined fighter was over, and no production order followed.
There were several attempts to re-engine the aircraft with the engine it was originally designed for, the AM-37. This was designated the MiG-7, but with production of this engine ceasing as well, the project stalled.[3] From spring-1942 onwards, the MiG-3's were moved from the front line to air defence squadrons, some of which flew them for the rest of the war. One final attempt made to save the aircraft was to re-engine it with a Shvetsov ASh-82 radial engine, the same engine that had been used to create the Lavochkin La-5 from the LaGG-3. The prototypes were designated I-210 and I-211, and the result was successful enough that production was considered under the designation MiG-9 (not to be confused with the later jet). However, the La-5 was already in production and the I-211 did not offer the air force anything that it did not already have in that aircraft. Some MiG-9 airframes were even tested with the Pratt & Whitney R-2800-63 engine.
Two final prototypes, the I-230 and I-231[4], attempted to make the most of the original MiG-3 and its engine by considerably lightening the aircraft, but with the type relegated to secondary units, the Soviet air force was simply not interested.
• MiG-3 : Single-seat interceptor fighter aircraft, powered by a 1,007 kW (1,350 hp) Mikulin AM-35A piston engine.
• I-210 : MiG-3 prototype powered by a Shvetsov ASh-82 radial piston engine. Also known as the MiG-3-82.
• I-211 : MiG-3 prototype powered by a Shvetsov radial piston engine.
• MiG-3U : This was another MiG-3 prototype, powered by a 1,007 kW (1,350 hp) Mikulin AM-35A piston engine.


Specifications (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3)
Data from MiG: Fifty Years of Secret Aircraft Design[6]
General characteristics
• Crew: One
• Length: 8.25 m (27 ft 1 in)
• Wingspan: 10.20 m (33 ft 5 in)
• Height: 3.30 m (10 ft 9⅞ in)
• Wing area: 17.44 m² (188 ft²)
• Airfoil: Clark YH
• Empty weight: 2,699 kg (5,965 lb)
• Loaded weight: 3,355 kg (7,415 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Mikulin AM-35A liquid-cooled V-12, 993 kW (1,350 hp)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 640 km/h (398 mph, 346 knots) at 7,800 m (25,600 ft)
• Maximum speed at sea level : 505 km/h (314 mph, 273 knots)
• Combat range: 820 km (510 mi,443 NM)
• Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,400 ft)
• Wing loading: 155 kg/m² (39.3 lb/ft²)
• Power/mass: 0.30 kW/kg (0.18 hp/lb)
• Climb to 8,000 m (26,250 ft): 10.28 min
Armament
• 1 × 12.7 mm UBS machine gun
• 2 × 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns.
• Weight of round 1.44 kg (3.17 lb). The UBS used high explosive PETN ammunition. Some MiG-3's had 2 × UBK guns under the wings, but this negatively affected flight performance.
• 2 × 100 kg (220 lb) bombs, 2 spray containers for poisons, gas or flammable liquids or 6 × 82 mm RS-82 rockets


Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1


The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 (Микоян-Гуревич МиГ-1) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. Although difficult to handle, it formed the basis for the MiG-3, which proved to be a capable high-altitude interceptor aircraft and established a reputation for its designers.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... /MiG-1.jpg

The MiG-1 was designed in response to a requirement for a fighter with an inline engine issued by the Soviet Air Force in January 1939. Initially the aircraft, designated I-200, was designed in the Polikarpov construction bureau. Work started in June 1939, under the direction of Nikolai Polikarpov and his assistant M. Tetivikin. Polikarpov himself preferred radial engines and promoted his I-180 design at that time, but when the powerful Mikulin AM-37 inline engine became available, he decided to use it in a fighter. The approach that he selected was to build the smallest possible aircraft around the intended powerplant, thereby minimising weight and drag — the philosophy of the light fighter. As specified, the aircraft was to be capable of reaching 670 km/h (417 mph). In August 1939, Polikarpov made N. Andrianov a leading designer. At that time, however, Polikarpov fell out of favour with Stalin and as a result, when Polikarpov went in November 1939 to tour Germany's aviation works, the Soviet authorities decided to scatter his construction team and create a new Experimental Construction Section (OKO), headed by Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich, which remained formally subordinated to Polikarpov bureau until June 1940. Further work upon the I-200 design was assigned to Mikoyan and Gurevich, who later became recognized — not with full justice — as its designers.
The result was a highly conventional aircraft that flew on schedule on April 5, 1940, although its intended powerplant was not ready in time. The flight was conducted by Arkadij Ekatov on the Khodynka (Frunze) Airfield in Moscow, and was able to attain a speed of 648.5 km/h (402.9 mph) at 6,900 m (22,638 ft).[1] Instead, the new fighter flew with the less powerful AM-35, and even with this soon broke the Soviet air speed record by 40 km/h (25 mph). It could not, however, attain the speed originally specified by the air force with this engine. The I-200 was put into production almost immediately, on May 31, 1940. In contrast to the other competing designs, the I-26 (Yak-1) and I-301 (LaGG-3), the I-200 successfully completed the state trials in August on its first attempt. By the end of the year, the type was already being delivered to test squadrons, where it was soon discovered that the high wing loading of the small aircraft produced some very nasty handling problems, including tendencies towards both stalling and spinning, and a lack of directional stability.
As reports of the handling problems came back to Mikoyan and Gurevich, they worked to remedy them, incorporating many design changes. They also increased the aircraft's range by increasing fuel tank capacity. The improved plane was first flown on October 29, 1940. According to a new naming system, from December 9, 1940 the first 100 I-200 were designated MiG-1 (after the initials of Mikoyan and Gurevich), while further improved aircraft were designated MiG-3.


Specifications (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1)
General characteristics
• Crew: One
• Length: 8.16 m (26 ft 9 in)
• Wingspan: 10.20 m (33 ft 5 in)
• Height: 2.62 m (8 ft 7 in)
• Wing area: 17.5 m² (188 ft²)
• Airfoil: Clark YH
• Empty weight: 2,602 kg (5,736 lb)
• Loaded weight: 3,099 kg (6,832 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 3,319 kg (7,317 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Mikulin AM-35A liquid-cooled V-12, 1,007 kW (1,350 hp)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 657 km/h (410 mph)
• Range: 580 km (362 mi)
• Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,370 ft)
• Rate of climb: 16.8 m/s (3,306 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 177 kg/m² (36 lb/ft²)
• Power/mass: 0.32 kW/kg (0.20 hp/lb)
Armament
• 1 × 12.7 mm BS machine gun
• 2 × 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns
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Yakovlev Yak-9



The Yakovlev Yak-9 was a single-engine fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Union in World War II and after. It was the most numerous Soviet fighter of the war and remained in production from 1942 to 1948, with 16,769 built.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... /Yak9d.jpg

The Yak-9 represented further development of the successful Yakovlev Yak-7 fighter, a production version of the lightened Yak-7DI, taking full advantage of the combat experience with its predecessor. Greater availability of duralumin allowed for lighter construction which in turn permitted a number of modifications to the basic design.
Yak-9 variants carried two different wings, five different engines, six different fuel tank combinations and seven types of armament configurations.



General characteristics
• Crew: one
• Length: 28 ft 0 in (8.55 m)
• Wingspan: 31 ft 11 in (9.74 m)
• Height: 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m)
• Wing area: 185.1 ft² (17.2 m²)
• Empty weight: 5,170 lb (2,350 kg)
• Loaded weight: 6,858 lb (3,117 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: lb (kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Klimov M-105 PF V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine, 1,180 hp (880 kW)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 367 mph at altitude (591 km/h)
• Range: 845 miles (1,360 km)
• Service ceiling: 30,000 ft (9,100 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,690 ft/min (13.7 m/s)
• Wing loading: 37 lb/ft² (181 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.17 hp/lb (0.28 kW/kg)
Armament
• 1 × 20 mm ShVAK cannon, 120 rounds
• 1 × 12.7 mm UBS machine gun, 200 rounds


Specifications (Yak-9U (VK-107))
General characteristics
• Crew: one
• Length: 28 ft 0 in (8.55 m)
• Wingspan: 31 ft 11 in (9.74 m)
• Height: 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m)
• Wing area: 185.1 ft² (17.2 m²)
• Empty weight: 5,526 lb (2,512 kg)
• Loaded weight: 7,049 lb (3,204 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: lb (kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Klimov VK-107A V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine, 1,500 hp (1,120 kW)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 417 mph at altitude (672 km/h)
• Range: 420 miles (675 km)
• Service ceiling: 35,000 ft (10,650 m)
• Rate of climb: 3,280 ft/min (16.7 m/s)
• Wing loading: 38 lb/ft² (186 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.21 hp/lb (0.35 kW/kg)
Armament
• 1 × 20 mm ShVAK cannon, 120 rounds
• 2 × 12.7 mm UBS machine guns, 170 rpg


Yakovlev Yak-1


Yakovlev Yak-1

The Yakovlev Yak-1 was a World War II Soviet fighter aircraft, produced from early 1940.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... f/Yak1.jpg

Although prior to World War II Yakovlev was best known for building light sports aircraft, the Yak-4 light bomber impressed the Soviet government enough to order the OKB to design a new fighter with a Klimov M-106 V-12 liquid-cooled engine. Formal specifications released on 29 July 1939, called for two prototypes - I-26-1 with a top speed of 620 km/h (385 mph) at 6,000 m (16,685 ft), combat range of 600 km (375 mi), a climb to 10,000 m (32,808 ft) of under 11 minutes, and armament of 2 × 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns and 1 × 12.7 mm (0.5 in) Berezin BS heavy machine gun, and I-26-2 with a turbocharged M-106 engine with a top speed of 650 km/h (404 mph) at 10,000 m (32,808 ft) and armament of 2 × 7.62 mm (.3 in) ShKAS machine guns. The design took full advantage of Yakovlev OKB's experience with sports aircraft and promised agility as well as high top speed. Since the M-106 was delayed, the design was changed to incorporate the Klimov M-105P V-12 engine, with a 20 mm (.8 in) ShVAK cannon in the "vee" of the engine block.
I-26-I first flew on 13 January 1940. The prototype suffered from oil overheating problems which were never completely resolved resulting in 15 emergency landings during early testing. Then, on 27 April 1940, I-26-1 crashed, killing its test pilot Yu.I. Piontkovskiy. The investigation of the crash found that the pilot performed two consecutive barrel rolls at low altitude which was in violation of test flight plan. It was believed that during the first roll, the main landing gear became unlocked, causing it to crash through the wing during the second roll. It has been hypothesized that Piontkovskiy's deviation from the flight plan was caused by frustration that his aircraft was being used for engine testing while I-26-2, built with the lessons of I-26-1 in mind, was already performing aerobatics.
Poor quality of subassemblies provided by different suppliers raised the I-26-2's weight 400 kg (882 lb) above projected figues, which restricted the airframe to only 4.4 G while overheating oil was still a problem. The many defects caused I-26-2 to fail government testing in 1940. Fortunately for Yakovlev, its competitors I-200 (future Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3) and I-301 (future LaGG-3) also failed testing. Requested improvements were incorporated into I-26-3 which was delivered for testing on 13 October 1940. Although it passed on 9 December 1940, the aircraft was still very much unfinished with unresolved engine problems.
Troublesome and slow testing and development must have been quite worrisome for Soviet officials considering the fact that the I-26 was ordered into production under the name Yak-1 on 19 February 1940 - a mere month after I-26-1 made its maiden flight! The goal of this gamble was to reduce lag time between prototype and production aircraft. As a backup, the I-200 and I-301 were also ordered into production. Although the Yak-1 was slower than the I-200 and less heavily armed than the I-301, it enjoyed the advantage of having been started earlier which gave it a consistent lead in testing and development over its competitors. Beginning of the Great Patriotic War on 22 June 1941 made development and implementation of several other upcoming promising designs like Polikarpov I-185 unfeasible. The fact that Yakovlev was Stalin's personal favorite likely also played in the Yak-1's favor.
Simultaneous manufacturing and testing of a design that required as many improvements as I-26 wreaked havoc on the production lines. Almost 8,000 changes were made to the aircraft's blueprints by 1941 with an additional 7,000 implemented the following year with 5,000 more changes coming in 1942. Production was further slowed by shortages of engines, propellers, radiators, wheels and cannons. Shortages of quality materials resulted in plywood being torn off the wings on several aircraft. To make matters worse, Factory No.292 which was the main manufacturer of Yak-1s was bombed on 23 June 1943 and burned to the ground. Amazingly, production resumed among the ruins on 29 June. Due to loose tolerances, each aircraft was essentially unique with workers performing the final assembly having the unenviable task of mating what often proved to be very dissimilar components. For example, left and right main landing gear could be of different lengths and different angles relative to the aircraft which required adjusting their attachments to ensure an even stance for the completed aircraft. Parts were often non-interchangeable between aircraft. Production of Yak-1 ended in July 1944 with somewhere around 8,700 built.


Specifications (Yak-1b)
General characteristics
• Crew: One
• Length: 8.5 m (27 ft 11 in)
• Wingspan: 10.0 m (32 ft 10 in)
• Height: m (ft)
• Wing area: 17.2 m² (185.1 ft²)
• Empty weight: 2,394 kg (5,267 lb)
• Loaded weight: 2,883 kg (6,343 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: kg (lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Klimov M-105PF V-12 liquid-cooled engine, 880 kW (1,180 hp)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 592 km/h at altitude (368 mph)
• Range: 700 km (435 mi)
• Service ceiling: 10,050 m (32,972 ft)
• Rate of climb: 15.4 m/s (3,038 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 168 kg/m² (34 lb/ft²)
• Power/mass: 0.31 kW/kg (0.19 hp/lb)
Armament
• 1 × 20 mm (0.8 in) ShVAK cannon, 1 × 12.7 mm (0.5 in) Berezin UBS machine gun. One-second salvo weight of fire 2 kg (4.4 lb) with both the cannon and the machine gun using high-explosive ammunition


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... f/Yak1.jpg

Yakovlev Yak-7

The Soviet Yakovlev Yak-7 was developed from the earlier Yak-1 fighter, initially as a trainer but converted into a "heavy" fighter. As both a fighter and later reverting to its original training role, the Yak-7 proved to be a capable aircraft and was well-liked by air crews.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... _Jak-7.JPG


IAR 80


The IAR 80 was a Romanian World War II low-wing, monoplane, all-metal construction fighter aircraft. When it first flew in 1938 it was competitive with most contemporary designs like the German Bf 109E, the British Hawker Hurricane and the Supermarine Spitfire. However, production problems and lack of available armament delayed entry of the IAR 80 into service until 1941. Although there were plans to replace it fairly quickly it was forced to remain in front-line use until 1944, by which point it was entirely outdated.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... IAR-80.jpg

Background
In order to ensure that the Aeronautica Regală Română (Royal Romanian Air Force, or ARR) could continue to be supplied with aircraft in time of war, the government subsidized the creation of three major aircraft manufacturers in the 1920s and 1930s. The first was Societatea pentru Exploatări Tehnice (SET) which was formed in Bucharest in 1923. Next came Industria Aeronautică Română (IAR) which set up shop in Braşov in 1925. Finally there was Intreprinderea de Construcţii Aeronautice Romaneşti (ICAR), which was founded in Bucharest in 1932.
In 1930 the Romanian government issued specifications for a new fighter. Although the government did not expect bids from its own aircraft industry, IAR produced several prototype fighters in response to the tender. None of the other Romanian companies entered a bid, and as the industry was rife with corruption, the government nationalized IAR while the other two companies were left to their own devices.
The fighter contract was eventually won by the Polish PZL P.11, which at the time was considered to be the best fighter in the world. The FARR purchased fifty of a modified version called the P.11b, all of which were delivered in 1934. A second contest was also fought between the newer IAR.24 and PZL P.24 designs, and once again the newer PZL design won a contract for another fifty planes.
Although IAR's own designs had not entered production, they nevertheless won the contracts to build many of the airframes under license, as well as providing the engines, licensed versions of the famous Gnome-Rhone 14K. Other licensed contracts included the Potez 25, the Morane-Saulnier 35, and the Fleet 10-G. As a result the company had enough money to fund a design shop even if its designs never saw production.


Development history
Despite the constant race with PZL, an IAR design team led by Dr. Ion Grosu continued work on fighter designs. He was convinced that the low wing design pioneered on the IAR.24 represented a much better design than the PZL gull-wing design, which was often referred to as the "Polish wing". Once again the team studied the new PZL fighter looking to incorporate its best features into a new plane, and the result was the IAR.80.
The design was a true mix of features. The tail section was taken directly from the P.24, and was of semi-monocoque construction. Also taken from the P.24 was the very front of the plane, including the engine, engine mounting, and the cowling design. The fuselage from the engine back to the cockpit was new, consisting of a welded steel tube frame covered with duralumin sheeting. The wings were mounted just behind the engine, and were of the same design as those used on the early IAR.24, which had competed with the P.24.
According to one source, the wing profile was taken directly from the Italian Savoia Marchetti bomber, in service with the FARR at the time, as the design team did not have the time to complete wing design studies. As a result, the profile was less favorable for higher speeds, but gave the aircraft more maneuverability.
The cockpit's interior, instruments, and gunsight were almost entirely imported from foreign suppliers. This effort to aggregate a fighter from various sources was, again, a result of the authorities' indifference during the pre-war years and the last-minute demand to IAR to produce a front-line fighter.
The plane was considerably more modern than the Polish designs, and the team finally had a plane that could beat PZL's best.


Specifications (IAR.80)
This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them.
General characteristics
• Crew: one, pilot
• Length: 8.9 m (29 ft 2 in)
• Wingspan: 10.7 m (35 ft 1 in)
• Height: 3.6 m (11 ft 10 in)
• Wing area: 16 m² (172.16 ft²)
• Empty weight: 1780 kg (3,924 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 2250 kg (4,960 lb)
• Powerplant: × IAR K.14-IV C32 air-cooled 14-cylinder double-row radial, 716 kW (960 hp) each
Performance
• Maximum speed: 510 km/h at 4000 m (275 knots, 317 mph at 13,000 ft)
• Range: 940 km (507 nm, 580 mi)
• Service ceiling: 10,500 m (34,500 ft)
Armament
• 4 × FN (Browning) 7.92 mm with 500 rounds each mounted in the inner portion of the wing
Specifications (IAR.80A)
Data from[citation needed]
General characteristics
• Crew: one, pilot
• Length: 9.22 m (30 ft 3 in)
• Wingspan: 9.09 m (29 ft 10 in)
• Height: 3.82 m (12 ft 6 in)
• Wing area: 17 m² (183 ft²)
• Empty weight: 1617 kg (3,565 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 2,248 kg (4,957 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× IAR K14-1000A air-cooled 14 cylinder double-row radial, 764 kW (1025 hp)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 495 km/h (274 knots, 316 mph)
• Range: 1150 km (621 nm, 715 mi)
• Service ceiling: 9,500 m (31,200 ft)
• Wing loading: 132.35 kg/m² (27.1 lb/ft²)
Armament
• 6 × FN (Browning) 7.92 mm with 500 rounds each mounted in the inner portion of the wing
Specifications (IAR.81C)
Data from[citation needed]
General characteristics
• Crew: one, pilot
• Length: 9.22 m (30 ft 3 in)
• Wingspan: 9.09 m (29 ft 10 in)
• Height: 3.82 m (12 ft 6 in)
• Wing area: 17 m² (183 ft²)
• Empty weight: 2200 kg (4,850 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 2980 kg (6,570 lb)
• Powerplant: × IAR K14-1000A air-cooled 14 cylinder double-row radial, 764 kW (1,025 hp) each
Performance
• Maximum speed: 480 km/h at 7,000 m (297 knots, 342 mph at 22,965 ft)
• Range: 730 km on internal fuel only (394 nm, 454 mi)
• Service ceiling: 9,500 m (31,200 ft)
• Wing loading: 132.35 kg/m² (27.1 lb/ft²)
Armament
• 2 × 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon and 4 × 7.92 mm FN machine guns mounted in the inner portion of the wing


Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Goudkov LaGG-3


The Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Goudkov LaGG-3 (Лавочкин-Горбунов-Гудков ЛаГГ-3) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. It was a refinement of the earlier LaGG-1, and was one of the most modern aircraft available to the Soviet Air Force at the time of Germany's invasion in 1941.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... LaGG-3.jpg

The main deficiency of the LaGG-1 design was power. A more powerful version of its Klimov M-105 engine was tried. The improvement was poor and without an alternative powerplant, the only solution was to lighten the airframe. The LaGG team re-examined the design and pared down the structure as much as possible. Fixed slats were added to the wings to improve climb and manoeuvrability and further weight was saved by installing lighter armament. The LaGG-3 replaced the LaGG-1 immediately.
The result was still not good enough although it came close to its rival Bf-109F in performance and was superior in maneuverability. Still, even with the lighter airframe and supercharged engine, the LaGG-3 was underpowered and proved immensely unpopular with pilots. The novel, wood-laminate construction of the aircraft continued to be poor quality (as with its predecessor) and pilots joked that rather than being an acronym of the designers' names (Lavochkin, Gorbunov, and Goudkov) "LaGG" stood for lakirovanny garantirovanny grob ("guaranteed varnished coffin" - лакированный гарантированный гроб). Some aircraft supplied to the front line were up to 40 km/h (25 mph) slower than they should have been and some were not airworthy. In combat, LaGG-3's main advantage was its strong airframe. Although the laminated wood did not burn it shattered severely when hit by high explosive rounds.
The LaGG-3 was improved during production, resulting in 66 minor variants in the 6,258 that were built. Experiments with fitting a large radial engine to the LaGG-3 airframe finally solved the power problem, and led to the superb Lavochkin La-5.


Specifications LaGG-3
(data for LaGG-3 series 66)[3] General characteristics
• Crew: One
• Length: 8.81 m (28 ft 11 in)
• Wingspan: 9.80 m (32 ft 1.75 in)
• Height: 2.54 m (8 ft 4 in)
• Wing area: 17.4 m² (188 ft²)
• Empty weight: 2,205 kg (4,851 lb)
• Loaded weight: 2,620 kg (5,764 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 3,190 kg (7,018 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Klimov M-105PF liquid-cooled V-12, 924 kW (1,260 hp)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 575 km/h (357 mph)
• Range: 1000 km (621 mi)
• Service ceiling: 9,700 m (31,825 ft)
• Rate of climb: 14.9 m/s (2,926 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 150 kg/m² (31 lb/ft²)
• Power/mass: 350 W/kg (0.21 hp/lb)
Armament
• 2× 12.7 mm (0.50 in) Berezin BS machine guns
• 1× 20 mm ShVAK cannon
• 6× RS-82 or RS-132 rockets up a total of 200kg (441 lb


Lavochkin La-7


The Lavochkin La-7 (Лавочкин Ла-7) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. It was a development and refinement of the Lavochkin La-5, and the last in a family of aircraft that had begun with the LaGG-1 in 1938.

By 1943, the La-5 had become a mainstay of the Soviet Air Force, yet both its head designer, Semyon Lavochkin, as well as the engineers at TsAGI ("Central Aerohydrodynamics Institute") felt that it could be improved upon. The LaGG-1 had been designed at a time when it was considered necessary to conserve strategic materials such as aircraft alloys, and had a structure built almost entirely of plywood. With Soviet strategists now confident that supplies of these alloys were unlikely to become a problem, Lavochkin began replacing large parts of the airframe (including the wing spars) with alloy components. Various other streamlining changes were made as well, increasing performance further. The prototype, internally designated La-120 by Lavochkin, flew in November, and was quickly put into production, entering service the following spring.


By 1943, the La-5 had become a mainstay of the Soviet Air Force, yet both its head designer, Semyon Lavochkin, as well as the engineers at TsAGI ("Central Aerohydrodynamics Institute") felt that it could be improved upon. The LaGG-1 had been designed at a time when it was considered necessary to conserve strategic materials such as aircraft alloys, and had a structure built almost entirely of plywood. With Soviet strategists now confident that supplies of these alloys were unlikely to become a problem, Lavochkin began replacing large parts of the airframe (including the wing spars) with alloy components. Various other streamlining changes were made as well, increasing performance further. The prototype, internally designated La-120 by Lavochkin, flew in November, and was quickly put into production, entering service the following spring.


Operational history
The La-7 earned itself a superb combat record by the end of the war, and was flown by the top Soviet ace of the conflict Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub. Turning a full circle took 19-21 seconds. The aircraft was also used as a testbed to explore advanced propulsion systems, including a tail-mounted liquid-fuelled rocket engine (La-7R), two under-wing pulsejets (La-7D), and two under-wing ramjets (La-7S). None of these variants proved worth pursuing, and turbojet technology quickly overtook them.
The La-7 was the only Soviet fighter to shoot down a Messerschmitt Me-262, by Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub on one occasion over Germany on February 15, 1945.
Two La-7s from the PLAAF shot down a Cathay Pacific airliner off the coast of Hainan Island in 23 July 1954.[1]
Total production of the La-7 amounted to 5,753 aircraft, including a number of La-7UTI trainers. Those aircraft still in service after the end of the war were given the NATO reporting name Fin. The follow-up model, La-9 despite its outward similarity was a complete reworking of the design.


Specifications (Lavochkin La-7)
General characteristics
• Crew: One
• Length: 8.60 m (28 ft 2 in)
• Wingspan: 9.80 m (32 ft 1 in)
• Height: 2.540 m (8 ft 4 in)
• Wing area: 17.5 m² (188 ft²)
• Empty weight: 2,638 kg (5,803 lb)
• Loaded weight: 3,265 kg (7,183 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 3,400 kg (7,480 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Shvetsov ASh-82FN radial engine, 1,380 kW (1,850 hp)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 680 km/h (423 mph)
• Range: 990 km (615 miles)
• Service ceiling: 9,500 m (31,168 ft)
• Rate of climb: 18.3 m/s (3,602 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 38 lb/ft² (187 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.42 kW/kg (0.25 hp/lb)
Armament
• 2 × 20 mm ShVAK cannons; 200 rpg or 3 × 20 mm Berezin B-20 cannons; 100 rpg
• 200 kg (440 lb) of bombs

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... y-2007.jpg



Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3


The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 (Russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-3) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. It was a development of the MiG-1 by the OKO (opytno-konstrooktorskiy otdel — Experimental Design Department) of zavod (factory) No.1 to fix the issues that had been encountered seen over its development and deployment cycle.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/de/MiG-3.jpg

Mikoyan and Gurevich made a large number of modifications to the MiG-1 design following both field use and research in the T-1 wind tunnel belonging to the Central Aero and Hydrodynamics Institute (TsAGI). These changes were mostly done piecemeal on the assembly line.
These changes included:
• Moving the engine forward 100 mm (4 in) which improved stability.
• Increase the outer wingpanel dihedral by one degree which also increased stability.
• Introduction of a new water radiator (OP-310), which allows for an additional 250 l (66 US gal) fuel tank.
• Adding an additional oil tank under the engine.
• Venting and piping exhaust gas into the fuel tanks to reduce fire in case of enemy fire.
• Adding 8 mm armor behind the pilot (increased to 9 mm in later models).
• Streamlining supercharger intakes.
• Strengthening the main landing gear.
• Increasing the size of the main wheels to 650 x 200 mm (25.5 x 7.87 in).
• Improved canopy, which improved views to the rear and allowed for the installation of a shelf behind the pilot for an RSI-1 radio (later upgraded to an RSI-4).
• Redesign of the instrument panel.
• Upgrade of the PBP-1 gunsight to the PBP-1A gunsight.
• Increase in ammo load for the ShKAS guns to 750 rpg.
• Additional underwing hardpoints added to carry up to 220 kg (485 lb) of bombs, spray containers or 8 RS-82 unguided rockets.
The first aircraft to see all of these changes applied to them was I-200 No.04, which was the fourth prototype of the I-200, which later became the MiG-1. It first flew in late October 1940. Following its successful first flight it was then passed to VVS (Voyenno-voz-dooshnyye seely - Military Air Forces) for State trials.
During this testing, NKAP (Narodnyy komissariat aviatsionnoy promyshlennosti - People's Ministry of the Aircraft Industry) announced that the three zavods building the MiG-3 at the time would be required to build a total of 3,600 in 1941.
Operational history
The first production MiG-3 rolled off the assembly line on 20 December 1940. By March 1941, 10 of these aircraft were coming off the production line every day. It was not long before the type would see combat, claiming a pair of German Junkers Ju 86 reconnaissance aircraft even before the start of hostilities between Germany and the Soviet Union.
By the time of Operation Barbarossa, over 1,200 MiG-3s had been delivered.
During initial testing of production aircraft was found to be inferior to the MiG-1 due to its weight increase, and fuel consumption was well over what Mikoyan and Gurevich were promised by the manufacturer (zavod No.24), but the fuel consumption was actually found to be an issue with the testing of the aircraft and the failure to take into account altitude correction. Mikoyan and Gurevich went as far as arranging for two more flights between Leningrad and Moscow to prove the MiG-3 could fly 1,000 km (621 mi).
However that was not the end of the issues that the MiG-3 encountered during its deployment. Several MiG-3s produced were found to have unacceptable performance at altitude due to oil and fuel pressure. It was also found that pilots attempted to fly the MiG-3 as if it were an earlier aircraft (especially the forgiving Polikarpov I-15, I-153 and I-16s), which led to several other problems. Soon new oil and fuel pumps were introduced as well as attempts at better pilot training to familiarize them with the MiG-3.
Over the next two years of the MiG-3, several new changes made it into production, including up-gunning to UBS machine guns and ShVAK cannons.
Due to the conditions of battle with the German forces, the MiG-3 was forced into a low altitude and even a ground-attack role, but it was quickly found to be inferior, and withdrawn from this role. The death knell for the MiG-3 was the discontinuation of its AM-35 engine so that Mikulin could concentrate on AM-38 production for the Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik. It was eventually used as a reconnaissance plane — its high service ceiling of 13,500 m (44,291 ft) and fast high altitude speed made well suited for such a role.
Even with the MiG-3's limitations, Aleksandr Pokryshkin, the second leading Soviet ace of the war with 59 official victories, recorded most of those victories while flying a MiG-3.
On 3 December 1941, a Ukrainian defector flew a MiG-3 to Melitopol airfield and surrendered to Romanian troops. The pilot's aircraft was repainted in Romanian markings and flown at Brasov by Captain 'Bazu' Cantacuzino, one of Romania's top pilots, and used as an "aggressor" for training purposes. The Soviets later seized this aircraft in the early fall of 1944, following Romania's break away from the German Alliance. This aircraft was known to have been seen in at least two different paint schemes during the time it was in the hands of Captain Cantacuzino.
Variants
Throughout the rest of the war, Mikoyan and Gurevich continued to develop the MiG-3 along the high-altitude interceptor lines that it had originally been designed for, which led to a series of ever-larger and more powerful prototypes, serially designated from the I-220 to the I-225[2]. (Some sources mistakenly assign the MiG-7 designation to one of these aircraft.) While promising enough, the air war over Germany was demonstrating that the heyday of the piston-engined fighter was over, and no production order followed.
There were several attempts to re-engine the aircraft with the engine it was originally designed for, the AM-37. This was designated the MiG-7, but with production of this engine ceasing as well, the project stalled.[3] From spring-1942 onwards, the MiG-3's were moved from the front line to air defence squadrons, some of which flew them for the rest of the war. One final attempt made to save the aircraft was to re-engine it with a Shvetsov ASh-82 radial engine, the same engine that had been used to create the Lavochkin La-5 from the LaGG-3. The prototypes were designated I-210 and I-211, and the result was successful enough that production was considered under the designation MiG-9 (not to be confused with the later jet). However, the La-5 was already in production and the I-211 did not offer the air force anything that it did not already have in that aircraft. Some MiG-9 airframes were even tested with the Pratt & Whitney R-2800-63 engine.
Two final prototypes, the I-230 and I-231[4], attempted to make the most of the original MiG-3 and its engine by considerably lightening the aircraft, but with the type relegated to secondary units, the Soviet air force was simply not interested.
• MiG-3 : Single-seat interceptor fighter aircraft, powered by a 1,007 kW (1,350 hp) Mikulin AM-35A piston engine.
• I-210 : MiG-3 prototype powered by a Shvetsov ASh-82 radial piston engine. Also known as the MiG-3-82.
• I-211 : MiG-3 prototype powered by a Shvetsov radial piston engine.
• MiG-3U : This was another MiG-3 prototype, powered by a 1,007 kW (1,350 hp) Mikulin AM-35A piston engine.


Specifications (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3)
Data from MiG: Fifty Years of Secret Aircraft Design[6]
General characteristics
• Crew: One
• Length: 8.25 m (27 ft 1 in)
• Wingspan: 10.20 m (33 ft 5 in)
• Height: 3.30 m (10 ft 9⅞ in)
• Wing area: 17.44 m² (188 ft²)
• Airfoil: Clark YH
• Empty weight: 2,699 kg (5,965 lb)
• Loaded weight: 3,355 kg (7,415 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Mikulin AM-35A liquid-cooled V-12, 993 kW (1,350 hp)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 640 km/h (398 mph, 346 knots) at 7,800 m (25,600 ft)
• Maximum speed at sea level : 505 km/h (314 mph, 273 knots)
• Combat range: 820 km (510 mi,443 NM)
• Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,400 ft)
• Wing loading: 155 kg/m² (39.3 lb/ft²)
• Power/mass: 0.30 kW/kg (0.18 hp/lb)
• Climb to 8,000 m (26,250 ft): 10.28 min
Armament
• 1 × 12.7 mm UBS machine gun
• 2 × 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns.
• Weight of round 1.44 kg (3.17 lb). The UBS used high explosive PETN ammunition. Some MiG-3's had 2 × UBK guns under the wings, but this negatively affected flight performance.
• 2 × 100 kg (220 lb) bombs, 2 spray containers for poisons, gas or flammable liquids or 6 × 82 mm RS-82 rockets


Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1


The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 (Микоян-Гуревич МиГ-1) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. Although difficult to handle, it formed the basis for the MiG-3, which proved to be a capable high-altitude interceptor aircraft and established a reputation for its designers.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... /MiG-1.jpg

The MiG-1 was designed in response to a requirement for a fighter with an inline engine issued by the Soviet Air Force in January 1939. Initially the aircraft, designated I-200, was designed in the Polikarpov construction bureau. Work started in June 1939, under the direction of Nikolai Polikarpov and his assistant M. Tetivikin. Polikarpov himself preferred radial engines and promoted his I-180 design at that time, but when the powerful Mikulin AM-37 inline engine became available, he decided to use it in a fighter. The approach that he selected was to build the smallest possible aircraft around the intended powerplant, thereby minimising weight and drag — the philosophy of the light fighter. As specified, the aircraft was to be capable of reaching 670 km/h (417 mph). In August 1939, Polikarpov made N. Andrianov a leading designer. At that time, however, Polikarpov fell out of favour with Stalin and as a result, when Polikarpov went in November 1939 to tour Germany's aviation works, the Soviet authorities decided to scatter his construction team and create a new Experimental Construction Section (OKO), headed by Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich, which remained formally subordinated to Polikarpov bureau until June 1940. Further work upon the I-200 design was assigned to Mikoyan and Gurevich, who later became recognized — not with full justice — as its designers.
The result was a highly conventional aircraft that flew on schedule on April 5, 1940, although its intended powerplant was not ready in time. The flight was conducted by Arkadij Ekatov on the Khodynka (Frunze) Airfield in Moscow, and was able to attain a speed of 648.5 km/h (402.9 mph) at 6,900 m (22,638 ft).[1] Instead, the new fighter flew with the less powerful AM-35, and even with this soon broke the Soviet air speed record by 40 km/h (25 mph). It could not, however, attain the speed originally specified by the air force with this engine. The I-200 was put into production almost immediately, on May 31, 1940. In contrast to the other competing designs, the I-26 (Yak-1) and I-301 (LaGG-3), the I-200 successfully completed the state trials in August on its first attempt. By the end of the year, the type was already being delivered to test squadrons, where it was soon discovered that the high wing loading of the small aircraft produced some very nasty handling problems, including tendencies towards both stalling and spinning, and a lack of directional stability.
As reports of the handling problems came back to Mikoyan and Gurevich, they worked to remedy them, incorporating many design changes. They also increased the aircraft's range by increasing fuel tank capacity. The improved plane was first flown on October 29, 1940. According to a new naming system, from December 9, 1940 the first 100 I-200 were designated MiG-1 (after the initials of Mikoyan and Gurevich), while further improved aircraft were designated MiG-3.


Specifications (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1)
General characteristics
• Crew: One
• Length: 8.16 m (26 ft 9 in)
• Wingspan: 10.20 m (33 ft 5 in)
• Height: 2.62 m (8 ft 7 in)
• Wing area: 17.5 m² (188 ft²)
• Airfoil: Clark YH
• Empty weight: 2,602 kg (5,736 lb)
• Loaded weight: 3,099 kg (6,832 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 3,319 kg (7,317 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Mikulin AM-35A liquid-cooled V-12, 1,007 kW (1,350 hp)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 657 km/h (410 mph)
• Range: 580 km (362 mi)
• Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,370 ft)
• Rate of climb: 16.8 m/s (3,306 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 177 kg/m² (36 lb/ft²)
• Power/mass: 0.32 kW/kg (0.20 hp/lb)
Armament
• 1 × 12.7 mm BS machine gun
• 2 × 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns
let your YES be YES and your NO be NO but plz no maybe
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ZINO
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by ZINO »

senor
use robots in rifts main book

defesive
high yeild chaff
, high intensative flares and smoke 45 % confuse misslies for 4 fires of each add 5% per foe every two fire
all carries

damage :none
ROF : pilots any amount
payload: look below
single engine 24 each (total time 3)
daul engine 48 each (total time 6)
triple /quad ( four )engine (total time 12)


weapons
bomds use milssies add 50 % more damage
rockets use mini misslies
weapons

Type: rail gun type
Damage Rail gun 5d4 burst light rail gun, 5d6 each burst for medium rail gun, burst 1d4 x10 or 1d6x10 or 2d4x10(rare commonly is used as a cannon) or 1d10 x10 ( common or 2d6x10 each (very rare, commonly is used as a cannon) heavy common per rail gun
Range 3 miles
R.O.F 5 short burst, 10 medium burst 20
Payload as per machine gun


Machine guns types
• M-223 (5.56 mm)
• M-225(7.62mm)
• M3a2m (.50 caliber )
• M-227 (14.4mm)

Machine guns ammo type
• Tracers with incendiary rounds
• Tracers with AP
• Tracers with HE
• Tracers with all three type


Machine guns use Macross saga and ASC saga books
• 5.56 mm machine guns look at Macross saga pg 132
Machine guns ammo type
• Tracers with incendiary rounds
• Tracers with AP
• Tracers with HE
• Tracers with all three type

• M-225(7.62mm) look at Macross saga pg 132
Machine guns ammo type
• Tracers with incendiary rounds
• Tracers with AP
• Tracers with HE
• Tracers with all three type


• M3a2m .50 caliber machine guns look at Macross saga pg 133
Machine guns ammo type
• Tracers with incendiary rounds
• Tracers with AP
• Tracers with HE
• Tracers with all three type


• M-227 (14.4mm) look at Macross saga pg 132

Machine guns ammo type
• Tracers with incendiary rounds
• Tracers with AP
• Tracers with HE
• Tracers with all three type

Machine guns ammo type
• Tracers with incendiary rounds ADD +2 to strike
• Tracers with AP lower the critical hit to 17 on a natural roll
• Tracers with HE time (x)3 damage
• Tracers with all three type
Other
• ES -12 stalker senor pods page 88 and 89
• MK.25 automatic grenade launcher looks at Macross saga pg 134
• 25 MM auto cannon looks at Macross saga pg 44 under #2 TZ-IV Gun cluster
• Mk.17 anti amour missiles launcher looks at Macross saga pg 135
• Mk.18 anti amour missiles launcher looks at Macross saga pg 135
• LLW-20 CIWS Lasers looks at Macross saga pg 67 under weapon systems
• LAC – 20 MM auto cannon looks at Macross saga pg 69
• looks at Macross saga pg 81 ,m-65 Rotary auto cannon
• looks at Macross saga pg 95 GAU-20A1 machine guns
• looks at Macross saga pg 83 ,GSH – 30-4A1 Rotary auto cannon
• looks at Macross saga pg 92 ,GSHG – 762 Rotary auto cannon
• looks at Macross saga pg 97, 70 MM multiple rocket launcher
• looks at Macross saga pg 109, Arlen MK .7 30 mm rapid fire grenade launcher
• three barrel 64 MM grenade launcher looks at Macross saga pg178 #2 later copied by humans
• looks at Macross saga pg 163 22.3 mm auto cannon (form zentaidi battle pods )
• looks at ASC saga book pg 118 70 mm rocket launcher
• looks at ASC saga book pg 126 GDS – 8 grenade launcher
• HRC - 25 Rotary cannon
• RLC -7 three barrel 7.62 Rotary cannon
• RL -4 LIGHT looks at ASC saga book pg (?)

LAND
• 180 MM mortal looks at Macross saga pg 31 UNDER TZ-IV Gun cluster
• Flame thrower looks at Macross saga pg 31 UNDER TZ-IV Gun cluster
let your YES be YES and your NO be NO but plz no maybe
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Proseksword
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by Proseksword »

I like the idea of MDC refit aircraft from WWII, but I find your backstory to be lacking. I'd probably rather see it be a fad among Techno-Wizards a la that one RIFTER article about the Confederate Air Force.
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taalismn
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by taalismn »

Agreed....Retrotech is something of a fetish among Technowizards...but most folks would look at these old war birds and think that a SAMAS or a Triax flying power armor would rip all sorts of holy hell among a squadron of them...
I have Farnborough Aviation in the Kingdom of Bath, England, but they survive by enhancing their vehicles with magic, and appealing to a certain prideful eccentricity on the part of the Anglo-Saxons... :D
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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Aramanthus
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by Aramanthus »

I have to agree with the other two. It is different though.
"Your Grace," she said, "I have only one question. Do you wish this man crippled or dead?"

"My Lady," the protector of Grayson told his Champion, "I do not wish him to leave this chamber alive."

"As you will it, your Grace."

HH....FIE
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ZINO
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by ZINO »

sooo ...IMHO.....should i stop now or try to make it from other angel ?
it just i can work with stats better than coming out with how to put it in rifts earth . you know how and thing like that and i was giong for techky area i used it warbirds with no magic later ( i am not againt magic ) ,later we had a tecno wizrad . that when things got very very giong ( like a big war in north america call huh .......... coalition wars !!!!!!!!!!!!:D :D :D
thanks for your post it helps good or bad
let your YES be YES and your NO be NO but plz no maybe
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ZINO
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by ZINO »

Phalanx wrote:Feel free to use the warbirds I wrote up in Rifter #38 for Techno-Wizards in Rifts. ;)

wow thanks man i will look it up ,

but do you think of a warbirds with no magic and updated with MDC stats and to retro tech rifts standrads ?
let your YES be YES and your NO be NO but plz no maybe
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ZINO
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by ZINO »

Grumman fighter
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... _model.jpg

Grumman fighter development started with the two-seat Grumman FF biplane, the first U.S. naval fighter with landing gear which retracted exposed but flush with the forward fuselage sides. The F2F and F3F were single seat biplane fighters which established the general outlines and landing gear configuration of what would become the Wildcat. The next biplane design which entered in a U.S. Navy competition was beaten by the monoplane Brewster F2A-1 design.
Grumman's defeat resulted in its complete remodeling into the monoplane XF4F-2.[3] The Wildcat would retain the fuselage mounted, hand-cranked landing gear with a relatively narrow track. In service, this would lead to landing accidents, where the landing gear were not fully locked into place, distressingly common.[4] This unusual main landing gear design was originally designed by Leroy Grumman for Grover Loening in the 1920s and used earlier on all of Grumman's fighter biplanes (from the FF-1 through the F3F) of the 1930s and on the J2F Duck amphibious biplane.[5]
Even this new monoplane fell short against the Buffalo. The XF4F-2 was marginally faster, but the the Buffalo was otherwise judged superior and was chosen for production.[3]. Grumman's prototype was then rebuilt as the XF4F-3 with new wings and tail and a supercharged version of the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 "Twin Wasp" radial engine.[3][6] Testing of the XF4F-3 led to an order for F4F-3 production models, the first of which was completed in February 1940. France also ordered the type, powered by Wright R-1820 "Cyclone 9" radial engines, but France fell before they could be delivered and they ultimately went to the British Royal Navy, which named them "Martlet I"s. Both the British aircraft and the U.S. Navy's F4F-3 with an armament of four .50 in (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns, joined active units in 1940.[6]
Although the Buffalo was the Navy's first monoplane fighter, it would prove disappointing in combat and be withdrawn early in World War II. The name "Wildcat" was officially adopted on 1 October 1941. The Wildcat's successor was the F6F Hellcat, a complete redesign which dropped Grumman's distinctive older landing gear arrangement. First flying in 1942, the Hellcat outclassed the Zero almost completely, surprising many Japanese pilots at first that often mistook the outlines for the older, slower Wildcat. The Navy would also introduce the F4U Corsair first to land and later to shipboard use which could match the top speed of the fastest land based planes.


Specifications (F4F-3)
Data from The American Fighter [45]
General characteristics
• Crew: 1
• Length: 28 ft 9 in (8.76 m)
• Wingspan: 38 ft (11.58 m)
• Height: 11 ft 10 in (3.60 m)
• Loaded weight: 7,000 lb (3,200 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-1830-76 double-row radial engine, 1,200 hp (900 kW)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 331 mph (531 km/h)
• Range: 845 mi (1,360 km)
• Service ceiling: 39,500 ft (12,000 m)
Armament
• Guns: 4 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, 450 rpg
• Bombs: 2 × 100 lb (45 kg) bombs and/or 2 × 58 gal (220 l) drop tanks


General characteristics
• Crew: 1
• Length: 28 ft 9 in (8.8 m)
• Wingspan: 38 ft 0 in (11.6 m)
• Height: 9 ft 2.5 in (2.8 m)
• Wing area: 260 ft² (24.2 m²)
• Empty weight: 5,760 lb (2,610 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 7,950 lb (3,610 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-1830-86 double-row radial engine, 1,200 hp (900 kW)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 320 mph (290 kn, 515 km/h)
• Range: 770 mi (670 nmi, 1,240 km)
• Service ceiling: 39,500 ft (12,000 m)
• Rate of climb: 1,950 ft/min (9.9 m/s)
Armament
• Guns: 6 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, 240 rpg
• Bombs: 2 × 250 lb (114 kg) bombs and/or 2 × 58 gal (220 l) droptanks


F4U Corsair


The Chance Vought F4U Corsair was a carrier-capable fighter aircraft that saw service in World War II and the Korean War (and in isolated local conflicts). Goodyear-built Corsairs were designated FG and Brewster-built aircraft F3A. The Corsair served in some air forces until the 1960s, following the longest production run of any piston-engined fighter in U.S. history (1942–1952).[1][2] Some Japanese pilots regarded it as the most formidable American fighter of World War II.[3] The U.S. Navy counted an 11:1 kill ratio with the F4U Corsair.[4]
Corsairs served with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marines, Fleet Air Arm, and the Royal New Zealand Air Force, as well the French Navy Aeronavale and other services postwar. It quickly became the most capable carrier-based fighter-bomber of World War II. Demand for the aircraft soon overwhelmed Vought's manufacturing capability, resulting in production by Goodyear (as the FG-1) and Brewster (as the F3A-1). From the first prototype delivery to the U.S. Navy in 1940, to final delivery in 1953 to the French, 12,571 F4U Corsairs were manufactured by Vought,[5] in 16 separate models.[


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... orsair.jpg

United States Navy and Marine Corps
The performance of the Corsair was impressive. The F4U-1 was considerably faster than the F6F Hellcat and 13 mph (21 km/h) slower than the P-47 Thunderbolt,[27][28][29] the two other fighters powered by the R-2800. But while the P-47 achieved its highest speed at 30,020 feet (9,150 m) with the help of an intercooled turbosupercharger,[30] the F4U-1 reached its maximum speed at 19,900 ft (6,100 m),[31] and used a mechanically supercharged engine.[32]
Carrier qualification trials on the escort carrier USS Sangamon, on September 25, 1942, caused the U.S. Navy to release the type to the United States Marine Corps.[33] Early Navy pilots spoke disparagingly of the F4U as the "hog", "hosenose" or "bent wing widow-maker".[34] After all, the U.S. Navy still had the Grumman F6F Hellcat, which did not have the performance of the F4U but was a far better deck landing aircraft. The Marines needed a better fighter than the F4F Wildcat. For them it was not as important the F4U could be recovered aboard a carrier, as they usually flew from land bases. Growing pains aside, Marine Corps squadrons readily took to the radical new fighter.[

Despite the decision to issue the F4U to Marine Corps units, two Navy units, VF-12 (October 1942) and later VF-17 (April 1943) were equipped with the F4U. By April 1943, VF-12 had successfully completed deck landing qualification.[36] However, VF-12 soon abandoned its aircraft to the Marines. VF-17 kept its Corsairs, but was removed from its carrier, USS Bunker Hill, due to perceived difficulties in supplying parts at sea.[37] In November 1943, while operating as a shore-based unit in the Solomon Islands, VF-17 reinstalled the tail hooks so its F4Us could land and refuel while providing top cover over the task force participating in the carrier raid on Rabaul. The squadron's pilots successfully landed, refueled and took off from their former home, Bunker Hill and the USS Essex on November 11, 1943.[38]
The U.S. Navy did not get into combat with the type until September 1943 and the Royal Navy's FAA would qualify the type for carrier operations first. The U.S. Navy finally accepted the F4U for shipboard operations in April 1944, after the longer oleo strut was fitted, which finally eliminated the tendency to bounce.[39] The first Corsair unit to be based effectively on a carrier was the pioneer USMC squadron, VMF-124, which joined Essex. They were accompanied by VMF-213. The increasing need for fighters as a protection against kamikaze attacks resulted in more Corsair units being moved to carriers.[40]
From February 1943 onward, the F4U operated from Guadalcanal and ultimately other bases in the Solomon Islands. A dozen USMC F4U-1s of VMF-124, commanded by Major William E. Gise, arrived at Henderson Field (code name "Cactus") on 12 February. The first recorded combat engagement was on February 14, 1943, when Corsairs of VMF-124 under Major Gise assisted P-40s and P-38s in escorting a formation of B-24 Liberators on a raid against a Japanese aerodrome at Kahili. Japanese fighters contested the raid and the Americans got the worst of it, with four P-38s, two P-40s, two Corsairs and two Liberators lost. No more than four Japanese Zeros were destroyed. A Corsair was responsible for one of the kills, although this was due to a midair collision. The fiasco was referred to as the "Saint Valentine's Day Massacre".[41][42] Although the Corsair's combat debut was not impressive, the Marines quickly learned how to make better use of the aircraft and started demonstrating its superiority over Japanese fighters. By May the Corsair units were getting the upper hand, and VMF-124 had produced the first Corsair ace, Second Lieutenant Kenneth A. Walsh, who would rack up a total of 21 kills during the war.[43]
I learned quickly that altitude was paramount. Whoever had altitude dictated the terms of the battle, and there was nothing a Zero pilot could do to change that we had him. The F4U could out-perform a Zero in every aspect except slow speed manoeuvrability and slow speed rate of climb. Therefore you avoided getting slow when combating a Zero. it took time but eventually we developed tactics and deployed them very effectively ... There were times, however, that I tangled with a Zero at slow speed one on one. In these instances I considered myself fortunate to survive a battle. Of my 21 victories, 17 were against Zeros and I lost five aircraft in combat. I was shot down three times and I crashed one that ploughed into the line back at base and wiped out another F4U.[44]
VMF-113 was activated on January 1, 1943 at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro as part of Marine Base Defense Air Group 41. They were shortly given their full complement of 24 F4U Corsairs. On March 26, 1944, while escorting 4 B-25 bombers on a raid over Ponape, they recorded their first enemy kills when they downed eight Japanese aircraft. In April of that year, VMF-113 was tasked with providing air support for the landings at Ujeland. Since the assault was unopposed the squadron quickly returned to striking Japanese targets in the Marshall Islands for the remainder of 1944.
Corsairs were flown by the famous "Black Sheep" Squadron (VMF-214, led by Marine Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington) in an area of the Solomon Islands called "The Slot". Boyington was credited with 22 kills in F4Us (of 28 total, including six in an AVG P-40).[45] Other noted Corsair pilots of the period included VMF-124's Kenneth Walsh, James E. Swett, and Archie Donohue, VMF-215's Robert M. Hanson and Don Aldrich, and VF-17's Tommy Blackburn, Roger Hedrick, and Ira Kepford. Nightfighter versions equipped Navy and Marine units afloat and ashore.
At war's end, Corsairs were ashore on Okinawa, combating the kamikaze, and also were flying from fleet and escort carriers. VMF-312, VMF-323, VMF-224, and a handful of others met with success in the Battle of Okinawa.[46]


Corsairs also served well as fighter bombers in the Central Pacific and the Philippines. By spring 1944, Marine pilots were beginning to exploit the type's considerable capabilities in the close-support role during amphibious landings. Charles Lindbergh flew Corsairs with the Marines as a civilian technical advisor for United Aircraft Corporation in order to determine how best to increase the Corsair's payload and range in the attack role and to help evaluate future viability of single- versus twin-engine fighter design for Vought.[47] Lindbergh managed to get the F4U into the air with 4,000 pounds (1,800 kg) of bombs, with a 2,000 pounds (910 kg) bomb on the centerline and a 1,000 pounds (450 kg) bomb under each wing.[48] In the course of such experiments, he performed strikes on Japanese positions during the battle for the Marshall Islands.[47]
By the beginning of 1945, the Corsair was a full-blown "mudfighter", performing strikes with high-explosive bombs, napalm tanks, and HVARs. She proved surprisingly versatile, able to operate everything from Bat glide bombs (without sacrificing a load of 2.75 in/70 mm rockets) to 11.75 in (300 mm) Tiny Tim rockets.[49] The aircraft was a prominent participant in the fighting for the Palaus, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Statistics compiled at the end of the war indicate that the F4U and FG flew 64,051 operational sorties for the U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy through the conflict (44% of total fighter sorties), with only 9,581 sorties (15%) flown from carrier decks.[50] F4U and FG pilots claimed 2,140 air combat victories against 189 losses to enemy aircraft, for an overall kill ratio of over 11:1.[51] The aircraft performed well against the best Japanese opponents with a 12:1 kill ratio against Mitsubishi A6M and 6:1 against the Nakajima Ki-84, Kawanishi N1K-J and Mitsubishi J2M combined during the last year of the war.[52] The Corsair bore the brunt of fighter-bomber missions, delivering 15,621 tons (14,171 tonnes) of bombs during the war (70% of total bombs dropped by fighters during the war).[51]
Corsair losses in World War II were as follows:
• By combat: 189
• By enemy anti-aircraft artillery: 349
• Accidents during combat missions: 230
• Accidents during non-combat flights: 692
• Destroyed aboard ships or on the ground: 164[51]
One particularly interesting kill was scored by a Marine Lieutenant R. R. Klingman of VMF-312 Checkerboards, over Okinawa. Klingman was in pursuit of a Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu ("Nick") twin engine fighter at extremely high altitude when his guns jammed due to the gun lubrication thickening from the extreme cold. He simply flew up and chopped off the Ki-45's tail with the big propeller of the Corsair. Despite missing five inches (127 mm) off the end of his propeller blades, he managed to land safely after this ramming attack. He was awarded the Navy Cross.[53]
Korean War
During the Korean War, the Corsair was used mostly in the close-support role. The AU-1 Corsair was a ground-attack version produced for the Korean War; its Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine, while supercharged, was not as highly boosted as on the F4U. As the Corsair moved from its air superiority role in World War II into the close air support role in the Korean Conflict, the gull wing proved to be a useful feature. A straight, low-wing design would have blocked most of the visibility from the cockpit toward the ground while in level flight, but a Corsair pilot could look through a "notch" and get a better ground reference without having to bank one way or the other to move the wing out of the way.[citation needed]
The AU-1, F4U-4B, -4C, -4P and -5N logged combat in Korea between 1950 and 1953.[54] There were dogfights between F4Us and Soviet-built Yakovlev Yak-9 fighters early in the conflict, but when the enemy introduced the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15, the Corsair was outmatched, though one Marine pilot did get lucky. On September 10, 1952, a MiG-15 made the mistake of getting into a turning contest with a Corsair piloted by Captain Jesse G. Folmar, with Folmar shooting the MiG down with his four 20 millimetres (0.79 in) cannon.[55] The MiG's wingmen quickly had their revenge, shooting down Folmar, though he bailed out and was swiftly rescued with little injury.
Corsair night fighters were used to an extent. The enemy adopted the tactic of using low-and-slow Polikarpov Po-2 intruders to perform night harassment strikes on American forces, and jet-powered night fighters found catching these "Bedcheck Charlies" troublesome. U.S. Navy F4U-5Ns were posted to shore bases to hunt them down, with U.S. Navy Lieutenant Guy Pierre Bordelon, Jr. becoming the Navys only ace in the conflict, as well as the only ace to not score any victories in a jet aircraft.[56] "Lucky Pierre" was credited with five kills (two Yakovlev Yak-18 and three Po-2).[55] Navy and Marine Corsairs were credited with a total of 12 enemy aircraft.[55]
More generally, Corsairs performed attacks with cannon, napalm tanks, various iron bombs and unguided rockets. The old HVAR was a reliable standby; however sturdy Soviet-built armor proved resistant to the HVAR's punch. This led to a new 6.5 in (16.5 cm) shaped charge antitank warhead being developed. The result was called the "Anti-Tank Aircraft Rocket (ATAR)." Tiny Tim was also used in combat, with two under the belly.[57] There is also a story of a Corsair pilot who used his arresting hook to snag enemy communications lines from telephone poles.[58]
Lieutenant Thomas J. Hudner, Jr., flying with naval squadron VF-32 off the USS Leyte, was awarded the Medal of Honor for crash landing his Corsair in an attempt to rescue his squadron mate, Ensign Jesse L. Brown, whose aircraft had been forced down by antiaircraft fire near Changjin. Brown, who did not survive the incident, was the U.S. Navy's first African American naval aviator.[59][60


Corsairs also served well as fighter bombers in the Central Pacific and the Philippines. By spring 1944, Marine pilots were beginning to exploit the type's considerable capabilities in the close-support role during amphibious landings. Charles Lindbergh flew Corsairs with the Marines as a civilian technical advisor for United Aircraft Corporation in order to determine how best to increase the Corsair's payload and range in the attack role and to help evaluate future viability of single- versus twin-engine fighter design for Vought.[47] Lindbergh managed to get the F4U into the air with 4,000 pounds (1,800 kg) of bombs, with a 2,000 pounds (910 kg) bomb on the centerline and a 1,000 pounds (450 kg) bomb under each wing.[48] In the course of such experiments, he performed strikes on Japanese positions during the battle for the Marshall Islands.[47]
By the beginning of 1945, the Corsair was a full-blown "mudfighter", performing strikes with high-explosive bombs, napalm tanks, and HVARs. She proved surprisingly versatile, able to operate everything from Bat glide bombs (without sacrificing a load of 2.75 in/70 mm rockets) to 11.75 in (300 mm) Tiny Tim rockets.[49] The aircraft was a prominent participant in the fighting for the Palaus, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Statistics compiled at the end of the war indicate that the F4U and FG flew 64,051 operational sorties for the U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy through the conflict (44% of total fighter sorties), with only 9,581 sorties (15%) flown from carrier decks.[50] F4U and FG pilots claimed 2,140 air combat victories against 189 losses to enemy aircraft, for an overall kill ratio of over 11:1.[51] The aircraft performed well against the best Japanese opponents with a 12:1 kill ratio against Mitsubishi A6M and 6:1 against the Nakajima Ki-84, Kawanishi N1K-J and Mitsubishi J2M combined during the last year of the war.[52] The Corsair bore the brunt of fighter-bomber missions, delivering 15,621 tons (14,171 tonnes) of bombs during the war (70% of total bombs dropped by fighters during the war).[51]
Corsair losses in World War II were as follows:
• By combat: 189
• By enemy anti-aircraft artillery: 349
• Accidents during combat missions: 230
• Accidents during non-combat flights: 692
• Destroyed aboard ships or on the ground: 164[51]
One particularly interesting kill was scored by a Marine Lieutenant R. R. Klingman of VMF-312 Checkerboards, over Okinawa. Klingman was in pursuit of a Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu ("Nick") twin engine fighter at extremely high altitude when his guns jammed due to the gun lubrication thickening from the extreme cold. He simply flew up and chopped off the Ki-45's tail with the big propeller of the Corsair. Despite missing five inches (127 mm) off the end of his propeller blades, he managed to land safely after this ramming attack. He was awarded the Navy Cross.[53]
Korean War
During the Korean War, the Corsair was used mostly in the close-support role. The AU-1 Corsair was a ground-attack version produced for the Korean War; its Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine, while supercharged, was not as highly boosted as on the F4U. As the Corsair moved from its air superiority role in World War II into the close air support role in the Korean Conflict, the gull wing proved to be a useful feature. A straight, low-wing design would have blocked most of the visibility from the cockpit toward the ground while in level flight, but a Corsair pilot could look through a "notch" and get a better ground reference without having to bank one way or the other to move the wing out of the way.[citation needed]
The AU-1, F4U-4B, -4C, -4P and -5N logged combat in Korea between 1950 and 1953.[54] There were dogfights between F4Us and Soviet-built Yakovlev Yak-9 fighters early in the conflict, but when the enemy introduced the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15, the Corsair was outmatched, though one Marine pilot did get lucky. On September 10, 1952, a MiG-15 made the mistake of getting into a turning contest with a Corsair piloted by Captain Jesse G. Folmar, with Folmar shooting the MiG down with his four 20 millimetres (0.79 in) cannon.[55] The MiG's wingmen quickly had their revenge, shooting down Folmar, though he bailed out and was swiftly rescued with little injury.
Corsair night fighters were used to an extent. The enemy adopted the tactic of using low-and-slow Polikarpov Po-2 intruders to perform night harassment strikes on American forces, and jet-powered night fighters found catching these "Bedcheck Charlies" troublesome. U.S. Navy F4U-5Ns were posted to shore bases to hunt them down, with U.S. Navy Lieutenant Guy Pierre Bordelon, Jr. becoming the Navys only ace in the conflict, as well as the only ace to not score any victories in a jet aircraft.[56] "Lucky Pierre" was credited with five kills (two Yakovlev Yak-18 and three Po-2).[55] Navy and Marine Corsairs were credited with a total of 12 enemy aircraft.[55]
More generally, Corsairs performed attacks with cannon, napalm tanks, various iron bombs and unguided rockets. The old HVAR was a reliable standby; however sturdy Soviet-built armor proved resistant to the HVAR's punch. This led to a new 6.5 in (16.5 cm) shaped charge antitank warhead being developed. The result was called the "Anti-Tank Aircraft Rocket (ATAR)." Tiny Tim was also used in combat, with two under the belly.[57] There is also a story of a Corsair pilot who used his arresting hook to snag enemy communications lines from telephone poles.[58]
Lieutenant Thomas J. Hudner, Jr., flying with naval squadron VF-32 off the USS Leyte, was awarded the Medal of Honor for crash landing his Corsair in an attempt to rescue his squadron mate, Ensign Jesse L. Brown, whose aircraft had been forced down by antiaircraft fire near Changjin. Brown, who did not survive the incident, was the U.S. Navy's first African American naval aviator.[59][60


Football War"
Corsairs flew their final combat missions during the 1969 "Football War" between Honduras and El Salvador, in service with both air forces. The conflict was famously triggered, though not really caused, by a disagreement over a football (soccer) match. Both sides claimed various numbers of kills, and each side disputed the claims of the other.[84] At the outset of the Football War, El Salvador enlisted the assistance of several American pilots with P-51 and F4U experience. Bob Love, a Korean war ace, Chuck Lyford, Ben Hall and Lynn Garrison flew in the world's last combat between propeller-driven fighters. Lynn Garrison had purchased F4U-7 133693 from the French MAAG office when retired from French naval service in 1964.[citation needed]

F4U-1A
Data from Aeroweb[115]
General characteristics
• Crew: 1 pilot
• Length: 33 ft 4 in (10.1 m)
• Wingspan: 41 ft 0 in (12.5 m)
• Height: 16 ft 1 in (4.90 m)
• Wing area: 314 ft2 (29.17 m2)
• Empty weight: 8,982 lb (4,073 kg)
• Loaded weight: 14,000 lb (6,300 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-8W radial engine, 2,250 hp (1,678 kW)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 425 mph (369 kn, 684 km/h)
• Range: 1,015 mi (882 nmi, 1,634 km)
• Service ceiling: 36,900 ft (11,200 m)
• Rate of climb: 3,180 ft/min (16.2 m/s)
Armament
• Guns: 4 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, 400 rpg and 2 × 0.50 in Browning M2 machine guns, 375 rpg
• Rockets: 4 × 5 in (12.7 cm) High Velocity Aircraft Rockets and/or
• Bombs: 2,000 pounds (910 kg)
F4U-4
Data from Aeroweb[116]
General characteristics
• Crew: 1 pilot
• Length: 33 ft 8 in (10.2 m)
• Wingspan: 41 ft 0 in (12.5 m)
• Height: 14 ft 9 in (4.50 m)
• Empty weight: 9,205 lb (4,174 kg)
• Loaded weight: 14,669 lb (6,653 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-18W radial engine, 2,450 hp (1,827 kW)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 446 mph (388 kn, 718 km/h)
• Range: 1,005 mi (873 nmi, 1,618 km)
• Service ceiling: 41,500 ft (12,649 m)
• Rate of climb: 3,870 ft/min (19.7 m/s)
Armament
• Guns:
o 6 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, 400 rpg or
o 4 × 20 millimetres (0.79 in) AN/M2 cannons
• Rockets: 8 × 5 in (12.7 cm) high velocity aircraft rockets and/or
• Bombs: 4,000 pounds (1,800 kg)
Popular culture
• Flying Leathernecks (1951) starring John Wayne, was about a Marine Corps squadron flying Corsairs while developing close-support tactics.
• The exploits of Marine Corps squadron VMF-214, which flew the Corsair in the Pacific during the war, were depicted in the popular 1976 made-for-television movie Baa Baa Black Sheep (also released as Flying Misfits) and the follow-up television series Baa Baa Black Sheep, which aired from 1976 to 1978). The television series featured six genuine flying Corsairs, but the storylines were fictional. See also Pappy Boyington.
• The Corsair plays a prominent role in W.E.B. Griffin's book series, The Corps (1986–present).
• Ted Williams served as a flight instructor training young Marines to fly Corsairs while away from major league baseball during his years of military service in World War II.

F2G Corsair

The Goodyear F2G "Super" Corsair was a development by the Goodyear Aircraft Company of the FG-1/F4U-1 Corsair design as a special low-altitude version of a fighter equipped with a Pratt & Whitney R-4360 twenty-eight cylinder, four row radial air-cooled engine. Although often cited that the origin of the aircraft was as an interceptor of low-flying Japanese suicide airplanes, its actual beginnings came about in 1939 when the Pratt and Whitney company first proposed its enormous new engine. Thus the F2G lineage was tied to its engine design rather than tactical requirements. [1]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... u88458.jpg

Using experience from building the fixed-wing FG-1, a version of the folding wing F4U-1 Corsair, in early 1944, Goodyear extensively modified a standard FG-1 airframe, designated the XF2G-1, to take advantage of the 50% increase in take-off power provided by the R-4360 engine. In addition, an all-round vision bubble-type canopy was installed. In March 1944, Goodyear was awarded a contract to deliver 418 F2G-1 and 10 F2G-2 aircraft. The F2G-2 version included modifications for carrier operations.
Armament provisions included alternative wing-mounted installations for four or six 0.5 inch (12.7 mm) machine guns and eight 5 inch (127 mm) rockets or two 1,000 or 1,600 lb (450 or 725 kg) bombs. The internal fuel capacity was increased greatly over that of the FG-1, and provisions were provided to carry two droppable external tanks.
By the end of the war in August 1945, only five each of the F2G-1 and F2G-2 aircraft were completed. Testing revealed deficiencies in lateral control and insufficient speed, which were bars to further development of the aircraft. Thus, further production of the fighters was canceled


Specifications (F2G-2)
General characteristics
• Crew: 1
• Length: 33 ft 9 in (10.3 m)
• Wingspan: 41 ft (12.5 m)
• Height: 16 ft 1 in (4.9 m)
• Wing area: 314 ft² (29 m²)
• Empty weight: 10,249 lb (4,649 kg)
• Loaded weight: 13,346 lb (6,054 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 15,422 lb (6,995 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-4360-4 "Wasp Major" 28-cylinder radial engine, 3,000 hp (2,200 kW)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 431 mph (374 knots, 694 km/h) at 16,400 ft (5,000 m)
• Range: 1,955 mi (1,699 nm, 3,146 km) with external tanks
• Service ceiling: 38,800 ft (11,800 m)
• Rate of climb: 7,000 ft/min (35.6 m/s)
• Wing loading: 42.5 lb/ft² (208 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.22 hp/lb (370 W/kg)
Armament
• Guns: 4× .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, 400 rounds/gun
• Rockets: 8× 5 in (127 mm) rockets or
• Bombs: 1,600 lb (725 kg)

F6F Hellcat

The Grumman F6F Hellcat was a carrier-based fighter aircraft developed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat in United States Navy service. Although the F6F bore a family resemblance to the Wildcat, it was a completely new design powered by a 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800. Some tagged it as the "Wildcat's big brother".[2] The Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair were the primary USN fighters during the second half of World War II.
The Hellcat was the first US Navy fighter for which the design took into account lessons from combat with the Japanese Zero.[3] The Hellcat proved to be the most successful aircraft in naval history, destroying 5,271 aircraft[4] while in service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps (5,163 in the Pacific and eight more during the invasion of Southern France, plus 52 with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm during World War II.)[5] Postwar, the Hellcat aircraft was systematically phased out of front line service, but remained in service as late as 1954 as a night-fighter in composite squadrons.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... ellcat.jpg
Grumman was working on a successor to the F4F Wildcat well before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. While the F4F was a capable fighter, early air battles revealed the Japanese A6M Zero was more maneuverable and possessed a better rate of climb than the F4F. The F4F did have some advantages over the Zero. Wildcats were able to absorb a tremendous amount of damage compared to the Zero, and had better armament. The F4F was also much faster in a dive than the Zero, an advantage Wildcat pilots used frequently to elude attacking Zeros.
These advantages carried over into the F6F and, combined with other improvements, created a fighter that outclassed the Zero almost completely. The contract for the prototype XF6F-1 was signed on 30 June 1941. The F6F was originally to be given the Wright R-2600 Cyclone engine of 1,700 hp (1,268 kW), but based on combat experience of F4F Wildcat and Zero encounters, Grumman decided to further improve their new fighter to overcome the A6M Zero's dominance in the Pacific theater.[2] Grumman installed the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) estimating a 25% increase in performance would result.[2] The first Cyclone-equipped prototype (02981) flew on 26 June 1942 while the first Double Wasp-equipped aircraft, the XF6F-3 (02982) had its first flight on 30 July 1942.
Proposed at the same time as the first Hellcat prototypes, the XF6F-2 incorporated a turbo-supercharger, but performance gains were only slight and until fleet demands for improvements in speed arose, this variant, along with the two-speed supercharger-equipped XF6F-3, languished. However, later F6F-4 and F6F-5 variants did benefit from these initial development programs.
Like the Wildcat, the Hellcat was designed for ease of manufacture and ability to withstand significant damage. A total of 212 lb (96 kg) of cockpit armor was fitted to aid pilot survival, as well as a bullet-resistant windshield and armor around the engine oil tank and oil cooler.[7] Self-sealing fuel tanks further reduced susceptibility to fire and often allowed damaged aircraft to return home. The U.S. Navy's all-time leading ace, Captain David McCampbell USN (Ret) scored all his 34 victories in the Hellcat. He once described the F6F as "...an outstanding fighter plane. It performed well, was easy to fly and was a stable gun platform. But what I really remember most was that it was rugged and easy to maintain."[8]
The first production aircraft off the line, designated F6F-3s, flew on 3 October 1942 with the type reaching operational readiness with VF-9 on USS Essex in February 1943.[7]
Two night fighter subvariants of the F6F-3 were also developed. The F6F-3E, converted from standard -3 frames, featured the AN/APS-4 radar in a fairing in the starboard wing. The later F6F-3N, first seen in July 1943, was fitted with the AN/APS-6 radar in a similar fairing. By November 1943, Hellcat night fighters had seen their first action.[9] Fitting AN/APS-6 radar fairings to F6F-5s resulted in the night fighter F6F-5N, and a small number of standard F6F-5s were also fitted with camera equipment for reconnaissance duties as the F6F-5P.[10]
Instead of the Wildcat's narrow-track undercarriage retracting into the fuselage requiring awkward hand-cranking by the pilot, the Hellcat had hydraulically-actuated undercarriage struts set wider and retracting backward, twisting through 90° into the wings,[11] exactly as the Chance Vought F4U Corsair's landing gear did. The wing was low-mounted instead of mid-mounted and folded the same way as the later versions of the Wildcat, allowing the Hellcat to take on a compact, tucked-in appearance on a flight deck.[12]
Standard armament on the F6F consisted of six .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning air-cooled machine guns with 400 rpg; later aircraft gained three hardpoints to carry a total bombload in excess of 2,000 lb (900 kg). The center hardpoint also had the ability to carry a single 150 gal (568 l) disposable drop tank. Six 5 in (127 mm) HVARs (High Velocity Aircraft Rocket)[13] could be carried; three under each wing.[14]
The next and most common variant, the F6F-5, featured improvements such as a more powerful R-2800-10W engine housed in a slightly more streamlined engine cowling, spring-loaded control tabs on the ailerons, deletion of the rear-view windows behind the main canopy, an improved, clear view windscreen with a flat armored-glass front panel replacing the curved perspex panel and internal armor glass screen and numerous other minor advances.[11][15] Another improvement in the F6F-5 was the availability of more potent armament than the standard six .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns. Trials with cannon-armed Hellcats were not followed up by a production version; although all F6F-5s could carry an armament mix of a pair of 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano cannon, one mounted in each of the inboard gun bays, with a minimum of 220 rpg, along with two pairs of .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns, with 400 rpg, this configuration was only used on many later F6F-5N night fighters.[16]
Two F6F-5s were fitted with the 18-cylinder 2,100 hp (1,567 kW) Pratt and Whitney R-2800-18W two-stage blower radial engine which was also used by the F4U-4 Corsair. The new Hellcat variant was fitted with a four-bladed propeller and was called the XF6F-6. The aircraft proved to be the best performer in the series with a top speed of 417 mph (671 km/h).[11] The war ended before this variant could be mass-produced.[17]
The last Hellcat rolled out in November 1945, the total production figure being 12,275, of which 11,000 had been built in just two years.[18] This impressive production rate was credited to the sound original design, which required little modification once production was underway


Data from Quest for Performance,[34] Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II,[35] and Standard Aircraft Characteristics[36]
General characteristics
• Crew: 1
• Length: 33 ft 7 in (10.24 m)
• Wingspan: 42 ft 10 in (13.06 m)
• Height: 13 ft 1 in (3.99 m)
• Wing area: 334 ft² (31 m²)
• Airfoil: NACA 23015.6 mod root; NACA 23009 tip
• Empty weight: 9,238 lb (4,190 kg)
• Loaded weight: 12,598 lb (5,714 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 15,415 lb (6,990 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10W "Double Wasp" two-row radial engine with a two-speed two-stage supercharger, 2,000 hp (1,491 kW[37])
• Propellers: 3-blade Hamilton Standard
o Propeller diameter: 13 ft 1 in (4.0 m)
• * Fuel capacity: 250 gal (946 L) internal; up to 3 × 150 gal (568 L) external drop tanks
• Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0211
• Drag area: 7.05 ft² (0.65 m²)
• Aspect ratio: 5.5
Performance
• Maximum speed: 330 kn (380 mph, 610 km/h)
• Stall speed: 73 kn (84 mph, 135 km/h)
• Combat radius: 820 nmi (945 mi, 1,520 km)
• Ferry range: 1,330 nmi (1,530 mi, 2,460 km)
• Service ceiling: 37,300 ft (11,370 m)
• Rate of climb: 3,500 ft/min (17.8 m/s)
• Wing loading: 37.7 lb/ft² (184 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (260 W/kg)
• Time-to-altitude: 7.7 min to 20,000 ft (6,100 m)
• Lift-to-drag ratio: 12.2
• Takeoff roll: 799 ft (244 m)
Armament
• Guns:
o either 6× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, with 400 rpg, (All F6F-3, and most F6F-5)
o or 2 × 20 mm (.79 in) cannon, with 225 rpg
o and 4 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns with 400 rpg (F6F-5N only)
• Rockets:
o 6 × 5 in (127 mm) HVARs or
o 2 × 11¾ in (298 mm) Tiny Tim unguided rockets
• Bombs: up to 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) full load, including:
o Bombs or Torpedoes:(Fuselage mounted on centreline rack)
 1 × 2,000 lb (907 kg) bomb or
 1 × Mk.13-3 torpedo;
o Underwing bombs: (F6F-5 had two additional weapons racks either side of fuselage on wing centre-section)
 2 × 1,000 lb (450 kg) or
 4 × 500 lb (227 kg)
 8 × 250 lb (110 kg)

P-39 Airacobra

The Bell P-39 Airacobra was one of the principal American fighter aircraft in service at the start of World War II. Although its mid-engine placement was innovative, the P-39 design was handicapped by the lack of an efficient turbo-supercharger, limiting it to low-altitude work. The P-39 was used with great success by the Soviet Air Force, who scored the highest number of individual kills attributed to any U.S. fighter type. Other important users were the Free French and co-belligerent Italian air forces. [3] Together with the derivative P-63 Kingcobra, these aircraft would be the most successful mass-produced, fixed-wing aircraft manufactured by Bell.[4]


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... acobra.jpg

General characteristics
• Crew: One
• Length: 30 ft 2 in (9.2 m)
• Wingspan: 34 ft 0 in (10.4 m)
• Height: 12 ft 5 in (3.8 m)
• Wing area: 213 sq ft (19.8 m²)
• Empty weight: 5,347 lb (2,425 kg)
• Loaded weight: 7,379 lb (3,347 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 8,400 lb (3,800 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Allison V-1710-85 liquid-cooled V-12, 1,200 hp (895 kW)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 376 mph; (605 km/h; Redline dive speed=525 mph.)
• Range: 1,098 miles (1,770 km)
• Service ceiling: 35,000 ft (10,700 m)
• Rate of climb: 3,750 ft/min (19 m/s; 15,000'/ 4.5 min at 160 mph (260 km/h).)
• Wing loading: 34.6 lb/sq ft (169 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (0.27 kW/kg)
Armament
• 1x 37 mm M4 cannon firing through the propeller hub at the rate of 140 rpm with 30 rounds of HE ammo.
• 2 x .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine guns. Rate of fire was 750 rpm x 1 gun in each wing, only 300 rpm each x 2 guns synchronized in the cowl. Ammo: 200 rounds per nose-gun, 300 per wing-pod.
• 4 x .30 cal machine guns, wing mounted.
• Up to 500 lb (230 kg) of bombs externally



Curtiss P-40


P40" redirects here. For the Italian tank, see Carro Armato P 40.
The Curtiss P-40 was an American single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. It was used by the air forces of 28 nations, including those of most Allied powers during World War II, and remained in front line service until the end of the war. By November 1944, when production of the P-40 ceased, 13,738 had been built, all at Curtiss-Wright Corporation's main production facility at Buffalo, New York.
The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36; this reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational service.
Warhawk was the name the United States Army Air Corps adopted for all models, making it the official name in the United States for all P-40s. The British Commonwealth and Soviet air forces used the name Tomahawk for models equivalent to the P-40B and P-40C, and the name Kittyhawk for models equivalent to the P-40D and all later variants.
The P-40's lack of a two-stage supercharger made it inferior to Luftwaffe fighters, like the Messerschmitt Bf 109 or the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, in high-altitude combat and it was rarely used in operations in Northwest Europe. Between 1941 and 1944, however, the P-40 played a critical role with Allied air forces in three major theaters: North Africa, the Southwest Pacific and China. It also had a significant role in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Alaska and Italy. The P-40's high-altitude performance was not as critical in those theaters, where it served as an air supremacy fighter, bomber escort and fighter bomber.
P-40s first saw combat with the British Commonwealth squadrons of the Desert Air Force (DAF) in the Middle East and North African campaigns, during June 1941.[2] [3] The Royal Air Force's No. 112 Squadron was among the first to operate Tomahawks, in North Africa, and the unit was the first to feature the "shark mouth" logo,[4] copying similar markings on some Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin-engine fighters.[4] The logo was most famously used on P-40s by the Flying Tigers in China.[5]
In theatres where high-altitude performance was less important, the P-40 proved an effective fighter. Although it gained a post-war reputation as a mediocre design, suitable only for close air support, more recent research including scrutiny of the records of individual Allied squadrons indicates that the P-40 performed surprisingly well as an air superiority fighter, at times suffering severe losses, but also taking a very heavy toll on enemy aircraft.[6] The P-40 offered the additional advantage of low cost, which kept it in production as a ground attack fighter long after it was obsolete in air superiority.
As of 2008, 19 P-40s remain airworthy


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... 2_USAF.jpg

Specifications (P-40E)
Data from[citation needed]
General characteristics
• Crew: 1
• Length: 31.67 ft (9.66 m)
• Wingspan: 37.33 ft (11.38 m)
• Height: 12.33 ft (3.76 m)
• Wing area: 235.94 ft² (21.92 m²)
• Empty weight: 6,350 lb (2,880 kg)
• Loaded weight: 8,280 lb (3,760 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 8,810 lb (4,000 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Allison V-1710-39 liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,150 hp (858 kW)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 360 mph (310 kn, 580 km/h)
• Cruise speed: 270 mph (235 kn, 435 km/h)
• Range: 650 mi (560 nmi, 1,100 km)
• Service ceiling: 29,000 ft (8,800 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,100 ft/min (11 m/s)
• Wing loading: 35.1 lb/ft² (171.5 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.14 hp/lb (230 W/kg)
Armament
• Guns: 6 × .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, 150~200 rpg
• Bombs: 250 lb (113 kg) to 1,000 Ib (453 kg), a total of 2,000 lb (907 kg) on three hardpoints (one under the fuselage and two underwing)



http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... header.jpg

P-47 Thunderbolt


The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug," was the biggest, heaviest and most expensive single-engined fighter in history to be powered by a piston engine. [2] It was one of the main United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighters of World War II, and also served with other Allied air forces. The P-47 was effective in air combat but proved especially adept at ground attack. It had eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded the P-47 could weigh up to eight tons. A modern-day counterpart in that role, the A-10 Thunderbolt II, takes its name from the P-47.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... P-47-2.jpg


In 1939, Republic Aviation designed the AP-4 demonstrator powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-1830 radial engine with a belly-mounted turbocharger. While the resulting P-43 Lancer was in limited production, Republic had been working on an improved P-44 Rocket with a more powerful engine, as well as on a fighter designated the AP-10. The latter was a lightweight aircraft powered by the Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled V-12 engine and armed with eight .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns. The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) backed the project and gave it the designation XP-47.
As the war in Europe escalated in spring 1940, Republic and the USAAC concluded that the XP-44 and the XP-47 were inferior to the German fighters. Republic unsuccessfully attempted to improve the design, proposing the XP-47A. Alexander Kartveli subsequently came up with an all-new and much larger fighter which was offered to the USAAC in June 1940. The Air Corps ordered a prototype in September, to be designated the XP-47B. The XP-47A, which had almost nothing in common with the new design, was abandoned.
The XP-47B was all-metal construction (except for fabric-covered tail control surfaces) with elliptical wings, with a straight leading edge that was slightly swept back. The cockpit was roomy and the pilot's seat was comfortable -- "like a lounge chair", as one pilot later put it. The pilot was provided with every convenience, including cabin air conditioning. The canopy doors hinged upward. Main and auxiliary self-sealing fuel tanks were placed under the cockpit, giving a total fuel capacity of 305 U.S. gal (1,155 l).


Power came from a Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp two-row 18-cylinder radial engine producing 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) and turning a four-bladed Curtiss Electric constant-speed propeller 146 in (3.7 m) in diameter. The loss of the AP-4 prototype to an engine fire ended Kartveli's experiments with tight-fitting cowlings, so the engine was placed in a broad cowling that opened at the front in a "horse collar"-shaped ellipse. The cowling admitted cooling air for the engine, left and right oil coolers, and the turbosupercharger intercooler system. The engine exhaust gases were routed into a pair of wastegate-equipped pipes that ran along each side of the cockpit to drive the turbosupercharger turbine at the bottom of the fuselage about halfway between cockpit and tail. At full power, the pipes glowed red at their forward ends and the turbine spun at 21,300 rpm [3]. The complicated turbosupercharger system with its ductwork gave the XP-47B a deep fuselage, and the wings had to be mounted in a relatively high position. This was problematic since long landing gear were needed to provide ground clearance for the propeller. To reduce the size and weight of the long landing gear and so that wing-mounted machine guns could be fitted, each main gear strut was fitted with an ingenious mechanism by which it telescoped out 9 in (23 cm) when extended.
The XP-47B was a very large aircraft for its time with an empty weight of 9,900 lb (4,490 kg), or 65 percent more than the YP-43. Kartveli is said to have remarked, "It will be a dinosaur, but it will be a dinosaur with good proportions."[4] The armament consisted of eight 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns, four in each wing. The guns were staggered to allow feeding from side-by-side ammunition boxes, each with a 350-round capacity. Although the British already possessed eight-gun fighters in the form of the Hurricane and the Spitfire and the 12-gun Hawker Typhoon, these used the smaller 0.303 in (7.7 mm) guns.
The XP-47B first flew on 6 May 1941 with Lowry P. Brabham at the controls. Although there were minor problems, such as some cockpit smoke that turned out to be due to an oil drip, the aircraft proved impressive in its first trials. It was eventually lost in an accident on August 8, 1942, but before that mishap the prototype had achieved a level speed of 412 mph (663 km/h) at 25,800 ft (7,864 m) altitude, and had demonstrated a climb from sea level to 15,000 ft (4,600 m) altitude in five minutes.[5


Flying the Thunderbolt
Aerial warfare
Initial response to the P-47 praised its dive speed and high-altitude performance, while criticizing its turning performance and rate of climb (particularly at low altitudes). Commenting on the P-47's size, British pilots joked that a Thunderbolt pilot could defend himself from a Luftwaffe fighter by running around and hiding in the fuselage. Some British assumed the American P-47 nickname "Jug" was short for "Juggernaut" and began using the longer word as an alternate nickname.[11] Another nickname that was used for the Thunderbolt was "T-bolt".
The turbosupercharger in the P-47 gave the powerplant its maximum power at 27,000 ft (8,230 m), and in the thin air above 30,000 ft (9,144 m), the Thunderbolt became comparatively fast and nimble relative to other aircraft.[12]
One early P-47 squadron, the 4th Fighter Group, was composed mainly of pilots who had previously flown the British Supermarine Spitfire, and were not complimentary to their new plane.[13] One Thunderbolt pilot compared it to flying a bathtub around the sky. When his unit (4th Fighter Group) was equipped with Thunderbolts, ace Don Blakeslee said, referring to the P-47's vaunted ability to dive on its prey, "It ought to be able to dive. It certainly can't climb."[14] (Blakeslee's early-model P-47C had not been fitted with the new paddle-blade propeller). The 4th Fighter Group's commander hated the plane, and his prejudices filtered down to the group's pilots; the 4th had the fewest kills of any of the first three P-47 squadrons in Europe.[13]
The P-47's initial success in combat was primarily due to tactics, using rolls (the P-47 had an excellent roll rate) and energy-saving dive and zoom climbs from high altitude to outmaneuver German fighters. No German piston-engined plane could out-dive the Thunderbolt. The Thunderbolt was the fastest-diving American aircraft of the war — it could reach speeds of 550 mph (480 kn, 885 km/h). Major Robert S. "Bob" Johnson described the experience of diving the big fighter by writing, "the Thunderbolt howled and ran for the earth".[15] Some P-47 pilots claimed to have broken the sound barrier, but later research revealed that due to the pressure buildup inside the pitot tube at high speeds, airspeed readings became unpredictably exaggerated.
The arrival of the new Curtiss paddle-blade propeller significantly increased climb rate at lower altitudes, and came as a shock to German pilots who had resorted to steep climbs to evade pursuit by the P-47.[13] Other positive attributes included the P-47's ruggedness; it could sustain a large amount of damage and still be able to get its pilot back to base.[16] With eight .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns, the P-47 did not lack for firepower. German aircraft caught in a well-aimed burst tended to fly apart from the impact of so many armor-piercing projectiles.
Although the P-51 Mustang replaced the P-47 in the long-range escort role in Europe, the Thunderbolt still ended the war with 3,752 air-to-air kills claimed in over 746,000 sorties of all types, at the cost of 3,499 P-47s to all causes in combat.[17] In Europe in the critical first three months of 1944, when the German aircraft industry and Berlin were heavily attacked, the P-47 shot down more German fighters than did the P-51 (570 out of 873), and shot down approximately 900 of the 1,983 claimed during the first six months of 1944.[18] In Europe, Thunderbolts flew more sorties (423,435) than P-51s, P-38s and P-40s combined.
By the end of the war, the 56th FG was the only 8th Air Force unit still flying the P-47, by preference, instead of the P-51. The unit claimed 665.5 air victories and 311 ground kills, at the cost of 128 aircraft.[19] Lieutenant Colonel Francis S. Gabreski scored 31 victories,[20] including three ground kills, Captain Bob Johnson scored 27 (with one unconfirmed probable kill leading to some giving his tally as 28),[21] and 56th FG Commanding Officer Colonel Hubert Zemke scored 17.75 kills.[22] Despite being the sole remaining P-47 group in the 8th Air Force, the 56th FG remained its top-scoring group in aerial victories throughout the war.
In the Pacific, Colonel Neel E. Kearby of the 5th Air Force destroyed 22 Japanese aircraft and was awarded the Medal of Honor for an action in which he downed six enemy fighters on a single mission. He was shot down and killed over Biak in March 1944.[23]


Ground attack role

By 1944, the Thunderbolt was in combat with the USAAF in all its operational theaters, except the Battle of the Aleutian Islands. With increases in fuel capacity as the type was refined, the range of escort missions over Europe steadily increased until the P-47 was able to accompany bombers in raids all the way into Germany. On the way back from the raids, pilots shot up ground targets of opportunity, and also used belly shackles to carry bombs on short-range missions, which led to the realization that the P-47 could perform a dual-function on escort missions as a fighter-bomber. Even with its complicated turbosupercharger system, its sturdy airframe and tough radial engine could absorb a lot of damage and still return home. Some pilots readily chose to belly-land their burning Thunderbolts rather than risk bailing out; there are instances of P-47s crash-landing after being shot down, hitting trees and causing impacts severe enough to snap off wings, tail, and engine, while the pilot escaped with few or no injuries.[24]
The P-47 gradually became the USAAF's best fighter-bomber, normally carrying 500 lb (227 kg) bombs, M8 4.5 in (115 mm) or 5 in (127 mm) High velocity aircraft rockets (HVARs, or Holy Moses). From the invasion of Europe on 6 June, 1944 to VE day on 7 May, 1945, the Thunderbolt units claimed destroyed: 86,000 railway cars, 9,000 locomotives, 6,000 armoured fighting vehicles, and 68,000 trucks.[25]
The Thunderbolt's eight .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns could inflict heavy damage on lightly armored targets. In a ground attack role, the .50 in (12.7 mm) armor-piercing (AP), armor-piercing incendiary (API), and armor-piercing incendiary tracer (APIT) ammunition proved useful in penetrating thin-skinned and lightly armored German vehicles and exploding their fuel tanks, as well as damaging some types of enemy armored fighting vehicles (AFVs).[26] The dreaded cry of Achtung! Jabos! (fighter-bombers) regularly erupted from German armored columns as the P-47 flights got to work.[27] While the AP projectiles from the .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns could not penetrate the front, side, or turret armor of enemy tanks, it could sometimes penetrate the engine grilles and exhaust system of the German Pzkpf Mk IV or Pzkpf V (Panther), disabling the vehicle.[28][29][26] The Mk IV had 10-12 mm top and bottom hull armor and the Panther had top and bottom hull armor made of 16 mm thick plate, while the .50 in (12.7 mm) AP/API round could completely perforate ⅞in (22 mm) face-hardened steel plate at 300 ft (91 m) and ¾ in (19 mm) at 1,640 ft (500 m). Additionally, .50 in (12.7 mm) bullets fired against German medium tanks traveling on paved roads tended to ricochet upwards, hitting the tank on its thinly-armored underside, sometimes richoceting inside the crew compartment or penetrating the engine compartment and setting the vehicle ablaze.[28][30] The .50 in (12.7 mm) guns were ineffective against heavy German tanks such as the Tiger, which required the use of 500 lb bombs or 4.5 in (115 mm) or 5 in (127 mm) rockets.
For heavily-armored targets, P-47 pilots frequently carried two 500 lb (227 kg) bombs, using skip bombing techniques for difficult targets (skipping bombs into railroad tunnels to destroy hidden enemy locomotives or tanks was a favorite tactic);[27] Tunnel-busting became a fine art. When pilots spotted a train entering a tunnel, they skipped bombs into both ends to seal the train inside, then bombed the tunnel itself. Near Canisy, France, a locomotive was shredded until it looked like a steel broom. A near miss was sufficient to knock a tank on its side, blow off a track or turret, or cause serious damage to tracks, suspension, and turret mechanisms, frequently causing the vehicle to be abandoned by its crew.[30] The adoption of the triple-tube rocket launcher with M8 high-explosive 4.5 in (110 mm) rockets (with an explosive force similar to a 105 mm artillery shell), significantly increased the P-47's ground attack capability.[31] Late in the war, the P-47 was retrofitted with more powerful 5 in (130 mm) HVAR rockets.


General characteristics
• Crew: One
• Length: 36 ft 1 in (11.00 m)
• Wingspan: 40 ft 9 in (12.42 m)
• Height: 14 ft 8 in (4.47 m)
• Wing area: 300 ft² (27.87 m²)
• Empty weight: 10,000 lb (4,536 kg)
• Loaded weight: 17,500 lb (7,938 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 17,500 lb (7,938 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-59 twin-row radial engine, 2,535 hp (1,890 kW)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 433 mph at 30,000 ft (697 km/h at 9,145 m)
• Range: 800 mi combat, 1,800 mi ferry (1,290 km / 2,900 km)
• Service ceiling: 43,000 ft (13,100 m)
• Rate of climb: 3,120 ft/min (15.9 m/s)
• Wing loading: 58.3 lb/ft² (284.8 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.14 hp/lb (238 W/kg)
Armament
• 8 × .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns
• Up to 2,500 lb (1,134 kg) of bombs
• 10 × 5 in (127 mm) unguided rockets
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P-51 Mustang

The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was a long-range single-seat fighter aircraft that entered service with Allied air forces in the middle years of World War II.
The P-51 flew most of its wartime missions as a bomber escort in raids over Germany, helping ensure Allied air superiority from early 1944. It also saw limited service against the Japanese in the Pacific War. The Mustang began the Korean War as the United Nations' main fighter, but was relegated to a ground attack role when superseded by jet fighters early in the conflict. Nevertheless, it remained in service with some air forces until the early 1980s.
As well as being economical to produce, the Mustang was a fast, well-made, and highly durable aircraft. The definitive version, the P-51D, was powered by the Packard V-1650, a two-stage two-speed supercharged version of the legendary Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, and was armed with six .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns.
After World War II and the Korean conflict, many Mustangs were converted for civilian use, especially air racing. The Mustang's reputation was such that, in the mid-1960s, Ford Motor Company's Designer John Najjar proposed the name for a new youth-oriented coupe automobile after the fighter.[2]


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... /Bott4.jpg
In 1939, shortly after World War II began, the British government established a purchasing commission in the United States, headed by Sir Henry Self. Along with Sir Wilfrid Freeman, who, as the "Air Member for Development and Production," was given overall responsibility for Royal Air Force (RAF) production and research and development in 1938, Self had sat on the (British) Air Council Sub-committee on Supply (or "Supply Committee"), and one of Self's many tasks was to organize the manufacture of American fighter aircraft for the RAF. At the time, the choice was very limited: none of the U.S. aircraft already flying met European standards; only the Curtiss Tomahawk came close. The Curtiss-Wright plant was running at capacity, so even that aircraft was in short supply.
North American Aviation (NAA) was already supplying their Harvard trainer to the RAF, but were otherwise underutilized. NAA President "Dutch" Kindelberger approached Self to sell a new medium bomber, the B-25 Mitchell. Instead, Self asked if NAA could manufacture the Tomahawk under license from Curtiss.
Kindelberger replied that NAA could have a better aircraft with the same engine in the air in less time than it would take to set up a production line for the P-40. By now the executive head of the British Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP), Freeman ordered 320 aircraft in March 1940. In September, MAP increased the first production order by 300.[3]


The result of the MAP order was the NA-73X project (from March 1940). The design followed the best conventional practice of the era, but included two new features. One was a new NACA-designed laminar flow wing, which was associated with very low drag at high speeds.[4][5] Another was the use of a new radiator design (one Curtiss had been unable to make work) that used the heated air exiting the radiator as a form of jet thrust in what is referred to as the "Meredith Effect." Because North American lacked a suitable wind tunnel, it used the GALCIT 10 ft (3.0 m) wind tunnel at Caltech. This led to some controversy over whether the Mustang's cooling system aerodynamics were developed by North American's engineer Edgar Schmued or by Curtiss, although historians and researchers dismiss the allegation of stolen technology; such claims are likely moot in any event, as North American had purchased Curtiss’ complete set of P-40 and XP-46 wind tunnel data and flight test reports for US$56,000.[6]
While the United States Army Air Corps could block any sales it considered detrimental or not in the interest of the United States, the NA-73 represented a special case. In order to ensure deliveries were uninterrupted, then-Colonel Oliver P. Echols arranged with the Anglo-French Purchasing Commission to have the RAF get its aircraft in exchange for NAA providing two free examples to the USAAC for evaluation.[7]
The prototype NA-73X was rolled out just 117 days after the order was placed, and first flew on 26 October 1940, just 178 days after the order had been placed—an uncommonly short gestation period. In general the prototype handled well and the internal arrangement allowed for an impressive fuel load. It was armed with four .30 in (7.62 mm) M1919 Browning machine guns in the wings and four .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns: two in in the wings and two in the chin.

General characteristics
• Crew: 1
• Length: 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m)
• Wingspan: 37 ft 0 in (11.28 m)
• Height: 13 ft 8 in (4.17 m)
• Wing area: 235 ft² (21.83 m²)
• Empty weight: 7,635 lb (3,465 kg)
• Loaded weight: 9,200 lb (4,175 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 12,100 lb (5,490 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Packard V-1650-7 liquid-cooled supercharged V-12, 1,490 hp (1,111 kW) at 3,000 rpm;[81] 1,720 hp (1,282 kW) at WEP
• Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0163
• Drag area: 3.80 ft² (0.35 m²)
• Aspect ratio: 5.83
Performance
• Maximum speed: 437 mph (703 km/h) at 25,000 ft (7,620 m)
• Cruise speed: 362 mph (580 km/h)
• Stall speed: 100 mph (160 km/h)
• Range: 1,650 mi (2,755 km) with external tanks
• Service ceiling: 41,900 ft (12,770 m)
• Rate of climb: 3,200 ft/min (16.3 m/s)
• Wing loading: 39 lb/ft² (192 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.18 hp/lb (300 W/kg)
• Lift-to-drag ratio: 14.6
• Recommended Mach limit 0.8
Armament
• 6 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns; 400 rounds per inboard gun; 270 per outboard gun
• 2 × hardpoints for up to 2,000 lb (907 kg) of bombs
• 10 × 5 in (127 mm) rockets
P-51H Mustang
Data from The Great Book of Fighters[79]
General characteristics
• Crew: 1
• Length: 33 ft 4 in (10.16 m)
• Wingspan: 37 ft 0 in (11.28 m)
• Height: 11 ft 1 in (3.38 m)
• Wing area: 235 ft² (21.83 m²)
• Empty weight: 7,040 lb (3,195 kg)
• Loaded weight: 9,500 lb (4,310 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 11,500 lb (5,215 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Packard V-1650-9 liquid-cooled supercharged V-12, 1,490 hp (1,111 kW) at 3,000 rpm, 2,220 hp (1,655 kW) at WEP[82]
Performance
• Maximum speed: 487 mph (784 km/h) at 25,000 ft (7,620 m)
• Range: 1,160 mi (1,865 km) with external tanks
• Service ceiling: 41,600 ft (12,680 m)
• Rate of climb: 3,300 ft/min (16.8 m/s)
• Wing loading: 40.4 lb/ft² (197.4 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.23 hp/lb (385 W/kg)
Armament
• 6 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns with 1,880 total rounds (400 rounds for each on the inner pair, and 270 rounds for each of the outer two pair), or 4 of the same guns with 1,600 total rounds (400 rpg).


P-61 Black Widow

The Northrop P-61 Black Widow was the first operational U.S. military aircraft designed specifically to use radar.[2] The "Black Widow" was an all-metal, twin-engine, twin-boom, aircraft flown as a night-fighter by United States Army Air Forces squadrons in the European Theater, the Pacific Theater, the CBI Theater, and the Mediterranean Theater during World War II. It replaced earlier British-designed night-fighter aircraft that had been updated to incorporate radar when it became available. On the night of 14 August 1945, a P-61B-2 of the 548th NFS named "Lady in the Dark" was unofficially credited with the last allied air victory before VJ Day.[3] The P-61 was also modified to create the F-15 Reporter, the last piston-powered photo-reconnaissance aircraft designed and produced for the U.S. Air Force.[4]


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... rborne.jpg
Remote turret
The XP-61's spine-mounted dorsal remote turret could be aimed and fired by any one of the three-man crew, or could be locked forward to be fired by the pilot in addition to the 20 mm (.79 in) cannons. The radar operator could rotate the turret to face to the rear, in order to engage targets behind the aircraft. Capable of a full 360° rotation and 90° elevation, the turret could conceivably be used to engage any target in the entire hemisphere above and to the sides of the XP-61. The turret had buffeting problems on the airframe and was not installed for a few production runs

General characteristics
• Crew: 2-3 (pilot, radar operator, optional gunner)
• Length: 49 ft 7 in (15.11 m)
• Wingspan: 66 ft 0 in (20.12 m)
• Height: 14 ft 8 in (4.47 m)
• Wing area: 662.36 ft² (61.53 m²)
• Empty weight: 23,450 lb (10,637 kg)
• Loaded weight: 29,700 lb (13,471 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 36,200 lb (16,420 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-65W Double Wasp radial engines, 2,250 hp (1,680 kW) each
• Propellers: four-bladed Curtiss Electric propeller, 1 per engine
o Propeller diameter: 146 in (3.72 m)

• Fuel capacity:
o Internal: 640 gal (2,423 L) of AN-F-48 100/130-octane rating gasoline
o External: Up to four 165 gal (625 L) or 310 gal (1,173 L) tanks under the wings
Performance
• Maximum speed: 366 mph (318 kn, 589 km/h) at 20,000 ft (6,095 m)
• Combat range: 610 mi (520 nmi, 982 km)
• Ferry range: 1,900 mo (1,650 mi, 3,060 km) with four external fuel tanks
• Service ceiling: 33,100 ft (10,600 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,540 ft/min (12.9 m/s)
• Wing loading: 45 lb/ft² (219 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.15 hp/lb (25 W/kg)
• Time to altitude: 12 min to 20,000 ft (6,100 m) (1,667 fpm)
Armament
• Guns:
o 4 × 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano M2 cannon in ventral fuselage, 200 rpg
o 4 × .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in upper turret, 560 rpg
• Bombs: for ground attack, four bombs of up to 1,600 lb (726 kg) each or six 5 in (127 mm) HVAR unguided rockets could be carried under the wings. Some aircraft could also carry one 1,000 lb (454 kg) bomb under the fuselage.
Avionics
• SCR-720 (AI Mk.X) search radar
• SCR-695 tail warning radar

P-63 Kingcobra

The Bell P-63 Kingcobra (Model 24) was a United States fighter aircraft developed in World War II from the P-39 Airacobra in an attempt to correct that aircraft's deficiencies. Although the aircraft was not accepted for combat use by the USAAF, it was successfully adopted by the Soviet Air Force.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... gcobra.jpg
Specifications (P-63A Kingcobra)
Data from Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II[12]
General characteristics
• Crew: 1
• Length: 32 ft 8 in (10.0 m)
• Wingspan: 38 ft 4 in (11.7 m)
• Height: 12 ft 7 in (3.8 m)
• Wing area: 248 sq ft (23 m²)
• Empty weight: 6,800 lb (3,100 kg)
• Loaded weight: 8,800 lb (4,000 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 10,700 lb (4,900 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Allison V-1710-117 liquid-cooled V-12, 1,800 hp (1,340 kW)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 410 mph (660 km/h) at 25,000 ft (7,620 m)
• Range: 450 mi[13] (725 km)
• Ferry range: 2200 mi (3,540 km)
• Service ceiling: 43,000 ft (13,100 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,500 ft/min (12.7 m/s)
• Wing loading: 35.48 lb/sq ft (173.91 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.20 hp/lb (0.34 kW/kg)
Armament
• Guns:
o 1× 37 mm M4 cannon firing through the propeller hub
o 4× 0.50 in (12.7mm) M2 Browning machine guns (two in the nose, two in the wings)
• Bombs: 1,500 lb (680 kg) bomb load on wing and fuselage




North American P-64


The designator North American P-64 was assigned by the U.S. Army Air Corps to six North American model NA-68 aircraft seized by the US government that were destined for Thailand when that country was invaded by Japanese forces in World War II.
The North American NA-68 was a development by the North American Aviation Company of a simple single seat, low-wing, single engine fighter for export. The design was developed from the model NA-16 experimental basic training aircraft of 1935. The NA-16 evolved into a series of aircraft that were some of the most successful advanced and basic training aircraft produced by any country and was the basic design for single engine fighters for small countries that needed simple aircraft with modern features.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... 4P-027.jpg

Specifications (NA-68 (P-64))
General characteristics
• Crew: One
• Length: 27 ft (8.23 m)
• Wingspan: 37 ft 3 in (11.35 m)
• Height: 19 ft 8 in (5.99 m)
• Wing area: 227 ft² (21.1 m²)
• Empty weight: 4,660 lb (2,114 kg)
• Loaded weight: 5,990 lb (2,717 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 6,800 lb (3,080 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Wright R-1820-77 radial engine, 870 hp (649 kW)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 270 mph (435 km/h) at 8,700 ft (2,650 m)
• Range: 965 mi (1,550 km)
• Service ceiling: 27,500 ft (8,400 m)
• Wing loading: 26 lb/ft² (129 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.13 hp/lb (0.21 kW/kg)
Armament
• 2 × .30 in (7.62 mm) machine guns
• 2 × 20 mm cannons
• Up to 400 lb (180 kg) of bombs


P-66 Vanguard


The Vultee P-66 Vanguard was an accidental addition to the USAAF's inventory of fighter aircraft. It was initially ordered by Sweden, but by the time the aircraft were ready for delivery in 1941, the United States would not allow them to be exported, designating them as P-66s and retaining them for defensive and training purposes. Eventually, a large number were sent to China where they were pressed into service as combat aircraft with indifferent results.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... 4P-030.jpg

Specifications (P-66)
General characteristics
• Crew: One
• Length: 28 ft 4 in (8.64 m)
• Wingspan: 36 ft 0 in (10.98 m)
• Height: ()
• Wing area: 197 ft² (18.3 m²)
• Empty weight: 4,657 lb (2,117 kg)
• Loaded weight: 6,029 lb (2,740 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: lb (kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S3C4-G radial engine, 1,200 hp (895 kW)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 340 mph (544 km/h)
• Range: 850 mi (1,360 km)
• Service ceiling: 28,200 ft (8,958 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,139 ft/min (10.4 m/s)
• Wing loading: 31 lb/ft² (150 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.20 hp/lb (0.33 kW/kg)
Armament
• 4 × .30 in (7.62 mm) machine guns
• 2 × .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns


A-20 Havoc


The Douglas A-20/DB-7 Havoc was a family of American attack, light bomber and night fighter aircraft of World War II, serving with several Allied air forces, principally those of the Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and United States. The DB-7 was also used by the air forces of Australia, South Africa, France, and The Netherlands during the war, and Brazil afterwards. The bomber aircraft was known as Boston among British and Commonwealth air forces, while the RAF night fighter variants were given the service name Havoc. The USAAF assigned the DB-7 the designation "A-20" and gave it the popular name "Havoc

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... _Havoc.jpg

The French order called for substantial modifications, and the new designation DB-7 (for Douglas Bomber 7) was introduced. It had a narrower, deeper fuselage, 1,000 hp (746 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1830-SC3-G radials, French-built guns, and metric instruments. Midway through the delivery phase, engines were switched to 1,100 hp (820 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S3C4-G. The French designation was DB-7 B-3 (the B-3 signifying "three-seat bomber").
The DB-7s were shipped in sections to Casablanca for assembly and service in France and French North Africa. When the Germans attacked France and the Low Countries on 10 May 1940, the 64 available DB-7s were deployed against the advancing Panzers. Before the armistice they were evacuated to North Africa to avoid capture by German forces. Here, they fell under control of the Vichy government, but saw practically no action against the Allies except briefly during Operation Torch. After French forces in North Africa had sided with the Allies, DB-7 were used as trainers and were replaced in frontline units by B-26 Marauders. In early 1945, a few DB-7s were sent back to France where they saw action against the remaining isolated German pockets on the Western coast.


General characteristics
• Crew: 2-3
• Length: 47 ft 11 in (14.63 m)
• Wingspan: 61 ft 4 in (18.69 m)
• Height: 17 ft 7 in (5.36 m)
• Wing area: 465 ft² (43.2 m²)
• Empty weight: 15,051 lb (6,827 kg)
• Loaded weight: 27,200 lb (12,338 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 20,320 lb (9,215 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Wright R-2600-A5B "Double Cyclone" radial engines, 1,700 hp (1,268 kW) each
Performance
• Maximum speed: 339 mph (295 kn, 546 km/h) at 10,000 ft (3,050 m)
• Range: 1,050 mi (912 nmi, 1,690 km)
• Service ceiling: 23,700 ft (7,225 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,000 ft/min (10.2 m/s)
Armament
• Guns:
o 4× fixed 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns in the nose
o 2× flexible 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns, mounted dorsally
o 1× flexible 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers K machine gun, mounted ventrally
• Bombs: 4,000 lb (1,900 kg)


B-25 Mitchell


The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.
The B-25 was named in honor of General Billy Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. The B-25 is the only American military aircraft named after a specific person. By the end of its production, nearly 10,000 B-25s in numerous models had been built. These included a few limited variations, such as the US Navy's and US Marine Corps' PBJ-1 patrol bomber and the Army Air Forces' F-10 photo reconnaissance aircraft


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... nchito.jpg


General characteristics
• Crew: six (two pilots, navigator/bombardier, turret gunner/engineer, radio operator/waist gunner, tail gunner
• Length: 52 ft 11 in (16.1 m)
• Wingspan: 67 ft 6 in (20.6 m)
• Height: 17 ft 7 in (4.8 m)
• Wing area: 610 sq ft (57 m²)
• Empty weight: 21,120 lb (9,580 kg)
• Loaded weight: 33,510 lb (15,200 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 41,800 lb (19,000 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Wright R-2600 "Cyclone" radials, 1,850 hp (1,380 kW) each
Performance
• Maximum speed: 275 mph (239 kn, 442 km/h)
• Cruise speed: 230 mph (200 kn, 370 km/h)
• Combat radius: 1,350 mi (1,170 nmi, 2,170 km)
• Ferry range: 2,700 mi (2,300 nmi, 4,300 km)
• Service ceiling: 25,000 ft (7,600 m)
• Rate of climb: 790 ft/min (4 m/s)
• Wing loading: 55 lb/ft² (270 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.110 hp/lb (182 W/kg)
Armament
• Guns: 12 × .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns
• Hardpoints: 2,000 lb (900 kg) ventral shackles to hold one external Mark 13 torpedo[12]
• Rockets: 3,000 lb (1,360 kg) bombs + eight 5 in (130 mm) high velocity aircraft rockets (HVAR)
• Bombs: 6,000 lb (2,700 kg)

B-26 Marauder

The Martin B-26 Marauder was a World War II twin-engine medium bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company.
The first US medium bomber used in the Pacific Theater in early 1942, it was also used in the Mediterranean Theater and in Western Europe. The plane distinguished itself as "the chief bombardment weapon on the Western Front" according to an United States Army Air Forces dispatch from 1946,[citation needed] and later variants maintained the lowest loss record of any combat aircraft during World War II. Its late-war loss record stands in sharp contrast to its unofficial nickname "The Widowmaker" — earned due to early models' high rate of accidents during takeoff.
A total of 5,288 were produced between February 1941 and March 1945; 522 of these were flown by the Royal Air Force and the South African Air Force.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... 8/B_26.jpg

General characteristics
• Crew: 7: (2 pilots, bombardier, navigator/radio operator, 3 gunners)
• Length: 58 ft 3 in (17.8 m)
• Wingspan: 71 ft 0 in (21.65 m)
• Height: 21 ft 6 in (6.55 m)
• Wing area: 658 ft2 (61.1 m2)
• Empty weight: 24,000 lb (11,000 kg)
• Loaded weight: 37,000 lb (17,000 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-43 radial engines, 1,900 hp (1,400 kW) each
Performance
• Maximum speed: 287 mph (250 knots, 460 km/h) at 5,000 feet (1,500 m)
• Cruise speed: 216 mph (188 knots, 358 km/h
• Landing speed: 104 mph (90 knots, 167 km/h))
• Combat radius: 1,150 mi (999 nmi, 1,850 km)
• Ferry range: 2,850 mi (2,480 nmi, 4,590 km)
• Service ceiling: 21,000 ft (6,400 m)
• Wing loading: 46.4 lb/ft² (228 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.10 hp/lb (170 W/kg)
Armament
• Guns: 12 × .50 in (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns
• Bombs: 4,000 pounds (1,800 kg)


A-26 Invader

The Douglas A-26 Invader (B-26 between 1948–1965) was a United States twin-engined light attack bomber built by the Douglas Aircraft Co. during World War II that also saw service during several of the Cold War's major conflicts. A limited number of highly modified aircraft served in combat until 1969. The last A-26 in active US service was assigned to the Air National Guard; that aircraft was retired from military service in 1972 by the US Air Force and the National Guard Bureau and donated to the National Air and Space Museum.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... 6/B-26.jpg


The A-26 was an unusual design for an attack bomber of the early 1940s period, as it was designed as a single-pilot aircraft (sharing this characteristic with the RAF's de Havilland Mosquito, among others). The aircraft was designed by Edward Heinemann, Robert Donovan and Ted R. Smith.[3]
The Douglas XA-26 prototype (41-19504) first flew on 10 July 1942 at Mines Field, El Segundo, with test pilot Benny Howard at the controls. Flight tests revealed excellent performance and handling, but there were problems with engine cooling which led to cowling changes and omission of the propeller spinners on production aircraft, plus modification of the nose landing gear after repeated collapses during testing.[4]
The A-26 was originally built in two different configurations. The A-26B had a "solid" nose, which normally housed six (or later eight) .50 caliber machine guns, officially termed the "all-purpose nose", later commonly known as the "six-gun nose" or "eight-gun nose". The A-26C's "glass" nose, officially termed the "Bombardier nose", contained a Norden bombsight for medium altitude precision bombing. The A-26C nose section included two fixed M-2 guns, later replaced by underwing gun packs or internal guns in the wings.
After about 1,570 production aircraft, three guns were installed in each wing, coinciding with the introduction of the "eight-gun nose" for A-26Bs, giving some configurations as many as 14 .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns in a fixed forward mount. An A-26C nose section could be exchanged for an A-26B nose section, or vice versa, in a few man-hours, thus physically (and officially) changing the designation and operational role. The "flat-topped" canopy was changed in late 1944 after about 820 production aircraft, to a clamshell style with greatly improved visibility.[5][6]
Alongside the pilot in an A-26B, a crew member typically served as navigator and gun loader for the pilot-operated nose guns. In an A-26C, that crew member served as navigator and bombardier, and relocated to the nose section for the bombing phase of an operation. A small number of A-26Cs were fitted with dual flight controls, some parts of which could be disabled in flight to allow limited access to the nose section. A tractor-style "jump seat" was located behind the "navigator's seat." In most missions, a third crew member in the rear gunner's compartment operated the remotely-controlled dorsal and ventral gun turrets, with access to and from the cockpit only possible via the bomb bay when that was empty.[7]


General characteristics
• Crew: 3
• Length: 50 ft 0 in (15.24 m)
• Wingspan: 70 ft 0 in (21.34 m)
• Height: 18 ft 3 in (5.64 m)
• Wing area: 540 ft² (50 m²)
• Empty weight: 22,850 lb (10,365 kg)
• Loaded weight: 27,600 lb (12,519 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 35,000 lb (15,900 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-27 "Double Wasp" radials, 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) each
Performance
• Maximum speed: 355 mph (308 kn, 570 km/h)
• Range: 1,400 mi (1,200 nmi, 2,300 km)
• Service ceiling: 22,000 ft (6,700 m)
• Rate of climb: 1,250 ft/min (6.4 m/s)
• Wing loading: 51 lb/ft² (250 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.145 hp/lb (108 W/kg)
Armament
• Guns:
o 6 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in the nose
o 8× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 machine guns in four optional under wing pods
o 2× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 machine guns in remote-controlled dorsal turret
o 2× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 machine guns in remote-controlled ventral turret
• Bombs: 6,000 lb (2,700 kg) - 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) in the bomb bay plus 2,000 lb (910 kg) external




FR Fireball


The Ryan FR Fireball was a composite propeller and jet-powered aircraft designed by Ryan Aeronautical for the United States Navy during World War II. The Fireball entered service before the end of the war, but did not see combat. The FR-1 Fireball was the United States Navy's first aircraft with jet propulsion.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... reball.jpg


Design began in 1943 to a proposal instigated by Admiral John S. McCain, Sr. for a composite-powered fighter; early jet engines had sluggish acceleration which was considered unsafe and unsuitable for aircraft carrier takeoff and landing. Ryan aeronautical engineer Benjamin Tyler Salmon was tasked with designing an aircraft to meet these criteria. His solution was a composite design that allowed for conventional piston-powered flight but gave a jet for higher speeds.
The first prototype flew on 25 June 1944, but it was lost in a crash at China Lake NAS in October that year. Investigation showed that the wing rivets were insufficiently strong, a problem cured by doubling the number of rivets, but not before the other two prototypes crashed in similar fashion.




Orders for 700 aircraft were placed, but only 66 were delivered before Japan's surrender. One squadron, VF-66, was equipped with the aircraft before war's end, but they never saw combat. The Fireball was the first American aircraft to land under jet power on a ship, on the escort carrier USS Wake Island on 6 November 1945. US Navy pilots considered Fireball to be a uniquely poorly chosen name, given its "fiery accident" connotations.
The aircraft were withdrawn in 1947, fairly soon after the war's end. With the rapid advance in technology, and the removal of the pressing need to get anything into combat quickly, the Navy decided to wait for better aircraft to be developed.
The FR-1 Fireball was further developed into the XFR-2 which used a 1,500 hp (1,119 kW) Wright R-1820-74W in place of the -72W. One single airframe was converted to this configuration. No prototypes were built for the next proposed variant, the FR-3, which would use a General Electric I-20 turbojet. The fastest Fireball was the XFR-4, which had a Westinghouse J34 turbojet and was some 100 mph (161 km/h) faster than the FR-1.[1] The final variant was the XF2R-1 Dark Shark, which replaced the piston engine with a General Electric XT31-GE-2 turboprop, but this never entered service, though a prototype was built. This was used by Al Conover to set a new world altitude record for turboprop aircraft of 39,160 ft (11,936 m) on 2 May 1947. [2]


General characteristics
• Crew: one
• Length: 32 ft 4 in (12.19 m)
• Wingspan: 40 ft 0 in (12.19 m)
• Height: 13 ft 7¼ in (4.15 m)
• Wing area: 275 ft² (25.6 m²)
• Empty weight: 7,915 lb (3,590 kg)
• Loaded weight: 10,595 lb (4,806 kg)
• Powerplant:
o 1× General Electric J31-GE-3 turbojet, 1,600 lbf (7.1 kN, 700 kgf)
o 1× Wright R-1820-72W Cyclone radial engine, 1,350 hp (1,060 kW)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 426 mph (radial engine only 275 mph) (686 km/h (445 km/h))
• Cruise speed: 153 mph (radial engine only) (246 km/h)
• Range: 1,300 mi (2,100 km)
• Service ceiling: 43,100 ft (13,137 m)
• Rate of climb: 80 ft/s (24.4 m/s)
Armament
• 4 × .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun with 300 rpg
• 2 × 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs
• 8 × 5 in (127 mm) rockets under wings


XF2R Dark Shark


The Ryan XF2R Dark Shark was an experimental aircraft built for the United States Navy that combined turboprop and turbojet propulsion. It was based on Ryan's earlier FR Fireball, but replaced the Fireball's piston engine with a General Electric T-31 turboprop engine driving a huge 4-bladed Hamilton Standard propeller.
The turboprop made for much improved performance over the Fireball, but the Navy showed little interest in it; by that time, they had abandoned the idea of the combination fighter and were instead looking into all-jet fighters.
The United States Air Force, however, showed a little more interest; they were at the time evaluating the Convair XP-81 of similar concept, and asked Ryan to modify the XF2R to use the Westinghouse J-34 turbojet instead of the General Electric J-31 used previously. Modifications to the prototype created the XF2R-2, with the jet intakes moved to the sides of the forward fuselage with NACA ducts instead of the inlets in the wing leading edge used before.
Although the Dark Shark proved to be a capable aircraft, it never got further than the prototype stage; all-jet aircraft were considered superior.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... _Shark.jpg


The Ryan XF2R Dark Shark was an experimental aircraft built for the United States Navy that combined turboprop and turbojet propulsion. It was based on Ryan's earlier FR Fireball, but replaced the Fireball's piston engine with a General Electric T-31 turboprop engine driving a huge 4-bladed Hamilton Standard propeller.
The turboprop made for much improved performance over the Fireball, but the Navy showed little interest in it; by that time, they had abandoned the idea of the combination fighter and were instead looking into all-jet fighters.
The United States Air Force, however, showed a little more interest; they were at the time evaluating the Convair XP-81 of similar concept, and asked Ryan to modify the XF2R to use the Westinghouse J-34 turbojet instead of the General Electric J-31 used previously. Modifications to the prototype created the XF2R-2, with the jet intakes moved to the sides of the forward fuselage with NACA ducts instead of the inlets in the wing leading edge used before.
Although the Dark Shark proved to be a capable aircraft, it never got further than the prototype stage; all-jet aircraft were considered superior.


General characteristics
• Crew: 1
• Length: 36 ft 0 in (10.97 m)
• Wingspan: 42 ft 0 in (12.80 m)
• Height: 14 ft 0 in (4.27 m)
• Wing area: 305 ft² (28.3 m²)
• Loaded weight: 11,000 lb (4,990 kg)
• Powerplant:
o 1× General Electric J31 turbojet, 1,600 lbf (7.1 kN)
o 1× General Electric T31 turboprop, 1,760 hp (1,310 kW)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 497 mph (432 kn, 800 km/h) (at sea level)
• Service ceiling: 39,100 ft (11,900 m)
• Rate of climb: 4,850 ft/min (24.64 m/s)
• Wing loading: 36.1 lb/ft² (176 kg/m²)
Armament: 4 x 12.7mm machine guns




Consolidated Vultee XP-81


The Consolidated Vultee XP-81 was a development of the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation to build a single seat, long range escort fighter that combined use of both a turbojet and a turboprop engines. Although promising, the lack of a suitable engine combined with the end of World War II doomed the project
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... /XP-81.jpg


Two prototype aircraft were ordered on 11 February 1944 that were designated XP-81. The engine selection was an attempt to couple the high-speed capability of the jet engine with the endurance offered by the propeller engine. The XP-81 was designed to use the General Electric TG-100 turboprop engine (later designated XT31 by the US military) in the nose driving a four-bladed propeller and an GE J33 turbojet in the rear fuselage. The turboprop would be used for normal flight and cruising and the turbojet added for high-speed flight.


The first XP-81 (serial 44-91000) was completed in January 1945 but because of developmental problems the turboprop engine was not ready for installation. A decision was then made to mount a complete V-1650-7 Merlin engine package from a P-51D aircraft in place of the turboprop for initial flight tests. This was done in a week and the Merlin-powered XP-81 was sent to the Muroc airbase where it flew for the first time on 11 February 1945. During ten flight test hours, the XP-81 displayed good handling characteristics except for inadequate directional stability due to the longer forward portion of the fuselage (this was rectified by enlarging the vertical tail.[2]
While 13 YP-81 pre-production aircraft had been ordered, the capture of Guam and Saipan removed the need for long-range, high-speed escort fighters and, then, just before VJ Day the contract was cancelled, after 85% of the engineering was completed. The YP-81 was to be essentially the same as the prototype but with a lighter, more powerful GE TG-110 (XT41) turboprop engine, the wing moved aft 10 inches (0.25 m), and armament of either six .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine guns or six 20 mm cannon.
After the XP-81 was returned to Vultee Field, the TG-100 turboprop was installed and flight testing resumed. However, the turboprop engine was not able to produce its designed power; producing only the same output as the Merlin (1,490 hp or 1112 kW) with the resultant performance limited to that of the Merlin-powered configuration.
With the termination of hostilities, the two prototypes continued to be tested until 1947 when they were both consigned to a bombing range as photography targets.[3][4] Both prototypes are currently in storage at the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton, Ohio.[5]


General characteristics
• Crew: 1
• Length: 44 ft 10 in (13.67 m)
• Wingspan: 50 ft 6 in (15.39 m)
• Height: 14 ft 0 in (4.27 m)
• Wing area: 425 ft² (39.5 m²)
• Empty weight: 12,755 lb (5,786 kg)
• Loaded weight: 19,500 lb (8,850 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 24,650 lb (11,180 kg)
• Powerplant:
o 1× General Electric J33-GE-5 turbojet, 3,750 lbf (16.7 kN)
o 1× General Electric XT31-GE-1 (TG-100) turboprop, 2,300 hp (1,700 kW)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 507 mph (440 knots, 811 km/h)
• Range: 2,500 mi (2,200 nm, 4,000 km)
• Service ceiling: 35,500 ft (10,800 m)
• Rate of climb: 5,300 ft/min (26 m/s)
• Wing loading: 106 lb/ft² (518 kg/m²)Projected armament
• Guns: 6× 20 mm (0.787 in) cannon
• Bombs: 2,000 lb (900 kg)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... _XF-81.jpg


P-75 Eagle


The General Motors P-75 Eagle was a fighter aircraft for which the Fisher Body Division of General Motors Corporation in September 1942 submitted a proposal to meet a United States Army Air Forces requirement for a fighter possessing an extremely high rate of climb. The proposal was for an aircraft that used the most powerful liquid-cooled engine then available, the Allison V-3420 (essentially a pair of 12 cylinder Allison V-1710 engines mated to a common crankcase), and components from existing aircraft. Only eight XP-75s and six P-75As were built before the program was cancelled.



http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... _Eagle.jpg


In October 1942, the contract for two prototypes, designated XP-75, was signed with the Fisher Body Division of GM. The design concept was to use the outer wing panels from the P-51 Mustang, the tail assembly from the Douglas A-24 (SBD), and the undercarriage from the F4U Corsair in a general layout much as in the P-39 Airacobra with the engine located amidships with the propeller driven through an extension shaft. At an early design stage, however, P-40 Warhawk outer wing panels were substituted for the P-51 panels.
In mid-1943, the need for long-range escort fighters became more urgent than fast climbing interceptors so a decision was made to order six more XP-75 airplanes modified for the long-range role. At this time an order for 2,500 production aircraft was also let, but with the stipulation that if the first P-75A was not satisfactory the complete order might be canceled.
At the time, General Motors was busy in several projects towards the war effort, including the mass production of several different aircraft types, including the Grumman TBF Avenger. Some sources[1] claim that the P-75 was the result of a scheme to get General Motors out of being forced to build Boeing B-29 Superfortresses; the P-75 project being a "high-priority" project to help GM avoid the added strain of Superfortress production.


Powered by a V-3420-19 twenty-four cylinder engine rated at 2,600 hp driving co-axial contra-rotating propellers, the XP-75 flew for the first time on 17 November 1943. The second XP-75 flew shortly thereafter, with all six long-range XP-75s entering the test program by the spring 1944. The test program brought up a number of deficiencies, including miscalculation of the fighter’s center of mass, failure of the engine to produce its expected power, inadequate engine cooling, high aileron forces at high speed, and poor spin characteristics. Redesigns were introduced into the long-range XP-75s including a modified tail assembly, new cockpit canopy, and a V-3420-23 engine that corrected most of the problems by the time the first P-75A Eagles entered flight test in September 1944.
By this time, the Army Air Force decided to limit the number of combat aircraft types in production and not enter into large-scale production of new types that might not be available before the war ended. As the twin-engine P-38 Lightning, and the single-engine P-47N Thunderbolt and P-51D Mustang demonstrated excellent long-range capabilities, the production run of the P-75A Eagle was substantially terminated on 6 October 1944. It was decided to use the five completed production aircraft for experimental work and development of the V-3420 engine. As a result of those events, the P-75A did not complete formal performance trials due to termination of the production contract.


General characteristics
• Crew: One
• Length: 40 ft 5 in (12.32 m)
• Wingspan: 49 ft 4 in (15.04 m)
• Height: 15 ft 6 in (4.72 m)
• Wing area: 347 ft² (32.24 m²)
• Empty weight: 11,495 lb (5,214 kg)
• Loaded weight: 13,807 lb (6,263 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 18,210 lb (8,260 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Allison V-3420-23 liquid-cooled 24-cylinder double-Vee, 2,885 hp (2,150 kW)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 433 mph (697 km/h) at 20,000 (6,100 m)
• Range: 2,050 mi (3,300 km)
• Service ceiling: 36,400 ft (11,100 m)
• Rate of climb: 4,200 ft/min (21.3 m/s)
• Wing loading: 39.8 lb/ft² (194.3 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.21 hp/lb (0.34 kW/kg)
Armament
• 6x 0.5 in (12.7 mm) wing mounted machine guns
• 4x 0.5 in (12.7 mm) fuselage mounted machine guns
• 2x 500 lb (227 kg) bombs


de Havilland Mosquito


The de Havilland Mosquito was a British combat aircraft that excelled in a number of roles during the Second World War. Originally conceived as an unarmed fast bomber, uses of the Mosquito included: low to medium altitude daytime tactical bomber, high altitude night bomber, pathfinder, day or night fighter, fighter-bomber, intruder, maritime strike and photo reconnaissance aircraft. It was also used as the basis for a single-seat heavy fighter, the de Havilland Hornet. The aircraft served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and many other air forces during the Second World War and postwar (see Operators below). The Mosquito was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews[1] and was also known as "The Wooden Wonder" or "The Timber Terror" as the bulk of the aircraft was made of laminated plywood.[2]
The Mosquito inspired admiration from all quarters, including the Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, Hermann Göring. Göring was due to address a parade in Berlin in the morning of 30 January 1943, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Nazis' being voted into power. Three 105 Squadron Mosquito B Mk. IVs launched a low-level attack on the main Berlin broadcasting station,[3] keeping Göring off the air for more than an hour.
The Reichsmarschall was not amused: In 1940 I could at least fly as far as Glasgow in most of my aircraft, but not now! It makes me furious when I see the Mosquito. I turn green and yellow with envy.
The British, who can afford aluminium better than we can, knock together a beautiful wooden aircraft that every piano factory over there is building, and they give it a speed which they have now increased yet again. What do you make of that? Hermann Göring, January 1943


The Mosquito inspired a conceptually similar German aircraft, the Focke Wulf Ta 154 Moskito, which, like its namesake, was constructed of wood.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... 8-1942.jpg

Throughout the 1930s, de Havilland established a reputation in developing innovative high-speed aircraft such as the DH.88 Comet mailplane and DH.91 Albatross airliner that had already successfully employed the composite wood construction that the Mosquito would use. The firm had little experience of working with the Air Ministry, and when a contract was specified for new bombers, de Havilland's all-wood design approach was considered to be out of keeping with official policy.[6]
Their initial design had started off as an adaptation of the Albatross, armed with three gun turrets and a six-man crew, and powered by two Rolls-Royce Merlin engines.[2] However the resulting design had mediocre performance. The designers started looking for ways to improve it, including the addition of another pair of engines. After more work on the concept, they started moving in the other direction instead, removing everything that was unneeded in order to lower the weight. As each of the gun turrets was eliminated, the performance of the aircraft continued to improve, until they realised that, by removing all of them, the aircraft would be so fast it might not need guns at all. What emerged was an entirely different concept, a small twin-engined, two crew aircraft so fast that nothing in the sky could catch it. In promoting the design, de Havilland's marketing line was that it had produced the "fastest bomber in the world." It could carry 1,000 lb (454 kg) of bombs for 1,500 mi (2,414 km) at a speed of almost 400 mph (644 km/h), which was almost twice that of contemporary British bombers.
In October 1938, the Ministry rejected their proposal, sceptical about the idea of a wooden plane and the concept of the unarmed bomber.[2] They informed de Havilland that their contribution was best served by building wings for one of the existing bomber aircraft programs. Regardless, de Havilland was convinced the idea was sound and continued development on their own. The support of Sir Wilfrid Freeman eventually proved decisive and a contract for fifty aircraft, including one prototype, was finally placed under B.1/40 on 1 March 1940. Design and prototype construction was able to begin almost immediately, but work was cancelled again after Dunkirk in order to focus on existing types.[3] The need for fighters became extremely pressing, and the contract was reinstated in July, but with the order changed to 20 bombers and 30 heavy fighters. The contract was later changed again, adding a prototype for a dedicated reconnaissance version that was even further stripped down for higher speeds.
The Battle of Britain raged while the prototypes were being built, and 25% of the factory time was lost in the bomb shelters.[7] Nevertheless, the original day bomber prototype, W4050, was rolled out on 19 November 1940, and first flew on 25 November, only 10 months after the go-ahead. The original estimates were that as the Mosquito prototype had twice the surface area and over twice the weight of the 1940 Spitfire Mk II, but also with twice its power, the Mosquito would end up being 20 mph (32 km/h) faster. Over the next few months, W4050 surpassed this estimate, easily besting the Spitfire Mk II in testing at Boscombe Down in February 1941 at a top speed of 392 mph (631 km/h) at 22,000 ft (6,700 m) altitude, compared to a top speed of 360 mph (579 km/h) at 19,500 ft (6,000 m) for the Spitfire. Construction of a prototype Mosquito fighter version was carried out at the secret Salisbury Hall facility, and on 15 May 1941, Geoffrey De Havilland personally flew W4052 off a 450 ft (140 m) field beside the shed it was built in. The first reconnaissance prototype, W4051, followed on 10 June 1941.
During testing, it was found that the Mosquito day bomber prototype had the power and internal capacity to carry not just the 1,000 lb (450 kg) of bombs originally specified, but four times that figure. In order to better support the higher loads the aircraft was capable of, the wingspan was increased from 52 ft 6 in (16.0 m) to 54 ft 2 in (16.5 m). It was also fitted with a larger tailplane, improved exhaust system, and lengthened nacelles that improved stability. These modifications became standard across the production versions.



The bulk of the Mosquito was made of custom plywood. The fuselage was a frameless monocoque shell made of ⅜ in (9.5 mm) sheets of Ecuadorean balsawood sandwiched between sheets of Canadian birch, but in areas needing extra strength—such as along cut-outs—stronger woods replaced the balsa filler. The plys were formed to shape by band clamps over large concrete moulds, each holding one half of the fuselage, split vertically. While the casein-based glue in the plywood dried, carpenters cut a sawtooth joint into their edges while other workers installed the controls and cabling on the inside wall. When the glue was completely dried, the two halves were glued and screwed together. A covering of doped Madapolam (a fine plain woven cotton) fabric completed the unit.
The wings were similar but used different materials and techniques. The main wing was built as a single unit. To form the basic shape, two birch plywood box spars were connected by plywood ribs, and stringers spanned the ribs. The skinning was also birch plywood, one layer thick on the bottom and doubled up on the top; between the two top layers was another layer of fir stringers. Building up the structure used an enormous number of brass screws, 30,000 per wing. The wing was completed with wooden flaps and aluminium ailerons.
When both parts were complete the fuselage was lowered onto the wing, and once again glued and screwed together. The remainder consisted of wooden horizontal and vertical tail surfaces, with aluminium control surfaces. Engine mounts of welded steel tube were added, along with simple landing gear oleos filled with rubber blocks. Wood was used to carry only in-plane loads, with metal fittings used for all triaxially loaded components such as landing gear, engine mounts, control surface mounting brackets, and the wing-to-fuselage junction.[8] The total weight of metal castings and forgings used in the aircraft was only 280 lb (130 kg).[3]
The glue used was initially casein-based. After a series of unexplained crashes of aircraft operating in tropical climates, this was changed to "Aerolite", a synthetic urea-formaldehyde adhesive developed by Dr. Norman de Bruyne[9], which was better able to resist deterioration in high humidity conditions. De Havilland also pioneered the use of radio frequency (RF) heating to accelerate curing of the adhesive.[10]
In England, fuselage shells were mainly made by the furniture companies Ronson, E. Gomme, Parker Knoll and Styles & Mealing. The specialized wood veneer used in the construction of the Mosquito was made by Roddis Manufacturing in Marshfield, Wisconsin, United States. Hamilton Roddis had teams of dexterous young women ironing the (unusually thin) strong wood veneer product before shipping to the UK.[11] Wing spars were made by J.B. Heath and Dancer & Hearne. Many of the other parts, including flaps, flap shrouds, fins, leading edge assemblies and bomb doors were also produced in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, which was well suited to these tasks due to a well established furniture-manufacturing industry. Dancer & Hearne processed much of the wood from start to finish, receiving timber and transforming it into finished wing spars at their High Wycombe factory.
About 5,000 of the 7,781 Mosquitos made contained parts made in High Wycombe.[11] In Canada, fuselages were built in the Oshawa, Ontario plant of General Motors of Canada Limited. These were shipped to De Havilland of Canada in Toronto for mating to fuselages and completion. De Havilland Australia started construction in Sydney. These production lines added 1,134 from Canada and 212 from Australia.

Night fighter
The use of the Mosquito as a night fighter came about when the Air Ministry project for a night fighter (based on the Gloster F.9/37) was terminated so that Gloster could concentrate on jet aircraft development.[20]
The first fighter Mosquito introduced into service was the NF Mk II in mid-1942, with four 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano cannon in the fuselage belly and four .303 in. (7.7 mm) Browning machine-guns mounted in the nose. It carried Aircraft Interception radar (AI) Mk IV / Mk V when operating as a defensive night fighter over the UK, although at the time this was omitted from Mk IIs operating as night "Intruders", roaming over Europe at night to cause maximum disruption to lines of communications and flying operations.[21] These were fitted with a device called Serrate to allow them to track down German night fighters by emissions from their own Lichtenstein B/C, C-1, or SN-2, as well as a device codenamed Perfectos that tracked emissions from German IFF systems.
On 30 May 1942, the NF Mk II scored its first kill[22], a Dornier Do 217 of Kampfgeschwader 2[23], and by the end of the war, Mosquito night fighters had claimed approximately 600 enemy aircraft, along with 600 V-1 flying bombs. Among this total were 68 single-engined Focke-Wulf Fw 190s.[24] This variant also operated over Malta, Italy, Sicily and North Africa from late 1942 on. The Mosquito NF XII became the first aircraft to carry the highly effective centimetric radar.
From early 1944, the Mosquito also operated in the bomber support role with Bomber Command's 100 Group, their task being to harass the Luftwaffe NachtJagd (night fighters) attacking the bomber streams over Germany. The Mosquito squadrons of 100 Group used several different marks of Mosquitos for different purposes: N.F XIXs and NF 30s were used for dedicated night fighter operations providing escort for the bomber streams; F. Mk IIs and FB Mk VIs were used for "Flower" (patrolling enemy airfields well ahead of the bomber stream and dropping bombs to keep enemy night fighters on the ground as well as attacking night fighters in the landing pattern) and "Mahmoud" operations (Mahmouds were mounted independently of Bomber Command activity whereby Mosquitos flew to known assembly points for German night fighters (usually visual or radio beacons) and attacked any in the area); B Mk IVs and P.R Mk XVIs were used for Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) operations, using special equipment to detect and identify German radar and radio transmissions. Some 258 Luftwaffe night fighters were claimed destroyed by the Group, for the loss of some 70 Mosquitos. The omnipresence of the potent night fighter threat led to what the Luftwaffe crews dubbed "Moskitoschreck" (Mosquito terror), as the German aircrews were never sure when or where they might come under attack from the marauding 100 Group fighters, and indirectly led to a high proportion of aircraft and crew losses from crashes as night fighters hurried in to land to avoid the Mosquito threat (real or imagined).
Mosquito night fighters continued to operate over Europe until the end of the war with a low casualty rate, in spite of the efforts of the Heinkel He 219-equipped units and Messerschmitt 262 jet fighters which were flown at night by pilots from 10./NJG 11. The commander of this unit, Oberleutnant Kurt Welter, claimed perhaps 25 Mosquitos shot down by night and two further Mosquitos by day while flying the Me 262, adding to his previous seven Mosquito kills in "hot-rodded" Bf 109G-6/AS or Fw 190 A-8 fighters. From September 1944 through to May 1945 a total of 92 night-flying Mosquitos of all marks on bombing, target marking, intruder and night fighter operations were lost.[25] As far as can be ascertained, three of his Me 262 claims over Mosquitos coincide with RAF records.[26]
Fighter-bomber versions
Operational experience in its varied roles quickly led to the development of a versatile fighter-bomber version; the FB VI, which first saw service in early 1943. The Mark VI had a strengthened wing for external loads and along with its standard fighter armament could carry two 250 lb (110 kg) bombs in the rear of the bomb bay and two 250 lb (110 kg) bombs under the wings, or eight wing-mounted rockets. Later up-engined versions could carry 500 lb (230 kg) bombs. The FB VI became the most numerous version of the Mosquito (2,292 built), equipping the day bomber 2 Group, the intruder squadrons of Fighter Command and 2nd Tactical Air Force, and the strike wings of Coastal Command, who used the variant as a potent anti-shipping aircraft armed with eight "60 lb" rockets.

One of the higher risk uses of the fighter-bomber Mosquito FB VI was by 21 Sqn., 464(RAAF) Squadron and 487(NZ) Squadron of No. 2 Group, 2nd Tactical Air Force in Operation Jericho, a mission to destroy the walls and guards' quarters of Amiens prison to allow members of the French Resistance to escape. In the aftermath of the operation the Mosquito of Group Captain Percy Pickard was shot down.[27]
On 11 April 1944, after a request by Dutch resistance workers, six Mosquito FB VIs of No. 613 (City of Manchester) Squadron made a pinpoint daylight attack at rooftop height on the Kunstzaal Kleizkamp Art Gallery in The Hague, Netherlands, which was being used by the Gestapo to store the Dutch Central Population Registry. The first two aircraft dropped high explosive bombs, to "open up" the building, their bombs going in through the doors and windows. The other crews then dropped incendiary bombs, and the records were destroyed. Only persons in the building were killed - nearby civilians in a bread queue were unharmed.[28]
On 21 March 1945, another similar raid, Operation Carthage, again by 21 Sqn., 464(RAAF) Sqn. and 487(NZ) Sqn. involved a very low-level bombing attack on the Gestapo headquarters in the Shellhus, near the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. The attack had been requested several times by members of the Danish resistance, but was initially deemed too dangerous by the RAF. Twenty Mosquitos were involved, split into three attack waves. They were escorted by 30 RAF Mustangs. The main attack on the Gestapo headquarters caused the death of 55 German soldiers and 47 Danes working for the Gestapo, together with destruction of the Gestapo records in the headquarters. Eight Gestapo prisoners were killed while 18 prisoners escaped. A Mosquito flying in the first wave of the attack struck a tall lamp-post and crashed into a nearby Catholic school (the French school). Mosquitos of the third wave bombed this area by mistake, killing 86 children, 10 nuns, 8 teachers, and 21 other civilians; no civilians had been killed during the main attack. Four Mosquitos were lost and nine pilots/crew members died. The attack saved the lives of many resistance workers as the Gestapo archives and organisation were severely damaged.[29]
The famous RAF 617 squadron (Dambusters), while mainly equipped with Lancaster bombers, also employed the Mosquito for precision target marking. According to "The Dam Busters", Group Captain Leonard Cheshire developed a dive-bombing method of marking targets in advance of the main squadron, to allow the main bombers to strike from high altitude. Cheshire initially used his own Lancaster for this approach, but switched to the Mosquito as being a more suitable aircraft. These Mosquito missions contributed to Cheshire winning the Victoria Cross in recognition of his sustained courage throughout the war.
Photo reconnaissance
Specifications
(DH.98 Mosquito F. Mk II)
Data from Mosquito[45] and Mosquito Performance trials[46]
General characteristics
• Crew: 2: pilot, navigator/radar operator
• Length: 41 ft 2 in (13.57 m)
• Wingspan: 54 ft 2 in (16.52 m)
• Height: 17 ft 5 in (5.3 m)
• Wing area: 454 ft² (42.18 m²)
• Empty weight: 13,356 lb (6,058 kg)
• Loaded weight: 17,700 lb (8,028 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 18,649 lb (8,549 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Rolls-Royce Merlin 21/21 or 23/23 (left/right) liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,480 hp (21 & 23) (1,103 kW) each
Performance
• Maximum speed: 318 kn (366 mph, 610 km/h) at 21,400 ft (8,500 m)
• Range: 782 nmi (900 mi, 1,500 km) 410 gal/1,864 l fuel load at 20,000 ft (6,100 m)
• Service ceiling: 29,000 ft (8,839 m)
• Rate of climb: 1,740 ft/min (8.8 m/s)
• Wing loading: 39.9 lb/ft² (195 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.189 hp/lb (311 W/kg)
Armament
• Guns: 4 × 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano Mk II cannon (fuselage) and 4 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns (nose)
Avionics
• AI Mk IV or Mk VRadar (NF variants)
(DH.98 Mosquito B Mk XVI)
Data from Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II[45] and World War II Warbirds[47]
General characteristics
• Crew: 2: pilot, bombardier/navigator
• Length: 44 ft 6 in (13.57 m)
• Wingspan: 54 ft 2 in (16.52 m)
• Height: 17 ft 5 in (5.3 m)
• Wing area: 454 ft² (42.18 m²)
• Empty weight: 14,300 lb (6,490 kg)
• Loaded weight: 18,100 lb (8,210 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 25,000 lb (11,000 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Rolls-Royce Merlin 76/77 (left/right) liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,710 hp (1,280 kW) each
Performance
• Maximum speed: 361 kn (415 mph, 668 km/h) at 28,000 ft (8,500 m)
• Range: 1,300 nmi (1,500 mi, 2,400 km) with full weapons load
• Service ceiling: 37,000 ft (11,000 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,850 ft/min (14.5 m/s)
• Wing loading: 39.9 lb/ft² (195 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.189 hp/lb (311 W/kg)
Armament
• Bombs: 4,000 lb (1 800 kg)
Avionics
• GEE radio-navigation


Boulton Paul Defiant


The Boulton Paul Defiant was a British fighter aircraft and bomber interceptor used early in the Second World War. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter" and served with the Royal Air Force (RAF). Contemporary with the Royal Navy's Blackburn Roc, the concept of a turret fighter was somewhat similar to the World War I-era Bristol Fighter. In practice, the Defiant was found to be vulnerable to the Luftwaffe's more agile, single-seat Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters; crucially, the Defiant did not have any forward-firing guns. It was later used successfully in the night fighter role, before it was phased out of combat service in favour of the Bristol Beaufighter and de Havilland Mosquito. The Defiant finally found use in gunnery training, target towing, ECM and air sea rescue. Among RAF pilots, it had the irreverent nickname "Daffy."


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... efiant.png

Evolution
The Defiant emerged at a time when the RAF anticipated having to defend Great Britain against unescorted enemy bombers. Advances in aircraft design during the 1920s and 1930s resulted in a generation of multi-engined bombers that were faster than the single-engined biplane fighters then in service. The RAF believed that its own turret-armed bombers, such as the Vickers Wellington, would be able to penetrate enemy airspace and defend itself without fighter escort and that the German Luftwaffe would do the same. A turret-armed fighter would be able to engage enemy bombers from angles that would defeat the bomber gunners. Thus, the Defiant was armed with a powered dorsal turret, equipped with four 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns. In theory, the Defiant would approach an enemy bomber from below or beside and destroy it with a concentrated burst of fire.
P.82
Designed to meet the Air Ministry Specification F.9/35, which specified a "turret fighter" with a powered turret as the sole armament. Boulton Paul, who had considerable experience with turrets from their earlier Overstrand bomber, submitted their P.82 project. This design was selected as the most promising of seven initial proposals and one of only two prototypes constructed. The other competing design was the Hotspur from Hawker Aircraft.
The central feature of the P.82 was the four-gun turret based on a design by French aviation company SAMM which had been licensed by Boulton Paul for use in the earlier Boulton Paul Sidestrand bomber, but eventually installed in the "follow-up" design, the Boulton Paul Overstrand and Blackburn Roc naval fighter.[1] The turret, the Type A, was an electro-hydraulically powered "drop-in" unit with a crank-operated mechanical backup. The fuselage was fitted with aerodynamic fairings that helped alleviate the drag of the turret; they were pneumatically powered and could be lowered into the fuselage so that the turret could rotate freely. The Browning guns were electrically fired, and insulated cut-off points in the turret ring prevented the guns from being activated when they were pointing at the propeller disc or tailplane. The gunner could rotate the turret directly forward and transfer firing control of the guns to the pilot, with the guns firing along each side of the cockpit canopy. However in practice this was rarely done as the turret's minimum forward elevation was 19° and the pilot did not have a gunsight.
The gunner's hatch was in the rear of the turret, which had to be rotated to one side or the other to enable entry or exit. There was not enough room in the turret for the gunner to wear a seat-type or back pack parachute, so gunners were provided with a special all-in-one garment nick-named the 'rhino suit'. To quote Frederick 'Gus' Platts, air gunner in 230, 282 and 208 squadrons, "The Rhino suit we had to wear on Defiants was a bear, but I couldn't come up with an alternative, even though it killed dozens of us. I forget the details of it, but we could not have sat on our chute or even keep in nearby as in other turrets, so you wore - all in one - an inner layer that fitted a little like a wetsuit of today. The chute fitted around this, and then the dinghy and the outer clothing. There was inner webbing and pockets that literally fell apart (I presume) when one bailed out".[2].
The first P.82 prototype (K8310) was rolled out in 1937 without its turret, looking superficially like the Hawker Hurricane although it was at least 1,500 lb (680 kg) heavier. A clean, simple and compact monoplane structure had been achieved with main landing gear retracting into a broad mainplane section. The pilot's cockpit and rear turret were faired into a streamlined upper fuselage section. Fuel was carried in the wing centre section along with a large ventral radiator that completed the resemblance to the Hawker fighter. With a 1,030 hp (768 kW) Rolls-Royce Merlin I installed, the newly named "Defiant" prototype first flew on 11 August, 1937, nearly a year ahead of the Hotspur. A second prototype, K8620, equipped with a turret, was modified with telescopic radio masts, revision to the canopy and changes to the undercarriage fairing plates.
Completing its acceptance tests with the turret installed, the Defiant reached a top speed of 302 mph (486 km/h) and subsequently was declared the victor of the turret fighter competition. Apart from detail changes, the production Defiant Mk I looked similar to the two Defiant prototypes. However, its service entry was delayed to such an extent that only three aircraft had reached the RAF by the start of the war. The Mk I was powered by the Rolls Royce Merlin III (1,030 hp/768 kW or 1,160 hp/865 kW)[3] with a total of 713 aircraft built.
P.85
The P.85 was a version of the Defiant for Fleet Air Arm (FAA) use, but the Blackburn Roc was selected and the only FAA use was to be the target tug version of the Defiant.
P.94
The first Defiant prototype had not been initially fitted with a turret, and therefore had an impressive top speed. Consequently, in 1940, Boulton Paul developed a conventional, single-seat, turret-less version of the Defiant called the P.94, armed with 12 .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns (six per wing). By that time, the RAF had sufficient quantities of Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfire and did not require a new single-seat fighter. With a top speed of about 360 mph (579 km/h), the P.94 was almost as fast as a contemporary Spitfire, although less manoeuvrable.


General characteristics
• Crew: 2: pilot, gunner
• Length: 35 ft 4 in (10.77 m)
• Wingspan: 39 ft 4 in (11.99 m)
• Height: 12 ft 2 in (3.71 m)
• Wing area: 250 ft² (23 m²)
• Empty weight: 6,078 lb (2,755 kg)
• Loaded weight: 8,318 lb (3,773 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Rolls-Royce Merlin III liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,030 hp[3] (768 kW)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 304 mph (264 kn, 489 km/h)
• Range: 465 mi (404 nm, 748 km)
• Service ceiling: 30,350 ft (9,250 m)
• Rate of climb: 1,900 ft/min (9.65 m/s)
• Power/mass: 0.124 hp/lb (204 W/kg)
Armament
• Guns: 4 × 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns in hydraulically-powered dorsal turret (600 rpg)


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... D_ExCC.gif

Dornier Do 335


Dornier Do 335

The Dornier Do 335 Pfeil ("Arrow"), unofficially also Ameisenbär ("anteater"), was a World War II heavy fighter built by the Dornier company. The Pfeil's performance was much better than that of other twin-engine designs due to its unique "push-pull" layout. The Luftwaffe was desperate to get the design into squadron use, but delays in engine deliveries meant only a handful were delivered before the war ended



The first 10 Do 335A-0s were delivered for testing in May. By late 1944, the Do 335A-1 was on the production line. This was similar to the A-0 but with the uprated DB 603E-1 engines and two underwing hardpoints for additional bombs, drop tanks or guns. Capable of a maximum speed of 763 km/h (474 mph) at 6,500 m (21,300 ft) with MW 50 boost, or 686 km/h (426 mph) without boost, and able to climb to 8,000 m (26,250 ft) in under 15 minutes, the Do 335A-1 could easily outrun any Allied fighters it encountered. Even with one engine out, it could reach about 563 km/h (350 mph).
Delivery commenced in January 1945. When the United States Army overran the Oberpfaffenhofen factory in late April 1945, only 11 Do 335A-1 single-seat fighter-bombers and two Do 335A-12 trainers had been completed.
French ace Pierre Clostermann claims[1] the first Allied combat encounter with a Pfeil in April 1945. Leading a flight of four Hawker Tempests from No. 3 Squadron RAF over northern Germany, he intercepted a lone Do 335 flying at maximum speed at treetop level. Detecting the British aircraft, the German pilot reversed course to evade. Despite the Tempest's considerable speed, the RAF fighters were not able to catch up or even get into firing position.


General characteristics
• Crew: 1, pilot
• Length: 45 ft 5 in (13.85 m)
• Wingspan: 45 ft 1 in (13.8 m)
• Height: 15 ft (4.55 m)
• Wing area: 592 ft² (55 m²)
• Empty weight: 11,484 lb (5,210 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 19,500 lb (8,590 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Daimler-Benz DB 603A 12-cylinder inverted engines, 1,287 kW, 1,726 hp (1,750 PS) each
Performance
• Maximum speed: 474 mph (765 km/h)
• Combat radius: 721 mi (1,160 km (half load))
• Service ceiling: 37,400 ft (11,400 m)
Armament
• 1 × 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 103 cannon (as forward engine-mounted Motorkanone)
• 2 × 20 mm MG 151 cannons
• Up to 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) bombload


Focke-Wulf Fw 190


The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger, was a German, single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s. It was used by the Luftwaffe during World War II. It partially replaced the Messerschmitt Bf 109 in 1941. Over 20,000 were manufactured, including around 6,000 fighter-bomber models. Production ran from 1941 to the end of hostilities, during which time the aircraft was continually updated. Its later versions retained qualitative parity with Allied fighter aircraft. The Fw 190 was well-liked by its pilots, and was quickly proven to be superior in all but turn radius to the Royal Air Force's main front-line fighter, the Spitfire Mk. V variant, on its combat debut in 1941.[1][2] The early Fw 190As performance decreased at high altitudes which complicated its use as a high altitude interceptor. These complications were mostly rectified in later models and the introduction of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190D variant. Like the Bf 109, the Fw 190 was employed as a "workhorse", and proved suitable for a wide variety of roles, including air superiority fighter, strike fighter, ground-attack aircraft, escort fighter, and night fighter. Some of the Luftwaffe's most successful fighter aces flew the Fw 190. Erich Rudorffer claimed 222 kills, Otto Kittel 267 victories, and Walter Nowotny 258 victories. A great many of their kills were claimed while flying the Fw 190.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... 4P-005.jpg


General characteristics
• Crew: One
• Length: 9.00 m (29 ft 0 in)
• Wingspan: 10.51 m (34 ft 5 in)
• Height: 3.95 m (12 ft 12 in)
• Wing area: 18,30 m² (196.99 ft²)
• Empty weight: 3,200 kg (7,060 lb)
• Loaded weight: 4,417 kg (9,735 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 4,900 kg (10,800 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× BMW 801 D-2 radial engine, 1,272 kW (1,730 hp); 1,471 kW (2,000 hp) with boost
Performance
• Maximum speed: 656 km/h at 4,800 m, 685 km/h with boost (383 mph at 19,420 ft (5,920 m), 408 mph (657 km/h) with boost)
• Range: 800 km (500 mi)
• Service ceiling: 11,410 m (37,430 ft)
• Rate of climb: 13 m/s (2,560 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 241 kg/m² (49.4 lb/ft²)
• Power/mass: 0.29-0.33 kW/kg (0.18-0.21 hp/lb)
Armament
• 2 × 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns with 475 rpg
• 4 × 20 mm MG 151/20 E cannons with 250 rpg in the wing root and 140 rpg outboard.



Specifications (Fw 190 D-9)
General characteristics
• Crew: 1
• Length: 10.20 m (33 ft 5 1/2 in)
• Wingspan: 10.50 m (34 ft 5 in)
• Height: 3.35 m (11 ft 0 in)
• Wing area: 18.30 m² (196.99 ft²)
• Empty weight: 3,490 kg (7,694 lb)
• Loaded weight: 4,350 kg (9,590 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 4,840 kg (10,670 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Junkers Jumo 213 A-1 12-cylinder inverted-Vee piston engine, 1,287 kW, 1,544 kW with boost (1,750 PS / 2,100 PS)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 685 km/h at 6,600 m, 710 km/h at 11,300 m (426 mph at 21,655 ft / 440 mph at 37,000 ft (11,000 m))
• Range: 835 km (519 mi)
• Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,370 ft)
• Rate of climb: 17 m/s (3,300 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 238 kg/m² (48.7 lb/ft²)
• Power/mass: 0.30 - 0.35 kW/kg (0.18 - 0.21 hp/lb)
Armament
• 2 × 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns with 475 rpg
• 2 × 20 mm MG 151 cannons with 250 rpg in the wing root
• 1 × 500 kg (1,102 lb) SC 500 bomb (optional)
let your YES be YES and your NO be NO but plz no maybe
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Heinkel He 100





The Heinkel He 100 was a German pre-World War II fighter aircraft design from Heinkel. Although it proved to be one of the fastest fighter aircraft in the world at the time of its development, the design was not ordered into series production, Approximately 19 prototypes and pre-production machines were built. The reason for the failure of the He 100 to reach production status is subject to debate. None are known to have survived the war.
Officially, the Luftwaffe rejected the He 100 to concentrate single-seat fighter development on the Messerschmitt Bf 109. Following the adoption of the Bf 109 and Bf 110 as the Luftwaffe's standard fighter types, the RLM announced a "rationalization" policy that placed fighter development at Messerschmitt and bomber development at Heinkel.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... colour.jpg

Because there are no surviving examples, and since many factory documents - including all blueprints for the He 100 - were destroyed during a bombing raid, there is limited specific information about the design and its unique systems.
Following the selection by the RLM of the Bf 109 as its next single-seat fighter over the He 112, Ernst Heinkel became interested in a new fighter that would leap beyond the performance of the Bf 109 as much as the Bf 109 had over the biplanes it replaced. Other German designers had similar ambitions, including Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf. There was never an official project on the part of the RLM, but Rudolf Lucht felt that new designs were important enough to fund the projects from both companies to provide "super-pursuit" designs for evaluation. This would result in the single-engined He 100 fighter, and the promising twin-engine Fw 187 Falke Zerstörer-style heavy fighter, both reaching the flight stage of development.
The super-pursuit type was not a secret, but Ernst Heinkel preferred to work in private and publicly display his products only after they were developed sufficiently to make a stunning first impression. As an example of this, the mock-up for the extremely modern-looking He 100 was the subject of company Memo No.3657 on 31 January that stated: The mock-up is to be completed by us... as of the beginning of May... and be ready to present to the RLM... and prior to that no one at the RLM is to know of the existence of the mock-up.
Walter Günter, one half of the famous Günter brothers, looked at the existing He 112, which had already been heavily revised into the He 112b version and decided to start over with a completely new design, Projekt 1035. Learning from past mistakes on the 112 project, the design was to be as easy to build as possible yet 700 km/h (440 mph) was a design goal. To ease production, the new design had considerably fewer parts than the 112 and those that remained contained fewer compound curves. In comparison, the 112 had 2,885 parts and 26,864 rivets, while the P.1035 was made of 969 unique parts with 11,543 rivets. The new straight-edged wing was a source of much of the savings; after building the first wings, Otto Butter reported that the reduction in complexity and rivet count (along with the Butter brothers' own explosive rivet system) saved an astonishing 1,150 man hours per wing.
Walter was killed in a car accident on 25 May 1937, and the design work was taken over by his twin brother Siegfried, who finished the final draft of the design later that year. Heinrich Hertel, a specialist an aircraft structures, also played a prominent role in the design. At the end of October the design was submitted to the RLM, complete with details on prototypes, delivery dates and prices for three aircraft delivered to the Rechlin test center. At this point, the aircraft was referred to as the He 113, but the "13" in the name was apparently enough to prompt Ernst Heinkel to ask for it to be changed to the He 100. It is reported that Ernst Heinkel lobbied for this "round" number in hopes it would improve the design's chances for production.
Design
In order to get the promised performance out of the aircraft, the design included a number of drag-reducing features. On the simple end was a well-faired cockpit, the absence of struts and other drag-inducing supports on the tail. The landing gear (including the tailwheel) was retractable and completely enclosed in flight.
There was also a serious shortage of advanced aero engines in Germany during the late 1930s. The He 100 used the same Daimler-Benz DB 601 inline engine as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Bf 110, and there was insufficient capacity to support another aircraft using the same engine. The only available alternate engine was the Junkers Jumo 211, and Heinkel was encouraged to consider its use in the He 100. However, the early Jumo 211 then available did not use a presurized cooling system, and it was therefore not suitable for the He 100's evaporative cooling system. Furthermore, a Jumo 211-powered He 100 would not have been able to outperform the contemporary DB 601-powered Bf 109 because the supercharger on the early Jumo 211 was not fully shrouded. From a practical matter, the He 100 used a novel cooling system that was complex, dependent upon many small pumps and difficult to maintain under field conditions. In order to reduce weight and frontal area, the engine was mounted directly to the forward fuselage, which was strengthened and literally tailored to the DB 601, as opposed to conventional mounting on engine bearers. The cowling was very tight-fitting, and as a result the aircraft has something of a slab-sided appearance.
In order to provide as much power as possible from the DB 601, the 100 used exhaust ejectors for a small amount of additional thrust. The supercharger inlet was moved from the normal position on the side of the cowling to a location in the leading edge of the left wing, which was also a feature of the earlier He 119. Although cleaner-looking, the long, curved induction pipe most likely negated any benefit.
For the rest of the designed performance increase, Walter turned to the somewhat risky and still experimental method of cooling the engine via evaporative cooling. Such systems had been in vogue in several countries at the time. Heinkel and the Günter brothers were avid proponents of the technology, and had previously used it on the He 119 with promising results. Evaporative or "steam" cooling promised a completely drag-free cooling system. Unfortunately, the systems also proved complex and terribly unreliable in practice. Huge expanses of the airframe's outer skin had to be devoted to cooling, which made such systems susceptible to combat damage. The DB 601 was a pressure-cooled engine in that the water/glycol coolant was kept in liquid form by pressure, even though its temperature was allowed to exceed the normal boiling point. Heinkel's system took advantage of that fact and the cooling energy loss associated with the phase change of the coolant as it boils. Following is a description of what is known about the cooling system used in the final version of Heinkel's system. It is based entirely on careful study of surviving photographs of the He 100, since no detail plans survive. The earlier prototypes varied, but they were all eventually modified to something close to the final standard before they were exported to the Soviet Union.
Coolant exits the DB 601 at two points located at the front of the engine and at the base of each cylinder block casting immediately adjacent to the crank case. In the Heinkel system, an "S"-shaped steel pipe took the coolant from each side of the engine to one of two steam separators mounted alongside the engine's reduction gear and immediately behind the propeller spinner. The separators, designed by engineers Jahn and Jahnke, accepted the water at about 110 °C (230 °F) and 1.4 bar (20.3 psi) of pressure. The vertically-mounted, tube-shaped separators contained a centrifugal impeller at the top connected to an impeller-type scavenge pump at the bottom. The coolant was expanded through the upper impeller where it lost pressure, boiled and cooled. The by product was mostly very hot coolant and some steam. The liquid coolant was slung by the centrifugal impeller to the sides of the separator where it fell by gravity to the bottom of the unit. There, it was pumped to header tanks located in the leading edges of both wings by the scavenge pump. The presence of the scavenge pump was necessary to ensure the entire separator did not simply fill up with high-pressure coolant coming from the engine.
Existing photographs of the engine bay of the final pre-production version of this system clearly show the liquid coolant from both separators was piped along the bottom left side of the engine compartment and into the right wing. The header tanks were located in the outer wing panels ahead of the main spar and immediately outboard of the main landing gear bays. The tanks extended over the same portion of the outer panel's span as the outer flaps. Coolant from the right wing header tank was pumped by a separate, electrical pump to the left wing header tank. Along the way from the right to left wing, the coolant passed through a conventional radiator mounted on the bottom of the fuselage. That radiator was retractable and intended for use only during ground-running or low-speed flight. Nevertheless, coolant passed through it whenever the engine was running and regardless of whether it was extended or retracted. In the retracted position, the radiator offered little cooling, but some heat was exchanged into the aft fuselage. Finally, a return tube connected the left wing's header tank to that on the right. This allowed the coolant to equalize between the two header tanks and circulate through the retractable radiator. The engine drew coolant directly from both header tanks through two separate pipes that ran through the main landing gear bays, up the firewall at the back of the engine compartment, and into the usual coolant intakes located at the top rear of the engine.
The steam collected in the separators was vented separately from the liquid coolant. The steam did not required mechanical pumping to do this, and the build up of pressure inside the separator was sufficient. The steam was piped down the lower right side of the engine bay and led into the open spaces between the upper and lower wing skins of the outer wing panels. There, it further expanded and condensed by cooling through the skins. The entire outer wing, both ahead of and behind the main spar, was used for this purpose covering that portion of the span containing the ailerons (the fuel was also carried entirely in the wings and occupied the areas behind the main spar in the center section and immediately ahead of the outboard flaps). The condensate was scavenged by electrically-driven centrifugal pumps and fed to the header tanks. Sources indicate as many as 22 separate pumps were used for this, but it is not clear whether that number includes all of the pumps in the entire water- and oil-cooling systems or merely the number of pumps in the outer wing panels. The former is generally accepted.
Some sources state the outer wing panels used double skins top and bottom with the steam being ducted into a thin space between the outer and inner skins for cooling. A double-skinned panel was used in the oil cooling system, but surviving photographs of the wings demonstrate they were conventionally single-skinned, and the coolant was simply piped into the open spaces of the structure. Double skinning over such an extensive area would have made the aircraft unacceptably heavy. Furthermore, there was no access to the inner structure to repair damage, such as a bullet hole, from the inside as would be needed if the system used a double skin. A similar system was used by the earlier Supermarine Type 224. Contrary to assertions in some references, all of the He 100s that were built used the evaporative cooling system described above. A derivative of this system was also intended for a late-war project based on the He 100, designated P.1076.
Unlike the cooling fluid, oil cannot be allowed to boil. This presented a particular problem with DB 601-series engines, because oil is sprayed against the bottom of the pistons resulting in a considerable amount of heat being transferred to the oil as opposed to the coolant. The He 100's oil cooling system was conceptually similar to the water cooling system in that vapor was generated using the heat of the oil and condensed back to liquid by surface cooling through the skins of the airframe. A heat exchanger was used to cool the oil by boiling ethyl alcohol. The oil itself was simply piped to and from this exchanger, which was apparently located in the aft fuselage. The alcohol vapor was piped into the fixed portions of the horizontal and vertical stabilizers and into a double-skinned portion of the upper-aft fuselage behind the cockpit. This fuselage "turtle deck" panel was the only double-skinned portion of the aircraft's cooling system. The use of a double-skinned panel was possible here because the inside of panel was accessible in the event of repair. The retractable radiator below the fuselage was not used for the oil-cooling system. Condensed alcohol was collected by a series of bellows pumps and returned to a single header tank that fed the heat exchanger. Some sources speculate that a small air intake located at the bottom front of the engine cowl was used for an auxiliary oil cooler. No such cooler was fitted, nor was there room for one at that point. This small inlet served simply to admit cool air into what was a very hot portion of the engine bay. Immediately above this vent were the two steam separators, and immediately behind it were the hot coolant pipes coming from the separators.
World speed record
One aspect of the original Projekt 1035 was the intent to capture the absolute speed record for Heinkel and Germany. Both Messerschmitt and Heinkel vied for this record before the war. Messerschmitt ultimately won that battle with the first prototype of the Me-209, but the He 100 briefly held the record when Heinkel test pilot Hans Dieterle flew the eighth prototype to 746.606 km/h (463.919 mph) on 30 March 1939. The third and eighth prototypes were specially modified for speed with unique outer wing panels of reduced span. The third prototype crashed during testing. The record flight was made using a special version of the DB 601 engine that offered 2,010 kW/2,700 hp) and had a service life of just 30 minutes. Prior to setting this absolute speed record over a short, measured course, Ernst Udet flew the second prototype to a 100 km (62 mi) closed course record of 634.32 km/h (391.15 mph) on 5 June 1938. Udet's record was apparently set using a standard DB 601a engine.
There is a debate regarding the correct designation of the He 100 aircraft actually built. One group holds that all of the machines were either "Versuchs" or "trials" prototypes and pre-production "A-0" series machines. This is consistent with the RLM's normal practice of changing an aircraft's sub-designation only with a significant redesign, such as an engine change. All of the He 100s built were essentially the same, and even the prototypes were later updated to the production standard before they were exported to the Soviet Union. The second group holds that the Heinkel factory intended "A," "B," "C" and "D" series aircraft, and the final version was the "D." This camp also holds that there were separate "D-0" and "D-1" production runs, although in extremely limited numbers. Most literature follows the latter school of thought, Since the He 100 was never accepted for operational use by the Luftwaffe, it is unlikely there was ever an official resolution of this issue. The separate letter designations "A" through "D" appear to have come from internal Heinkel documents.
Prototypes
The first prototype He 100 V1 flew on 22 January 1938, only a week after its promised delivery date. The aircraft proved to be outstandingly fast. However, it continued to share a number of problems with the 112, notably a lack of directional stability. In addition, the Luftwaffe test pilots disliked the high wing loading, which resulted in landing speeds so great that they often had to use brakes right up to the last 100 m (330 ft) of the runway. The ground crews also disliked the design, complaining about the tight cowling which made servicing the engine difficult. The big problem turned out to be the cooling system, largely to no one's surprise. After a series of test flights V1 was sent to Rechlin in March.
The second prototype addressed the stability problems by changing the vertical stabilizer from a triangular form to a larger and more rectangular form. The oil-cooling system continued to be problematic, so it was removed and replaced with a small semi retractable radiator below the wing. It also received the still-experimental DB 601M engine which the aircraft was originally designed for. The M version was modified to run on "C3" fuel at 96 octane, which would allow it to run at higher power ratings in the future.
V2 was completed in March, but instead of moving to Rechlin it was kept at the factory for an attempt on the 100 km (62 mi) closed circuit speed record. A course was marked out on the Baltic coast between Wustrow and Müritz, 50 km (30 mi) apart, and the attempt was to be made at the aircraft's best altitude of 5,500 m (18,000 ft). After some time cleaning out the bugs the record attempt was set to be flown by Captain Herting, who had previously flown the aircraft several times.
At this point Ernst Udet showed up and asked to fly V2, after pointing out he had flown the V1 at Rechlin. He took over from Herting and flew the V2 to a new world 100 km (62 mi) closed circuit record on 5 June 1938, at 634.73 km/h (394.6 mph). Several of the cooling pumps failed on this flight as well, but Udet wasn't sure what the lights meant and simply ignored them.
The record was heavily publicized, but in the press the aircraft was referred to as the "He 112U". Apparently, the "U" stood for "Udet". At the time the 112 was still in production and looking for customers, so this was one way to boost sales of the older design. V2 was then moved to Rechlin for continued testing. Later in October, the aircraft was damaged on landing when the tail wheel didn't extend, and it is unclear if the damage was repaired.
The V3 prototype received the clipped racing wings, which reduced span and area from 9.4 m (30 ft 10 in) and 14.4 m² (155 ft²), to 7.6 m (24 ft 11 in) and 11 m² (118.4 ft²). The canopy was replaced with a much smaller and more rounded version, and all of the bumps and joints were puttied over and sanded down. The aircraft was equipped with the 601M and flown at the factory.
In August, the DB 601R engine arrived from Daimler-Benz and was installed. This version increased the maximum rpm from 2,200 to 3,000, and added methyl alcohol to the fuel mixture to improve cooling in the supercharger and thus increase boost. As a result, the output was boosted to 1,324 kW (1,776 hp), although it required constant maintenance and the fuel had to be drained completely after every flight. The aircraft was then moved to Warnemünde for the record attempt in September.
On one of the pre-record test flights by the Heinkel chief pilot, Gerhard Nitschke, the main gear failed to extend and ended up stuck half open. Since the aircraft could not be safely landed it was decided to have Nitschke bail out and let the aircraft crash in a safe spot on the airfield. Gerhard was injured when he hit the tail on the way out, and made no further record attempts.
V4 was to have been the only "production" prototype and was referred to as the "100B" model (V1 through V3 being "A" models). It was completed in the summer and delivered to Rechlin, so it wasn't available for modification into racing trim when V3 crashed. Although the aircraft was unarmed it was otherwise a service model with the 601M, and in testing over the summer it proved to be considerably faster than the Bf 109. At sea level, the aircraft could reach 560 km/h (348 mph), faster than the Bf 109E's speed at its best altitude. At m (6,560 ft), it improved to 610 km/h (379 mph), topping out at 669 km/h (416 mph) at 4,999 m (16,400 ft) before falling again to 641 km/h (398 mph) at 8,001 m (26,250 ft). The aircraft had flown a number of times before its landing gear collapsed while standing on the pad on 22 October. The aircraft was later rebuilt and was flying by March 1939.
Although V4 was to have been the last of the prototypes in the original plans, production was allowed to continue with a new series of six aircraft. One of the airframes was selected to replace V3, and as luck would have it V8 was at the "right point" in its construction and was completed out of turn. It first flew on 1 December but this was with a standard DB 601Aa engine. The 601R was then put in the aircraft on 8 January 1939, and moved to a new course at Oranienberg. After several shakedown flights, Hans Dieterle flew to a new record on 30 March 1939, at 746.6 km/h (463.9 mph). Once again the aircraft was referred to as the He 112U in the press. It is unclear when happened to V8 in the end; it may have been used for crash testing.
V5 was completed like V4, and first flew on 16 November. It was later used in a film about V8's record attempt, in order to protect the record breaking aircraft. At this point, a number of changes were made to the design resulting in the "100C" model, and with the exception of V8 the rest of the prototypes were all delivered as the C standard.
V6 was first flown in February 1939, and after some test flights at the factory it was flown to Rechlin on 25 April. There it spent most of its time as an engine testbed. On 9 June, the gear failed inflight, but the pilot managed to land the aircraft with little damage, and it was returned to flying condition in six days.
V7 was completed on 24 May with a change to the oil cooling system. It was the first to be delivered with armament, consisting of two 20 mm MG FF cannons in the wings and four 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns arranged around the engine cowling. This made the He 100 the most heavily armed fighter of its day. V7 was then flown to Rechlin where the armament was removed and the aircraft was used for a series of high speed test flights.
V9 was also completed and armed, but was used solely for crash testing and was "tested to destruction". V10 was originally to suffer a similar fate, but instead ended up being given the racing wings and canopy of the V8 and displayed in the German Museum in Munich as the record-setting "He 112U". It was later destroyed in a bombing attack.
Overheating problems and general failures with the cooling system motors continued to be a problem. Throughout the testing period, failures of the pumps ended flights early, although some of the test pilots simply starting ignoring them. In March, Kleinemeyer wrote a memo to Ernst Heinkel about the continuing problems, stating that Schwärzler had asked to be put on the problem.
Another problem that was never cured during the prototype stage was a rash of landing gear problems. Although the wide-set gear should have eliminated the collapse of landing gears that plagued the Bf 109, especially in the difficult takeoffs and landings, the He 100's landing gear was not built to withstand heavy use, and as a result they were no improvement over the Bf 109. V2, 3, 4 and 6 were all damaged to various degrees due to various gear failures, a full half of the prototypes.


General characteristics
• Crew: one, pilot
• Length: 8.20 m (26 ft 11 in)
• Wingspan: 9.42 m (30 ft 11 in)
• Height: 3.60 m (11 ft 10 in)
• Wing area: 14.5 (156 ft)
• Empty weight: 2,070 kg (4,563 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 2,500 kg (5,512 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Daimler-Benz DB 601M liquid-cooled supercharged V12 engine, 876 kW (1,175 hp)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 668 km/h (362 kn, 416 mph)
• Range: 900 km (486 nmi, 560 mi)
• Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,090 ft)
Armament
• 1 × 20 mm MG FF cannon
• 2 × 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns


Heinkel He 112


The Heinkel He 112 was a fighter aircraft designed by Walter and Siegfried Günter. It was one of four aircraft designed to compete for the Luftwaffe's 1933 fighter contract, which was eventually won by the Messerschmitt Bf 109. Small numbers were used for a short time by the Luftwaffe, and small runs were completed for several other countries, but less than 100 were completed in total. It remains one of the least known production fighter designs

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... He_112.JPG

In the early 1930s, the German authorities started placing orders for new aircraft, initially training and utility aircraft. Heinkel, as one of the most experienced firms in the country, received contracts for a number of two-seat aircraft, including the He 45, He 46 and He 50. The company also worked on single-seat fighter designs, which culminated in the He 49 and later with the improved He 51.
When the He 51 was tested in combat in the Spanish Civil War, it was shown that speed was far more important than maneuverability. The Luftwaffe took this lesson to heart, and started a series of design projects for much more modern aircraft. One of these projects, Rüstungsflugzeug IV, called for a day fighter with a top speed of 400 km/h (250 mph) at 6,000 m (19,500 ft) which it could maintain for 20 minutes out of a total endurance of 90 minutes. It also needed to be armed with at least three machine guns with 1,000 rpg, or one 20 mm cannon with 200 rounds. The specification required that the wing loading should be below 100 kg/m² - a way of defining the aircraft's ability to turn and climb. The priorities for the aircraft were level speed, climb speed, and then maneuverability in that order.
In October 1933, Hermann Göring sent out a letter requesting aircraft companies consider the design of a "high speed courier aircraft" - a thinly-veiled request for a new fighter. In May 1934, this was made official and the Technisches Amt sent out a request for a single-seat interceptor for the Rüstungsflugzeug IV role, this time under the guise of a "sports aircraft". The specification was first sent to the most experienced fighter designers, Heinkel, Arado, and Focke-Wulf. It was later sent to newcomer Bayerische Flugzeugwerk (Bavarian Aircraft Manufacturers or BFW) on the strength of their Bf 108 Taifun advanced sportsplane design. Each company was asked to build three prototypes for run-off testing. By spring 1935, both the Arado and Focke-Wulf aircraft were ready, the BFW arriving in March, and the He 112 in April.
Heinkel's design was created primarily by twin brothers Walter and Siegfried Günter, whose designs would dominate most of Heinkel's work. They started work on Projekt 1015 in late 1933 under the guise of the original courier aircraft, based around the BMW XV radial engine. Work was already under way when the official request went out on 2 May, and on 5 May the design was renamed the He 112.
The primary source of inspiration for the 112 is their earlier He 70 Blitz ("Lightning") design. The Blitz was a single-engine, four-passenger version originally designed for use by Lufthansa, and it in turn was inspired by the famous Lockheed Model 9 Orion mail plane. Like many civilian designs of the time, the aircraft was pressed into military service and was used as a two-seat bomber (although mostly for reconnaissance) and served in this role in Spain. The Blitz introduced a number of new construction techniques to the Heinkel company; it was their first low-wing monoplane, their first with retractable landing gear, their first all-metal monocoque design, and its elliptical, reverse-gull wing planform would be seen on a number of later projects. The Blitz could almost meet the new fighter requirements itself, so it is not surprising that the Günters would choose to work with the existing design as much as possible.
In many ways, the resulting 112 design was a scaled-down He 70. Like the He 70, the 112 was constructed entirely of metal, using a two-spar wing and a monocoque fuselage with flush-mounted rivets. The landing gear retracted outward from the low point of the wing's gull-bend, which resulted in a fairly wide 9 m (30 ft) track, giving the aircraft excellent ground handling. Its only features from an older era were its open cockpit and fuselage spine behind the headrest, which were included to provide excellent vision and make the biplane-trained pilots feel more comfortable.
Prototypes
The first prototype, He 112 V1, was completed on 1 September 1935, but as the Junkers Jumo 210 engine unavailable, a 518 kW (695 hp) Rolls-Royce Kestrel Mk IIS was fitted. Initial test flights at the factory revealed that drag was much higher than expected, and that the aircraft was not going to be as fast as originally predicted. The V1 was sent off to be tested by the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) in December at Travemünde.
The second prototype, V2, was completed on 16 November. It had the 477 kW (640 hp) Jumo 210C engine and a three-blade propeller, but was otherwise identical to the V1. Meanwhile, the data from the V1 factory flights was studied to discover where the unexpected drag was coming from. The Günter brothers identified the large, thick wing as the main culprit. V2 was kept at the factory and modified with a thinner, clipped wing, which was expected to improve the speed of the aircraft by 25-30 km/h (15-20 mph) and allow it to compete with the 109. This made the 112 creep over the wing loading requirements in the specifications, but with the 109 way over the limit, this was not seen as a problem, and the V2 was sent off for testing.
The V3 took to the air in January. Minor changes included a larger radiator, fuselage spine and vertical stabilizer, but it was otherwise largely the same as the clipped wing V2. Other changes included a single cover over the exhaust ports instead of the more common "stack", and it also included modifications to allow the armament to be installed in the cowling. It was expected to join the V2 in testing, but instead was assigned back to Heinkel in early 1937 for tests with rocket propulsion. During a test, the rocket exploded and the aircraft was destroyed, but in an amazing effort the V3 was rebuilt with several changes, including an enclosed cockpit.
The contest
The 112V1 started in the head-to-head contest when it arrived at Travemünde on 8 February 1936. The other three competitors had all arrived by the beginning of March. Right away, the Focke-Wulf Fw 159 and Arado Ar 80 proved to be lacking in performance, and plagued with problems, and were eliminated from serious consideration.
At this point, the 112 was the favorite over the "unknown" 109, but opinions changed when the 109V2 arrived on 21 March. All the competitor aircraft had initially been equipped with the Rolls-Royce Kestrel engine, but the 109V2 had the Jumo. From that point on, it started to outperform the 112 in almost every way, and even the arrival of the Jumo-engined 112V2 on the 15 April did little to address this imbalance.
As would be expected, the 112 had better turn performance due to its larger wing, but the 109 was faster at all altitudes and had considerably better agility and aerobatic abilities. During spin tests on the 2 March, the 109V2 showed no problems while the 112V2 crashed. Repairs were made to the aircraft and it was returned in April, but it crashed again and was written off. The V1 was then returned to Heinkel on 17 April and fitted with the V2's clipped wings.
Meanwhile, news came in that Supermarine had received a contract for full-scale production of the Spitfire. The Spitfire was far more advanced than any existing German aircraft and this caused a wave of concern in the high command of the Luftwaffe. Time now took on as much importance as any quality of the winning aircraft itself, and the RLM was ready to put any reasonable design into production. That design was the Bf 109, which in addition to demonstrating better performance, was considerably easier to build due to fewer compound curves and simpler construction throughout. On 12 March, the Commission wrote up the outcome of their meetings in a document called Bf 109 Priority Procurement. There were some within the RLM who still favored the Heinkel design, and as a result the RLM then sent out contracts for 15 "zero series" aircraft from both companies.
Testing continued until October, at which point some of the additional zero series aircraft had arrived. At the end of September, there were four He 112s being tested, yet none was a match for the 109. From October on, the Bf 109 appears to have been selected as the winner of the contest. Although no clear date is given, in Stormy Life Ernst Udet himself delivered the news to Heinkel that the 109 had entered series production in 1936. He is quoted as saying, "Pawn your crate off on the Turks or the Japs or the Rumanians. They'll lap it up." With a number of air forces looking to upgrade from biplanes and various designs from the early 1930s, the possibility for foreign sales was promising.
He 112A
Prototypes
Heinkel had expected orders for additional aircraft beyond the initial three prototypes, and was able to respond quickly to the new contract for the 15 zero series aircraft. The new aircraft would be given the series designation He 112A-0.
The first of these new versions, V4, was completed in June 1936. It included the more powerful 210Da engine with a two-speed supercharger that brought the power to 514 kW (690 hp) for takeoff. The only other change was a slight reduction in the size of the vertical stabilizer.
In July, both V5 and V6 were completed. V5 was identical to V4, with the 210Da engine, and it also sported two fuselage-mounted 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns. V6, on the other hand, was completed as the pattern aircraft for the A series production run, and thus included the 210C engine instead of the more powerful, but less available Da. The only other change was a modification to the radiator, but this would not appear on later A-0 series models. V6 suffered a forced landing on 1 August and was repaired and joined V4 for testing in October.
The last of the prototype A-0 series was V8, which was completed in October. It switched engines entirely and mounted the Daimler-Benz DB 600Aa, along with a three-bladed, fully-adjustable, all-metal propeller. The engine was a huge change for the aircraft, producing 670 kW (910 hp) for takeoff and had 33.9 L (2,069 in³) displacement at 686 kg (1,510 lb), compared that to the Jumo 210Da's 514 kW (690 hp) from 19.7 L (1,202 in³) at about the same weight. V8 was seen primarily as a testbed for the new engine, and more importantly, its cooling systems. The DB used a dry liner in the engine that resulted in poor heat flow, so more of the heat was removed by oil as opposed to water, requiring changes to the cooling systems.
In March 1937, the aircraft was assigned to rocket propulsion tests at Peenemünde. It completed these tests later that summer (without exploding) and was returned to the factory, where it was converted back into a normal model. At the end of the year, it was sent to Spain, where it was seriously damaged on 18 July 1938. Once again, it was put back together and was flying four months later. Its fate after this time is not recorded.
Production models
At this point, the prototype stage was ostensibly over, and Heinkel continued building the A-0 as production line models. The naming changed, adding a production number to the end of the name, so the next six examples were known as 112A-01 through 112A-06. All of these included the 210C engine and were essentially identical to V6, with the exception of the radiator.
These aircraft were used in just as varied a manner as the earlier V series had been. A-01 flew in October 1936 and was used as the prototype for a future 112C-0 carrier-based aircraft. It was later destroyed during rocket tests. A-02 flew in November, and then joined the earlier V models at Rechlin-Lärz Airfield for further testing in the contest. A-03 and A-04 were both completed in December, A-03 was a show aircraft and was flown by Heinkel pilots at various air shows and exhibitions, A-04 was kept at Heinkel for various tests.
The last two models of the A-0 series, A-05 and A-06, were completed in March 1937. They were both shipped to Japan as the initial machines of the 30 for the Imperial Japanese Navy.
He 112B
Prototypes
In October 1936, the RLM changed the orders for the zero series 112s, instructing Heinkel to complete any A-0s already under construction and then switch the remaining aircraft to an updated design. This gave Heinkel a chance to improve the 112, which they did by completely redesigning it into an almost entirely new aircraft called the 112B. It is at this point that it became a modern design that could compete head-to-head with the Bf 109.
The 112B had a completely redesigned and cut-down rear fuselage, a new vertical stabilizer and rudder, and a completely-enclosed cockpit with a bubble-style canopy. The canopy was somewhat more complex than later bubble designs; instead of having two pieces with the majority sliding to the rear, the 112B's canopy was in three pieces and the middle slid back and over a fixed rear section. Even with the additional framing, the 112 still had excellent visibility for its day. Armament was also standardized on the B model with two 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns in the sides of the cowling with 500 rpg, and two 20 mm MG FF cannons in the wings with 60 rpg. For aiming, the cockpit included the then-modern Revi 3B reflector gunsight.
The first B series airframe to be completed was V7 in October 1936. V7 used the DB 600Aa engine like the A-series V8, and it also used the original V1 style larger wing. This wing was later replaced with a smaller one, but instead of the clipped version from the earlier V models, a completely new single-spar fully elliptical wing was produced. This design became standard for the entire B series. V7 was turned over to von Braun in April 1937 for yet more rocket tests, and managed to survive the experience. It was then returned in the summer and sent to Rechlin where it was used as a test aircraft.
The next type was V9 which flew in July 1937, powered by the 507 kW (680 hp) Jumo 210Ea engine. V9 can be considered to be the "real" B series prototype, as V7 had received the DB 600Aa originally for experimental reasons. The entire surface was now flush riveted and the aircraft had several other aerodynamic cleanups. The radiator was again changed, this time to a semi-retractable design for reduced drag in flight. The aircraft also underwent a weight reduction program which reduced the empty weight to 1,617 kg (3,565 lb).
As a result of all of these changes, the V9 had a maximum speed of 485 km/h (301 mph) at 4,000 m (13,120 ft), and 430 km/h (270 mph) at sea level. This was a full 20 km/h (10 mph) faster than the contemporary 109B-2. Nevertheless, by this time, the 109 was already ramping up production, and the RLM saw no need for another largely similar aircraft. It is also worth noting that users of the aircraft generally found it impossible to reach this speed, and rarely managed to exceed 418 km/h (260 mph).
The RLM had already contracted for another six 112s, so production of the prototypes continued. V10 was supposed to receive the 670 kW (960 hp) Junkers Jumo 211A (Junker's new DB 600 competitor), but the engine was not available in time and V10 instead received the new 876 kW (1,175 hp) DB 601Aa. The engine drove V10 to 570 km/h (350 mph) and increased climb rate significantly. V11 was also supposed to get the 211A, but instead received the DB 600Aa.
The last prototype, V12, was actually an airframe taken off the B-1 series production line (which had started by this point). The 210Ea was replaced with the new fuel-injected 210Ga, which improved performance of the engine to 522 kW (700 hp) for takeoff, and a sustained output of 503 kW (675 hp) at the reasonably high altitude of 4,700 m (15,420 ft). Better yet, the Ga also decreased fuel consumption, thus increasing the aircraft's endurance. The new engine gave V12 such a boost that it became the pattern aircraft for the planned B-2 series production.
With all of these different versions and experimental engine fits, it might seem like every aircraft differed significantly. But with the exception of the engine fits, the Bs are all basically identical. Due to the shortage of just about any German engine at the time and the possibility that advanced versions could be blocked for export, various models had to be designed with different installations. Thus the B models were different only in their engine, the 210C in the B-0, the 210Ea in the B-1, and the 210Ga for the B-2.
Production models
In order to show off the He 112, V9 spent much of the later half of 1937 being flown by pilots from all over the world. It was also sent around Europe for tours and air shows. The effort was a success and orders quickly started coming in. However, a variety of problems meant few of these were ever delivered.
The first order was from the Imperial Japanese Navy. After seeing V9 in flight, they quickly placed an order for 30 112Bs, with an option for 100 more. The first four were shipped in December 1937, another eight in the spring, and promises for the rest to arrive in May. Before delivery, the Luftwaffe unexpectedly took over 12 of the aircraft to bolster its forces during the Sudetenland Crisis. The aircraft were then returned to Heinkel in November, but the Japanese refused to accept them this late and Heinkel was left holding the aircraft.
Spain was so impressed with the 112's performance during evaluation in the civil war that the Spanish Air Force purchased the 12 aircraft in early 1938, and later increased the order by another six (some sources say five). Of the first 12, two were shipped in November, another six in January, and the rest in April.
In November 1937, an Austrian delegation came to see the aircraft, led by Generaloberst Alexander Löhr, Command-in-Chief of the Luftstreitkräfte (Austrian Air Force). Test pilot Hans Schalk flew both the Bf 109 and the He 112V9 back to back. Although he felt that both models performed the same, the Heinkel had more balanced steering pressures and better equipment possibilities. They placed an order on 20 December for 42 112Bs. Pending the license for the MG FF cannon, these aircraft would remove the cannon and add six THM 10/I bomb shackles which carried small 10 kg (22 lb) anti-personal bombs. The order was later reduced to 36 examples due to a lack of funds (the 112B cost 163,278 Reichsmarks), but the aircraft were never delivered due to the annexation of Austria in the March 1938 Anschluss.
In April, it looked like Yugoslavia would be the next user of the 112. It placed an order for 30 aircraft, but later cancelled the order and decided to produce other designs under license.
Finland appeared to be another potential customer. From January-March 1938, the famous Finnish pilot Eka Magnusson travelled to Germany to gain experience in new tactics. He had been on similar tours in France in the past and was interested to see how the Germans were training their pilots. On a visit to the Heinkel plant in Marienehe, he flew the 112 and reported it to be the best aircraft he had flown. In May, Heinkel sent the first of the 112B-1s to Finland to join an air show. It remained for the next week and was flown by a number of pilots, including Magnusson, who had since returned to Finland. Although all of the pilots liked the aircraft, the cost was so high that the Suomen Ilmavoimat (Finnish Air Force) decided to stick with the much less expensive Fokker D.XXI.
A similar setback would accompany sales efforts targeting the Dutch Air Force, who was looking to purchase 36 fighters to form two new squadrons. A 112B-1 arrived for testing on 12 July and quickly proved to be the best aircraft in the competition. Nevertheless, they decided to purchase the locally-built (and rather outdated) Koolhoven F.K.58 instead. The aircraft was not ready for production, so in an odd twist, they then purchased a number of Hawker Hurricanes because they could be delivered immediately. In the end, the F.K.58s were never delivered.
Fortunes would be seem to be reversed with Hungary. In June 1938, three pilots of the Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légierö (Royal Hungarian Home Defense Air Force or MKHL) were sent to Heinkel to study V9. They were impressed with what they saw, and on 7 September, an order was placed for 36 aircraft, as well as an offer to license the design for local construction. Through a variety of political mishaps, only three aircraft were ever delivered and licensed production never happened.
The final and perhaps most successful customer for the 112B was Romania. The Forţã Aeronauticã Regalã Românã (Royal Romanian Air Force) ordered 24 aircraft in April 1939, and increased the order to 30 on 18 August. Deliveries started in June, with the last being delivered on 30 September.
By this point, war had broken out, and with better models on the market - including Heinkel's own He 100 - no one else was interested in purchasing the design. The production line was closed after a total of only 98 aircraft, 85 of those being the B series models.
Operational service
Main article: Heinkel He 112 operational service
Condor Legion
When it was clear the 112 was losing the contest to the Bf 109, Heinkel offered to re-equip V6 with 20 mm cannon armament as an experimental aircraft. She was then broken down and shipped to Spain on 9 December and assigned to Versuchsjagdgruppe 88, a group within the Legion Condor devoted to testing new aircraft and joined three V series Bf 109s which were also in testing.
Oberleutnant Wilhelm Balthasar used it to attack an armoured train and an armoured car. Other pilots flew it, but the engine seized during landing in July and she was written off.
For the annexation of the Sudetenland, every flightworthy fighter was pressed into service. The batch of 112Bs for the Japanese Navy was taken over, but not used before the end of the crisis and shipped to Japan to fulfill orders.
The Japanese rejected the He 112 as a fighter but took 30 for training duties, and V11 with its DB 600Aa was used for testing.
The Spanish government purchased 12 112Bs. This increased to 19. The He 112s were to operate as top cover for Fiat fighters in the opening stages of the Civil War, the Fiat having considerably worse altitude performance. In the event, only a single kill was made with the He 112 as a fighter and it was moved onto ground-attack work.
During World War II, when Allied forces landed in North Africa, Spanish forces in Morocco intercepted stray aircraft of both Allied and German forces. None of these incidents resulted in losses. In 1943, one He 112 of Grupo 27 attacked the tail-end aircraft of 11 Lockheed P-38s forcing it down in Algeria. By 1944, the aircraft were largely grounded due to a lack of fuel and maintenance.
Hungary
Like the Germans, Hungary had stiff regulations imposed on her armed forces with the signing of the Treaty of Trianon. In August 1938, the armed forces were re-formed, and with Austria (historically her partner for centuries) being incorporated into Germany, Hungary found herself in the German sphere.
One of the highest priorities for the forces was to re-equip the MKHL as soon as possible. Of the various aircraft being considered, the 112B eventually won out over the competition, and on 7 September, an order was placed for 36 aircraft. The Heinkel production line was just starting, and with Japan and Spain in the queue, it would be some time before the aircraft could be delivered. Repeated pleas to be moved to the top of the queue failed.
Germany had to refuse the first order at the beginning of 1939 because of its claimed neutrality in the Hungarian/Romanian dispute over Transylvania. In addition, the RLM refused to license the 20 mm MG FF cannon to the Hungarians, likely as a form of political pressure. This later insult did not cause a problem, because they planned to replace it with the locally-designed 20 mm Danuvia cannon anyway.
V9 was sent to Hungary as a demonstrator after a tour of Romania, and arrived on 5 February 1939. It was test flown by a number of pilots over the next week, and on 14 February, they replaced the propeller with a new three-bladed Junkers design (licensed from Hamilton). While being tested against a CR.32 that day, V9 crashed. On 10 March, a new 112B-1/U2 arrived to replace the V9 and was flown by a number of pilots at different fighter units. It was during this time that the Hungarian pilots started to complain about the underpowered engine, as they found that they could only reach a top speed of 430 km/h (270 mph) with the 210Ea.
With the Japanese and Spanish orders filled, things were looking up for Hungary. However, at that point, Romania placed its order, and was placed at the front of the queue. It appeared that the Hungarian production machines might never arrive, so the MKHL started pressing for a license to build the aircraft locally. In May, the Hungarian Manfred-Weiss company in Budapest received the license for the aircraft, and on 1 June, an order was placed for 12 aircraft. Heinkel agreed to deliver a 210Ga-powered aircraft to serve as a pattern aircraft.
As it turns out, the B-2 was never delivered; two more of the B-1/U2s with the 210Ea were sent instead. On arrival in Hungary, the 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine gunss were removed and replaced with the local 8 mm (.315 in) 39.M machine guns, and bomb racks were added. The resulting fit was similar to those originally ordered by Austria. Throughout this time, the complaints about the engines were being addressed by continued attempts to license one of the newer 30 L (1,831 in³)-class engines, the Junkers Jumo 211A or the DB 600Aa.
Late in March, the He 100 V8 took the world absolute speed record, but in stories about the record attempt, the aircraft was referred to as the He 112U. Upon hearing of the record, the Hungarians decided to switch production to this "new version" of the 112, which was based on the newer engines. Then in August, the Commander-in-Chief of the MKHL recommended that the 112 be purchased as the standard fighter for Hungary (although likely referring to the earlier versions, not the "112U").
At this point, the engine issue came to a head. It was clear that no production line aircraft would ever reach Hungary, and now that the war was underway, the RLM was refusing to allow their export anyway. Shipments of the Jumo 211 or DB 601 were not even able to fulfill German needs, so export of the engine for locally built airframes was likewise out of the question.
By September, the ongoing negotiations with the RLM for the license to build the engines locally stalled, and as a result, the MKHL ordered Manfred-Weiss to stop tooling up for the production line aircraft. The license was eventually canceled in December. The MKHL turned to the Italians and purchased the Fiat CR.32 and Reggiane Re.2000. The later would be the backbone of the MKHL for much of the war.
Nevertheless, the three B-1/U2 aircraft continued to serve on. In the summer of 1940, tensions with Romania over Transylvania started to heat up again and the entire MKHL was placed on alert on 27 June. On 21 August, the 112s were moved forward to the Debrecen airfield to protect a vital railway link. The next week, a peaceful resolution was found, and the settlement was signed in Vienna on 30 August. The 112s returned home the following week.
By 1941, the aircraft were ostensibly assigned to defend the Manfred-Weiss plant, but were actually used for training. When Allied bomber raids started in the spring of 1944, the aircraft were no longer airworthy, and it appears all were destroyed in a massive raid on the Budapest-Ferihegy airport on 9 August.
After the licensed production of the 112B fell through in 1939, the plan was to switch the production line to build a Manfred-Weiss-designed aircraft called the W.M.23 Ezüst Nyíl ("Silver Arrow"). The aircraft was basically a 112B adapted to local construction; the wings were wooden versions of the 112's planform, the fuselage was made of plywood over a steel frame, and the engine was a licensed version of the 746 kW (1,000 hp)-class Gnome-Rhone Mistral-Major radial.
It would seem that this "simplified" aircraft would be inferior to the 112, but in fact the higher-powered engine made all the difference and the W.M.23 proved to be considerably faster than the 112. Nevertheless, work proceeded slowly and only one prototype was built. The project was eventually canceled outright when the prototype crashed in early 1942. It is still a mystery why so little work had been done in those two years on what appeared to be an excellent design.
Romania
The Treaty of Versailles ratified the wish of the nations of Central and Eastern Europe, by recognizing the national states of Poland, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia as well as the Union of the Romanian people, by integration of former provinces of the defunct Tsarist and Austro-Hungarian empires, with a Romanian ethnic majority, into the Romanian Kingdom (see Union of Transylvania with Romania, Union of Bessarabia with Romania). Also Romania had been granted southern Dobrogea after the Second Balkan War. These territorial changes didn’t go well with Bulgaria, and the successor states of the former oppressive empires (Hungary, USSR), which adopted a hostile stance. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Romania entered a number of alliances with the nearby nations which were in a similar situation, notably Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. They were interested in blocking any changes to the Treaty of Versailles which could lead to reintegration by force in a multinational empire and, eventually, the loss of national identity.
Germany looked on Romania as an important supplier of war material, notably oil and grain. Looking to secure Romania as an ally, throughout the middle of the 1930s, Germany applied increasing pressure in a variety of forms, best summed up as the "carrot and stick" approach. The carrot came in the form of generous trade agreements for a variety of products and by the late 1930s, Germany formed about ½ of all of Romania's trade. The stick came in the form of Germany siding with Romania's enemies in various disputes.
On 26 June 1940, the Soviet Union gave Romania a 24 hour ultimatum to return Bessarabia and cede northern Bukovina, even though the latter had never even been a part of Russia. Germany's ambassador to Romania advised the king to submit, and he did. In August, Bulgaria reclaimed southern Dobruja, with German and Soviet backing. Later that month, German and Italian foreign ministers met with Romanian diplomats in Vienna and presented them with an ultimatum to accept the ceding of northern Transylvania to Hungary.
Romania was placed in an increasingly bad position as her local allies were gobbled up by Germany, and her larger allies' (Britain and France) assurances of help proved empty, as demonstrated by their lack of action during the invasion of Poland. Soon the king was forced from the throne and a pro-German government was formed.
With Romania now firmly in the German sphere of influence, her efforts to re-arm for the coming war were suddenly strongly backed. The primary concern was the air force, the FARR. Their fighter force at the time consisted of just over 100 Polish PZL P.11 aircraft, primarily the P.11b or the locally-modified f model, and P.24E. Although these aircraft had been the most advanced fighters in the world in the early 1930s, by the late 1930s, they were hopelessly outclassed by practically everything.
In April 1939, the FARR was offered the Bf 109 as soon as production was meeting German demands. In the meantime, they could take over 24 112Bs that were already built. The FARR jumped at the chance and then increased the order to 30 aircraft.
Late in April, a group of Romanian pilots arrived at Heinkel for conversion training, which went slowly because of the advanced nature of the 112 in comparison to the PZL. When the training was complete, the pilots returned home in the cockpits of their new aircraft. The aircraft, all of them B-1s or B-2s, were "delivered" in this manner starting in July and ending in October. Two of the aircraft were lost, one in a fatal accident during training in Germany on 7 September, and another suffered minor damage on landing while being delivered and was later repaired at SET in Romania.
When the first aircraft started arriving, they were tested competitively against the locally designed IAR.80 prototype. This interesting and little known aircraft proved to be superior to the 112B in almost every way. At the same time, the test flights revealed a number of disadvantages of the 112, notably the underpowered engine and poor speed. The result of the fly-off was that the IAR.80 was ordered into immediate production, and orders for any additional He 112s were cancelled.
By 15 September, enough of the aircraft had arrived to re-equip Escadrila 10 and 11. The two squadrons were formed into the Grupul 5 vânãtoare (5th Fighter Group), responsible for the defense of Bucharest. In October, they were renamed as the 51st and 52nd squadrons, still forming the 5th. The pilots had not been a part of the group that had been trained at Heinkel, so they started working their way toward the 112 using Nardi F.N.305 monoplane trainers. Training lasted until the spring of 1940, when a single additional 112B-2 was delivered as a replacement for the one that crashed in Germany the previous September.
During the troubles with Hungary, the 51st was deployed to Transylvania. Hungarian Ju 86s and He 70s started making reconnaissance flights over Romanian territory. Repeated attempts to intercept them failed because of the 112's low speed. On 27 August, Locotenent Nicolae Polizu was over Hungarian territory when he encountered a Caproni Ca.135bis biplane bomber flying on a training mission. Several of his 20 mm rounds hit the bomber, which was forced down safely at the Hungarian Debrecen airbase - home of the Hungarian 112s. Polizu became the first Romanian to shoot down a aircraft in aerial combat.
When Germany prepared to invade the USSR in 1941, Romania joined it in an effort to regain the territories lost the year before. The FARR was made part of Luftflotte 4, and in preparation for the invasion, Grupul 5 vânãtoare was sent to Moldavia. At the time, 24 of the 112s were flyable. Three were left at their home base at Pipera to complete repairs, two others had been lost to accidents, and the fate of the others is unknown. On 15 June, the aircraft were moved again, to Foscani-North in northern Moldavia.
With the opening of the war on 22 June, the 112s were in the air at 1050 supporting an attack by Potez 63s of Grupul 2 bombardment on the Soviet airfields at Bolgrad and Bulgãrica. Although some flak was encountered on the way to and over Bolgrad, the attack was successful and a number of Soviet aircraft were bombed on the ground. By the time they reached Bulgãrica, fighters were in the air waiting for them, and as a result the 12 He 112s were met by about 30 I-16s. The results of this combat were mixed; Sublocotenent Teodor Moscu shot down one of a pair of I-16s still taking off. When he was pulling out, he hit another in a head-on pass and it crashed into the Danube. He was set upon by several I-16s and received several hits, his fuel tanks were punctured but did not seal. Losing fuel rapidly, he formed up with his wingman and managed to put down at the Romanian airfield at Bârlad. His aircraft was later repaired and returned to duty. Of the bombers, three of the 13 dispatched were shot down.
Over the next few days, the 112s would be used primarily as ground-attack aircraft, where their heavy armament was considered to be more important than their ability to fight in the air. Typical missions would start before dawn and would have the Heinkels strafe Soviet airbases. Later in the day, they would be sent on search and destroy missions, looking primarily for artillery and trains.
Losses were heavy, most not due to combat, but simply because the aircraft were flying an average of three missions a day and were not receiving adequate maintenance. This problem affected all of the FARR, which did not have the field maintenance logistics worked out at the time. On 29 July, a report on the readiness of the air forces listed only 14 112s in flyable condition, and another eight repairable. As a result the aircraft of the 52nd were folded into the 51st to form a single full strength squadron on 13 August. The men of the 52nd were merged with the 42nd who flew IAR.80s, and were soon sent home to receive IAR.80s of their own. A report from August on the 112 rated it very poorly, once again noting its lack of power and poor speed.
For a time, the 51st continued in a front-line role, although it saw little combat. When Odessa fell on 16 October, the Romanian war effort ostensibly ended, and the aircraft were considered to be no longer needed at the front. 15 were kept at Odessa and the rest were released to Romania for training duty (although they seem to have seen no use). On 1 November, the 51st moved to Tatarka and then returned to Odessa on the 25th, performing coastal patrol duties all the while. On 1 July 1942, the 51st returned to Pipera and stood down after a year in action.
On 19 July one of the He 112s took to the air to intercept Soviet bombers in what was the first night mission by a Romanian aircraft. As the Soviets were clearly gearing up for a night offensive on Bucharest, the 51st was then re-equipped with Bf 110 night fighters and became the only Romanian night fighter squadron.
By 1943, the IAR.80 was no longer competitive, and the FARR started an overdue move to a newer fighter. The fighter in this case was the barely competitive Bf 109G. The 112s found themselves actively being used in the training role at last. The inline engine and general layout of the German designs was considered similar enough to make it useful in this role, and as a result the 112s came under the control of the Corpul 3 Aerian (3rd Air Corps). Several more of the 112s were destroyed in accidents during this time. It soldiered on in this role into late 1944, even after Romania had changed sides and joined the Allies.
Specifications (He 112A-0 V4)
Data from[citation needed]
General characteristics
• Crew: 1
• Length: 9.0 m (29 ft 5⅜ in)
• Wingspan: 11.5 m (37 ft 8¾ in)
• Height: 3.7 m (12 ft 1⅝ in)
• Wing area: 23.2 m² (250.5 ft²)
• Empty weight: 1,680 kg (3,704 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Junkers Jumo 210Da liquid-cooled inverted V12 engine, 507 kW (680 hp)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 488 km/h (303 mph)
• Range: 1,100 km (684 mi)
• Service ceiling: 8,000 m (26,245 ft)
• Wing loading: 102.5 kg/m ()
Armament
3 × 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns mounted in the engine cowling
Specifications (He 112B-2)
General characteristics
• Crew: 1
• Length: 9.22 m (30 ft 11 7/8 in))
• Wingspan: 9.09 m (29 ft 9¾ in)
• Height: 3.82 m (12 ft 6¾ in)
• Wing area: 17 m² (183 ft²)
• Empty weight: 1,617 kg (3,565 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 2,248 kg (4,957 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Junkers Jumo 210Ga liquid-cooled inverted V12 engine, 522 kW (700 hp)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 510 km/h (317 mph)
• Range: 1150 km (715 mi)
• Service ceiling: 9,500 m (31,200 ft)
• Wing loading: 132 kg/m² (27.1 lb/ft²)
Armament
• 2 × 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns with 500 rpg, mounted in the sides of the engine cowling
• 2 × 20 mm MG FF cannons with 60 rpg, in the wings
let your YES be YES and your NO be NO but plz no maybe
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

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XP-67 Bat


The McDonnell XP-67 was a prototype for a twin-engine, long range, single-seat interceptor aircraft for the United States Army Air Corps. Although the design was conceptually advanced, it was beset by numerous problems and never approached its anticipated level of performance. The project was cancelled after the sole completed prototype was destroyed by an engine fire.
Some sources cite the name of the craft as Moonbat rather than Bat.[2][3]


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... 67_Bat.jpg

Origins
In 1940, the U.S. Army Air Corps issued Request for Proposal R-40C, requesting designs for a high-speed, long-range, high-altitude interceptor intended to destroy enemy bombers. The specifications were very bold, encouraging manufacturers to produce radical aircraft that would outperform any existing fighter in the world at the time. Upstart aerospace parts manufacturer McDonnell Aircraft, eager to begin manufacturing its own aircraft, responded to the proposal with drawings and specifications of the proposed Model I, which would be powered by an unusual geared drivetrain with a single Allison V-3420 engine buried in the fuselage powering twin wing-mounted pusher propellers in the wings. However, 22 other manufacturers also issued proposals to meet the Army’s request; the McDonnell proposal had relatively unimpressive anticipated performance, and its odd drivetrain was unproven. The Model I fell in 21st place when the 23 proposals were examined and scored. (The top proposals would become the similarly ill-fated XP-54, XP-55, and XP-56.) Despite the apparent setback, Air Corps leaders were impressed by the nascent company’s efforts, and granted McDonnell a $3,000 contract to re-engineer the airplane.[4]
[edit] Final design
McDonnell engineers returned on 30 June 1941 with the Model II, which was also rejected, so it was reworked into the Model IIa, which emerged on 24 April 1942. The new design was powered by a more traditional layout- a pair of engines in wing-mounted nacelles with 4-bladed propellers in a tractor configuration. However, the design was still quite ambitious; the design team tried to maintain a true airfoil section through the center fuselage, merge the rear portions of the engine nacelles with the wing, and radically fillet all edges of the fuselage and nacelles into the wings in an effort to reduce drag. The design used laminar airfoil sections throughout. McDonnell designers promised that the design would deliver a top speed of 472 mph (760 km/h) with a gross weight of 18,600 lb (8,440 kg), although the anticipated gross weight was soon increased to a somewhat more realistic 20,000 lb (9,070 kg).
On 30 September 1941, the USAAC granted McDonnell a $1,508,596 contract, plus an $86,315 fee, for two prototypes, a wind tunnel model, and associated engineering data, The Model IIa was designated as the XP-67.[5] The production aircraft was intended to have a pressurized cockpit, a novel innovation at the time. A number of armament configurations were considered including six .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns, four 20 mm (.79 in) cannon, and even a 75 mm (2.95 in) cannon before the configuration of six 37 mm (1.46 in) M4 cannon was chosen. Two Continental XI-1430-1 engines would provide power, and would be fitted with turbosuperchargers. The engines would be of an inverted V-configuration and would use the exhaust to augment thrust.
Testing
Aerodynamic test program
The XP-67’s radical design would require extensive wind tunnel testing to fine-tune its numerous advanced aspects. An extensive aerodynamic test program was begun by three different entities- McDonnell, NACA, and the University of Detroit.[6] The design demanded skin that was perfectly smooth and precisely shaped to maintain its laminar-flow characteristics, mandating the development of new construction techniques, as the company had never produced an entire airplane before. Wind tunnel testing uncovered problems with engine cooling airflow through the engine nacelles- problems that would ultimately never be fully resolved. Difficulties were also encountered in obtaining engines, as wartime production demands hampered Continental’s efforts to deliver running examples of the experimental XI-1430 engines to competing aircraft test programs. The project was also delayed by intense competition for testing time at the NACA wind tunnel facility in Langley, Virginia.
Flight test program
The first XP-67, 42-11677, was ready for ground trials on 1 December 1943, although it was not yet ready for flight. The aircraft was fitted with XI-1430-17/19 engines and General Electric D-23 turbo-superchargers. No pressurization equipment or armament would ever be installed in the prototype. On 8 December, the aircraft was damaged by fires in both engine nacelles, caused by a malfunction of the exhaust manifold slip rings. By 6 January 1944, the damage was repaired and the XP-67 made its first flight. The flight, however, ended after six minutes due to difficulties with the experimental engines. After a number of modifications were made to the engine installations, two test flights were carried out. On the fourth flight, the engine bearings burned out when the engines were unintentionally overspeeded.
By this time, it was becoming obvious that the XP-67 was hampered by a serious lack of power. The engines were only delivering 1,060 hp (790 kW), well short of their promised 1,350 hp (1,007 kW) rating.[7] Company founder Jim McDonnell, frustrated by ongoing procurement delays and concerned that the XI-1430s would never deliver their anticipated output, began an intense lobbying campaign for additional funding to re-engine the prototype with a pair of Allison or Rolls Royce piston engines augmented by auxiliary Westinghouse turbojets in the aft nacelles. Although McDonnell promised a very impressive 500 mph (805 km/h) top speed with the new powerplants, the Army rejected the proposal, demanding more testing of the existing design.[6] As a result of wind tunnel tests, the tailplanes were raised 12 in (31 cm) while the aircraft waited for replacement engines.
On 23 March 1944, flight trials restarted. Army pilots finally got to fly the plane on 11 May 1944, and judged the aircraft cockpit layout fair and ground handling satisfactory, but the aircraft was deemed underpowered due to its poor initial rate of climb, slow acceleration, and long takeoff roll, particularly when operating with only one engine.[8] Other flight characteristics were generally good during gentle maneuvers; stick forces were light, roll rate was adequate, and control was effective at all speeds with good longitudinal stability. However, a tendency to dutch roll was prevalent.[7] The craft also displayed several disturbing behaviors as its stall speed was approached. It began to buffet well above the actual stall speed, it felt tail-heavy in fast turns, and its nose would tuck upwards during the stall. The problems were serious enough that test pilots declined to test the XP-67’s spin characteristics, fearing that a spin might be unrecoverable. This irregular and unstable stall behavior has been attributed to advanced aerodynamic principles that were not fully counteracted until the advent of electronic stability controls many years later.[8] Although the final flight test report was generally positive, the plane’s maneuverability was deemed inferior to existing types such as the P-51 Mustang .[8]
Upon return to the factory, the cooling ducts were reworked. Several problems were cured during the ensuing test flights, but the engines continued to be vexed by chronic overheating and consistent failure to perform as anticipated. The airplane only reached a confirmed top speed of 405 mph (652 km/h), which was far short of its promised top speed of 472 mph (760 km/h), and was unremarkable compared to other fighters in service at the time.
Project cancellation
On 6 September 1944, the starboard engine of the prototype caught fire during a test flight. Test pilot E.E. Elliot was able to execute an emergency landing at Lambert Field in St. Louis, Missouri, but as he attempted to park the plane pointed into the wind to blow the flames away from the airframe, the starboard main landing gear brakes failed and pivoted the craft so the flames were blown directly towards the aft fuselage. The fire severely damaged the fuselage, engine, nacelle, and starboard wing; a post-fire evaluation declared the airplane to be a total loss.[9]
The destruction of the lone flying prototype dealt a serious setback to the entire XP-67 program because the airframe of the second prototype was only 15% complete at the time. Army leaders decided to re-evaluate the program, ultimately deciding on 13 September that the XP-67 offered no significant advantages over existing fighters already in service.[9] The project was cancelled, the remains of the first prototype were scrapped, and work was halted on the second prototype.
Specifications (XP-67)
General characteristics
• Crew: one, pilot
• Length: 44 ft 9 in (13.64 m)
• Wingspan: 55 ft (16.76 m)
• Height: 15 ft 9 in (4.80 m)
• Wing area: 414 ft² (38.50 m²)
• Empty weight: 17,745 lb (8,050 kg)
• Loaded weight: 22,114 lb (10,030 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 25,400 lb (11,520 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Continental XI-1430-17/19 twelve cylinder inverted vee liquid-cooled engine, 1,350 hp (1,007 kW) each
Performance
• Maximum speed: 405 mph at 25,000 ft (650 km/h)
• Range: 2,385 mi (3,840 km)
• Service ceiling: 37,400 ft (11,400 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,600 ft/min (13 m/s)
• Wing loading: 53.4 lb/ft² (260 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.06 hp/lb (0.09 kW/kg)
Armament
• 6 × 37 mm (1.46 in) M4 cannons (never installed in prototype)


Macchi C.202


The Macchi C.202 Folgore (Italian "thunderbolt") was a World War II fighter aircraft, built by Macchi Aeronautica and operated by the Regia Aeronautica (RA; Royal (Italian) Air Force). The C.202 was a development of the earlier C.200 Saetta, with a more powerful German Daimler-Benz DB 601 engine. Produced in large numbers, the Saetta was the most important Italian fighter, operating on all fronts. [1]
Considered one of the most beautiful fighters to fly with wartime Axis forces, the Folgore was also an effective and deadly dogfighter.[2][3] "The Macchi C.202 was considered superior to both the Hurricane and the Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks it fought against, at first on the Libyan front, and the equal of the Mk V Spitfire. The C.202 was able to out-turn all three although the Spitfire had a superior rate of climb." [4]
The C.202 was flown by almost all the most successful Italian aces: Adriano Visconti, Luigi Gorrini, Franco Lucchini, Franco Bordoni Bisleri, Furio Niclot Doglio, among others. The Folgore's top scoring pilot was Sergente Maggiore Teresio Vittorio Martinoli. [3] Macchi aircraft designed by Mario Castoldi received the "C" letter in their model designation, hence the Folgore is referred to as the MC.202.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... ng_off.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... awings.png


General characteristics
• Crew: One
• Length: 8.85 m (29 ft 0.5 in)
• Wingspan: 10.58 m (34 ft 8.5 in)
• Height: 3.49 m (11 ft 5 in)
• Wing area: 16.82 m² (181.04 ft²)
• Empty weight: 2,491 kg (5,492 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 2,930 kg (6,460 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Daimler-Benz DB 601(Alfa Romeo R.A.1000 R.C.41I / R.C.44I) liquid-cooled supercharged inverted V-12, 1,175 hp (864 kW) at 2,500 rpm for takeoff
Performance
• Maximum speed: 600 km/h (324 knots, 372 mph) at 5,600 m (18,370 ft)
• Range: 765 km (413 nm, 475 mi)
• Service ceiling: 11,500 m (37,730 ft)
• Rate of climb: 18.1 m/s (3,563 ft/min)
Armament
• 2 × 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns in the engine cowling, 360/400 rpg
• 2 × 7.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns in the wings, 500 rpg
• 2 × 50, 100, or 160 kg (110, 220, or 350 lb) bombs
• 2 × 100 L (26.4 US gal; 22.0 imp gal) drop tanks

Fiat G.55


The Fiat G.55 Centauro (Italian: "Centaur") was a single-engine single-seat World War II fighter aircraft used by the Regia Aeronautica and the A.N.R. (Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana) in 1943-1945. It was designed and built in Turin by Fiat.
Along with the Reggiane Re.2005 and Macchi C.205, the Fiat G.55 was one of the three "Serie 5" Italian fighters built around the powerful Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... at_G55.jpg

By 1939, all the main Italian aircraft factories had begun designing a new series of fighter, with inline engines as opposed to the radial engines that powered the Italian fighters in early World War II. This process brought to the first generation of Italian fighters equipped with the Italian built copy of the Daimler-Benz DB 601 engine, the so-called Serie 1/2, whose most prominent representative was the Macchi C.202 Folgore. However, the process didn't stop, and already in 1941, designers shifted their attention on the new Daimler-Benz DB 605. Fiat designer Giuseppe Gabrielli, while experimenting a new version of his Fiat G.50 fighter, equipped with the DB 601, started a new design that was to be powered by the Daimler-Benz DB 605.
The first G.55 prototype flew on 30 April 1942,[2] piloted by commander Valentino Cus, immediately showing its good performance and flight characteristics. It was armed with one 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon, installed in the hub with 200 rounds, and four 12.7 mm (.5 in) Breda-SAFAT machine guns, two in the upper engine cowling and two in the lower part, with 300 rpg, in "Sottoserie O" airframes. This layout soon proved to be troublesome, both for rearming and for the servicing of the lower cowling mounted machine guns: for this reason, the two lower machine guns were removed, and replaced with a 20 mm MG 151/20 in each wing, in the later production series, the Serie 1.
The prototype flew to Guidonia, where it was put into trials against the other fighters of the so-called Serie 5 Macchi C.205V Veltro and the Reggiane Re.2005 Sagittario. The trials showed that the Centauro was the best performer overall, and it won the tender set by the Regia Aeronautica. The C.205V was good at low and medium altitudes, fast and with good diving characteristics but its performance dropped considerably over 8,000 m (26,250 ft), particularly in handling. The Re.2005 was the fastest at high altitudes, but suffered from structural weakness. The G.55 prototype reached 620 km/h (390 mph) full loaded, at 7,000 m (22,970 ft), a little less than expected, but had a strong airframe and was the best one regarding handling and stability at every altitude. The only negative assessment noted by G.55 pilots was the pronounced left-hand yawing at takeoff. This was partially remedied by a slight offset positioning of the vertical stabilizer to counteract engine torque.


By early 1943, increased Allied bombing raids over Italy had showed that there was no suitable high-altitude fighter to deal with them effectively. The Macchi C.202's performance decreased above 8,000 m (26,250 ft), the typical altitude of the bombers and the MC.202's armament of two 12.7 mm (.5 in) machine guns was hardly adequate to bring down the large American bombers. Of the Serie 5 fighters, the Centauro showed the best high altitude performance, due to its large wing surface area. Also its powerful armament, along with the generous ammunition supply (the G.55 had 250 rounds of 20 mm ammunition in the hub cannon as opposed to 120 rounds in the Re.2005) standardized in the production Serie I, was enough to bring down the US bombers.
The Regia Aeronautica commissioned the production of 1,800 G.55s, later raising that number to 2,400.[3] A pre-production series of 34 examples was ordered: these aircraft were mostly based on the prototype, with minor changes to improve its flying characteristics. They had a different weapon layout, as stated above, with the two lower cowling machine guns moved into the wings. Only 19 of the 34 commissioned aircraft were built, and six of them were converted to the Serie I standard at the factory.
The production version, named Serie I, had the standard armament of three 20 mm MG 151/20s and two 12.7 mm (.5 in) Breda-SAFAT machine guns, plus two underwing racks to bring either two bombs (up to 160 kg/350 lb) or two drop tanks (100 L/26 US Gal). At the date of the Armistice, 8 September 1943, 35 G.55s of all Series had been delivered , including three prototypes. Of these, only one flew to South Italy to join the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force. (A second G.55 was obtained by the Allies in 1944, when its pilot defected with an escaped RAF POW on his lap.[4] From that date on, the Centauro served with the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana (ANR), the air force of the fascist state created by Mussolini with the Germans' help in North Italy.
The FIAT factory, in Turin continued the production under German control, although it was heavily bombed on 25 April 1944, which destroyed 15 G.55s and resulted in production being dispersed.[4] The bombing and dispersal slowed production markedly, and production was ordered to be stopped by the German authorities in September 1944.[5] A total of 148 G.55s were delivered to the ANR and, when the factory was captured, 37 more examples were ready, while 73 were still on the production line, at various degree of completion.
Operational history
After initial testing in spring 1943, the G.55 prototype was detached to the 353rd Squadriglia (flight - very similar in composition to the Luftwaffe Staffel -) of XX Gruppo (squadron), 51st Stormo (wing), for operational trials. In May, the Squadriglia transferred to Sardinia, as a home defence unit with the G.55 having its baptism of fire on 5 June 1943, along with the C.202s and C.205s. In the same month, 12 G.55/0 were delivered to the IV Gruppo complementare, a reserve squadron assigned to support with aircraft and personnel the 51st, 52nd and 53rd Stormi and the CLXI Gruppo autonomo. Soon, these fighters were delivered to the 353rd Squadriglia, reassigned to Ciampino airport, near Rome to help in the defence of the capital. In July and August, the Squadriglia flew several missions over Rome, joined by the remaining flights of the XX Gruppo, that was to be equipped with the Centauro. In August, the first examples of the G.55/I were delivered by FIAT to the 372nd Squadriglia. In September, at the date of Armistice, all the existing G.55s were captured by the Germans or flown to North Italy by their crews.
The Centauro entered in service with the ANR: it was decided to produce 500 G.55s, of which 300 were G.55/I and 200 G.55/II Serie II, armed with five 20 mm MG 151/20s and no machine guns. Only 148 were delivered to the ANR units that, as the number of available G.55s dwindled, were progressively re-equipped with the Bf 109G, of various sub-versions, even though Italian pilots preferred the G.55 with cancellation of production being extremely unpopular.[5]
The ANR had two Gruppi Caccia terrestre (fighter squadrons), the first was initially equipped with the Macchi C.205, from November 1943 to May 1944, then, re-equipped with the G.55/I in June 1944 until it switched to the Bf 109G starting from November 1944. The 2nd Gruppo was the main unit equipped with the G.55, of which it had 70 examples from December 1943-August 1944, before being progressively re-equipped with the Bf 109G.
The first unit in ANR to be equipped with G.55 was the Squadriglia Montefusco, in November 1943, operating from Piemonte until 29 March 1944, when it was absorbed by the 1st Gruppo and transferred in Veneto. The 2nd Gruppo, with its three squadriglie (the 4th, Gigi Tre Osei, the 5th, Diavoli Rossi, and the 6th, Gamba di Ferro) operated near Milan and Varese until April 1944, then it was transferred near Parma and Pavia, then again near the Lake Garda (Brescia and Verona).
German interest
In December 1942, a technical commission of the Regia Aeronautica was invited by the Luftwaffe to test some German aircraft in Rechlin. The visit was part of a joint plan for the standardization of the Axis aircraft production. In the same time, some Luftwaffe officers visited Guidonia where they were particularly interested in the performance promised by the Serie 5 fighters. On 9 December, these impressions were discussed in a Luftwaffe staff meeting and raised the interest of Hermann Goering himself. In February 1943, a German test commission was sent in Italy to evaluate the new Italian fighters.[6] The commission was led by Oberst Petersen and was formed by Luftwaffe officers and pilots and by technical personnel, among them the Flugbaumeister Malz. The Germans also brought with them several aircraft including a Fw 190 A-5 and a Bf 109 G-4 for direct comparison tests in simulated dogfights.
The tests began 20 February 1943. The German commission was very impressed by the Italian aircraft, the G.55 in particular. In general, all the Serie 5 fighters were very good at low altitudes, but the G.55 was also competitive with its German opponents in term of speed and climb rate at high altitudes still maintaining superior handling characteristics. The definitive evaluation by the German commission was "excellent" for the G.55, "good" for the Re.2005 and "average" for the C.205. Oberst Petersen defined the G.55 "the best fighter in the Axis" and immediately telegraphed his impressions to Goering. After listening the recommendations of Petersen, Milch and Galland, a meeting held by Goering on 22 February 1943 voted to produce the G.55 in Germany.
German interest, apart from the good test results, derived also from the development possibilities they were able to see in the G.55 and in the Re.2005. Particularly, the G.55 was bigger and heavier and was considered a very good candidate for the new DB 603 engine, which was considered too large for the Bf 109's airframe. Other visits were organized in Germany during March and May 1943 in Rechlin and Berlin. The G.55 was again tested at Rechlin at the presence of Milch. Gabrielli and other FIAT personnel were invited to visit German factories and to discuss the evolution of the aircraft. The specifications of the German G55/II included the DB 603 engine, five 20 mm guns and a pressurized cockpit. The suggestion of weapons in the wings, limited to one 20 mm gun for each wing, originated the final configuration of the Serie I, while the DB 603 engine was successfully installed in the what became the G.56 prototype. As a concrete results of the German interest in the G.55, the Luftwaffe acquired three complete G.55/0 airframes (MM 91064-65-66) for evaluations and experiments giving in change three DB 603 engines and original machinery for the setup of other production line of the Italian copy of DB 605. Two of the Luftwaffe G.55s remained in Turin, at the Aeritalia plants, where they were used by German and Italian engineers to study the planned modifications and the possible optimizations to the production process. Later these two were converted to Serie I and delivered to the ANR. The third one was transferred to Rechlin for tests and experiments in Germany. The DB 603 engines were used to build the G.56 prototypes.
The interest in the G.55 program was still high after the Armistice: in October 1943, Kurt Tank, who previously personally tested a G.55 in Rechlin, having nothing but praise for the aircraft, was in Turin to discuss G.55 production. However, war events and the not yet optimized production process were the reasons for which the G.55 program was eventually abandoned by the Luftwaffe. Early production of G.55 required about 15,000 man-hours; while there were estimations to reduce the effort to about 9,000 man-hours, the German factories were able to assemble a Bf 109 in only 5,000 man-hours. The DB 603 were instead to be used in Tank's own Ta-152 C.


General characteristics
• Crew: 1
• Length: 9.37 m (30 ft 9 in)
• Wingspan: 11.85 m (38 ft 10 in)
• Height: 3.13 m (without the antenna mast) (10 ft 3¼ in)
• Wing area: 21.11 m² (227.23 ft²)
• Empty weight: 2,630 kg (5,798 lb)
• Loaded weight: 3,520 kg (7,760 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 3,718 kg (8,197 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Fiat R.A 1050 Tifone (license-built Daimler-Benz DB 605A-1) liquid-cooled inverted V-12, 1,085 kW (1,475 hp)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 623 km/h (337 kn, 387 mph) at 7,000 m (22,970 ft)
• Range: 1,200 km, or 1,650 km with two 100 l (26 US Gal) drop tanks under wings (545 nmi, 627 mi (or 891 nmi, 1,025 mi with drop tanks ))
• Service ceiling: 12,750 m (41,830 ft)
• Rate of climb: 5 min 50 sec at 6,000 m (Dimensione Cielo, Caccia Assalto 3 Edizioni Bizzarri, Roma 1972, pag. 15) ()
• Wing loading: 154.0 kg/m² (34.15 lb/ft²)
• Power/mass: 0.308 kW/kg (0.190 hp/lb)
• Climb to 7,000 m (22,970 ft): 8.57 min
Armament
G.55 Serie 0:
• 1 × 20 mm Mauser MG 151/20 cannon, engine-mounted (250 rounds)
• 4 × 12.7 mm (.5 in) Breda-SAFAT machine guns, two in the upper engine cowling, two in the lower cowling/wing roots (300 rpg)
G.55 Serie I:
• 3 × 20 mm MG 151/20s, one engine-mounted (250 rounds) and two wing-mounted (200 rpg)
• 2 × 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns in the upper engine cowling (300 rpg)
• Provision for 2 × 160 kg (353 lb) bombs on underwing racks (N.B. Egyptian and Syrian aircraft used Machine guns in the wings instead of cannon)


CAC Boomerang


The CAC Boomerang was a World War II fighter aircraft designed and manufactured in Australia between 1942 and 1945. The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation gave Boomerangs the model numbers CA-12, CA-13, CA-14 and CA-19. The Boomerang is significant as the first combat aircraft designed and built in Australia.[1]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... 408%29.jpg
The Pacific War began on 7 December 1941 with surprise attacks by the Empire of Japan on Pearl Harbor, Thailand, Malaya, and the Philippines. Within a few months, Japanese forces had conquered vast areas of the Pacific and South East Asia. During these campaigns, the ill-prepared Allied air forces in the Pacific suffered devastating losses.
Because of political and cultural ties between the United Kingdom and Australia, British manufacturers were the main source of RAAF aircraft. However, the British aircraft industry had long been hard-pressed to meet the needs of the RAF. Although United States companies had enormous aircraft manufacturing capacity, their output was now intended first and foremost for US air units. The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation came into its own: work re-commenced on an existing bomber design, the Woomera, and CAC also examined the possibility of designing and building fighters.
The main challenge was the fact that fighter aircraft had never been built in Australia. Only two military aircraft were in production at the time: the Bristol Beaufort twin-engined bomber and the CAC Wirraway armed trainer. Neither was a suitable basis for a state-of-the-art fighter, but the Beaufort did have reasonably powerful 1,200 horsepower (890 kW) Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp engines, which were being made under license at the CAC plant in Lidcombe, Sydney. As this was the engine that powered Grumman Wildcats used by the US Navy, it was a logical choice for a fighter.


The Wirraway trainer provided a starting point for the Boomerang's airframe. CAC general manager (and former chief designer) Lawrence Wackett and chief designer Fred David began detailed design work at the CAC factory in Fishermans Bend, Melbourne on 21 December 1941. David was a Jewish refugee from Austria, who had worked on aircraft designs for Heinkel in pre-Nazi Germany, as well as for Mitsubishi and Aichi in Japan.[2][3] As a result, he had a comprehensive knowledge of advanced contemporary fighter designs, including the Heinkel He 112 and A6M Zero.
The RAAF ordered 105 CA-12 (Mark I) Boomerangs on 2 February 1942, before the prototype first flew on 29 May 1942.
The Boomerang was a small fighter, designed with an emphasis on manoeuvrability. It had an overall length of just 7.7 metres (25.5 ft) and an 11 m (36 ft) wingspan. Although the original intention had been to use as many Wirraway components as possible, the final design was quite different, with shorter wings, a shorter, wood-sheathed, aluminium-framed fuselage, increased strength for combat stresses and a new centre section.
Test flights found that the CA-12 handled well. It was very well-armed, with two 20 mm cannon and four .303 calibre (7.7 mm) machine guns, all mounted in the short, thick wings. The Boomerang was also generously equipped with armour plating to protect the pilot. However, general performance was mediocre. Although lively at low level, performance fell away rapidly over 15,000 ft (4,600 m), and at the maximum speed of 265 knots (490 km/h) was not sufficient to make it an effective counter to the Zero. In addition, the best European fighters were reaching almost 350 knots (650 km/h), and even relatively sluggish fighters like the Wildcat and the Kittyhawk were much faster than the Boomerang.
As a result, by early 1942 the CA-14 variant was being designed, around the U.S.-built, 1,700 hp (1,268 kW) Wright Cyclone R-2600 engine, to address the CA-12's deficiencies in speed, climb and ceiling.[4] However, the 145 Cyclones ordered were not delivered as scheduled, and in mid-1942 Wackett authorised use of the 1,850 hp (1,380 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-2800, which could also be obtained from the CAC factory in Lidcombe.[4] However, the significantly greater weight of this powerplant led to an unacceptable risk of undercarriage failure.[4] The R-2800 engine would later be the basis of design work on the larger and more robust CAC CA-15, also known as the CAC Kangaroo. CAC eventually returned to the Twin Wasp, to which was added a General Electric B-2 turbo-supercharger mounted inside the rear part of the fuselage, new propellor gear, a geared cooling fan (influenced by reports on Focke-Wulfs captured in Europe) and a larger, squared-off tailfin and rudder.[4]
By July 1943, the significantly re-worked CA-14 prototype, now known as the CA-14A, had a top speed which was 25–30% better than the CA-12, and an operational ceiling which was 4,000 ft (1,200 m) higher.[4] Overall, it compared favourably with the Spitfire Vc and early model Thunderbolts and Mustangs.[4] By this time, however, British-built Spitfires had filled the interceptor role and Mustangs had been ordered, to fill the bomber escort, air superiority and close air support roles.[4] In addition, work had begun on the all-new CA-15, also known as the Kangaroo. Consequently, production Boomerangs were never fitted with superchargers.
Boomerangs underwent various improvements and modifications, which were grouped under three CAC designations: CA-12, CA-13 and CA-19. A total of 250 aircraft of these marques were built: 105 CA-12s, (RAAF serial numbers A46-1/105), 95 CA-13s (A46-106/200) and 49 CA-19s (A46-201/249).[5] The CA-13 and CA-19 are sometimes known collectively as the Boomerang Mark II.
The sole CA-14A was used for research by No. 1 Aircraft Performance Unit RAAF, and was also seconded to the Bureau of Meteorology for a period after the war ended.[6]

General characteristics
• Crew: 1
• Length: 25 ft 6 in (7.77 m)
• Wingspan: 36 ft 0 in (10.97 m)
• Height: 9 ft 7 in (2.92 m)
• Wing area: 225 ft² (20.9 m²)
• Empty weight: 5,373 lb (2,437 kg)
• Loaded weight: 7,699 lb (3,492 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp radial engine, 1,200 hp (895 kW)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 305 mph (265 knots, 491 km/h) at 15,500 ft (4,730 m)
• Range: 930 mi (810 nm, 1,500 km)
• Service ceiling: 29,000 ft (8,800 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,940 ft/min (14.9 m/s)
• Wing loading: 34.2 lb/ft² (167.1 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (256 W/kg)
Armament
• Guns:
o 2× 20 mm (0.787 in) Hispano or CAC cannons
o 4× 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns
• Bombs: Could be fitted when the large drop tank was not carried

Type : rail gun type
Damage Rail gun 5d4 burst light rail gun, 5d6 each burst for medium rail gun, burst 1d4 x10 or 1d6x10 or 2d4x10(rare commonly is used as a cannon) or 1d10 x10 ( common or 2d6x10 each (very rare, commonly is used as a cannon) heavy common per rail gun
Range 3 miles
R.O.F 5 short burst, 10 medium burst 15
Payload as per machine gun
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NMI
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by NMI »

I would like to see these written/typed out in Rifts/Palladium format along with maybe some fluff as to why these particular craft were chosen, etc... stats for whatever weapons they are armed with, etc... instead of just wikipedia fluff :D

Other then that, I like your idea.
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by ZINO »

Mr. Deific NMI wrote:I would like to see these written/typed out in Rifts/Palladium format along with maybe some fluff as to why these particular craft were chosen, etc... stats for whatever weapons they are armed with, etc... instead of just wikipedia fluff :D

Other then that, I like your idea.



I am honor by your statement, Thank you
I submitted how to make just about any war bird but no magic yet it can be added if wish ( well over a year a draft)........ i still waiting for their statement ......and waiting ..........and waiting....so it could post it
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by taalismn »

UGH!
You beat me to the Boomerang...I had a TW version aimed at the Australian market in mind! :D

I do have a TW XP-Bat nearing completion, though...
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by ZINO »

taalismn wrote:UGH!
You beat me to the Boomerang...I had a TW version aimed at the Australian market in mind! :D

I do have a TW XP-Bat nearing completion, though...



my version is using only technology i am so sorry
PLEASE POST IT YOU ALWAYS MAKE AWESOME RPG DATA
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by Aramanthus »

Nice selection of fighters. And you covered the majority of the American ones. Except for the one that was operated by us and our allies. It ended up having America's Top fighter aces from WW2 piloting them. They were also responsible for bringing the Japanese Admiral Yamamoto down during the pacific campaign. And that missing Fighter is the P-38 Lightning!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-38_Lightning

It is about the P-38.
Last edited by Aramanthus on Thu Jul 02, 2009 2:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by ZINO »

nice !!!!!!!
Thanks
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by taalismn »

At least I got to the Sunderland flying boats...You can take the Dorniers
But the Blohm und Voss Bv-141 is MINE! :D :D :D
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by ZINO »

ZINO wrote:
taalismn wrote:UGH!
You beat me to the Boomerang...I had a TW version aimed at the Australian market in mind! :D

I do have a TW XP-Bat nearing completion, though...



my version is using only technology i am so sorry
PLEASE POST IT YOU ALWAYS MAKE AWESOME RPG DATA




HEY ARE YOU GOING TO POST IT ? PLEASE DO TW XP-Bat !!!!!!!!!!!
let your YES be YES and your NO be NO but plz no maybe
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by glitterboy2098 »

ZINO wrote:they just came set up a lagre complexs in north america , germany , south america ,ussria and other loctions . but NO one know better because they all are under diffrent names and are acting as competives ,but in really are one company . they looked for the local persoanl and trained them ( humans) and start sell their porduct and put they in show case and are making a killing . unlike N.E company they have avoided all the pitfalls . lazo , northern gun , all the power bloc except the coalition and NGR .they started with WW2 plane and up
here theyare all



first, how did this company manage to set up factories on all continents, and manage to keep them co-ordinated? most companies starting out can barely boast a single factory, much less a dozen, and when nations like the CS and the NGR have a hard time communcating across their own continents, much less across oceans, how can this group do so?

second, why would you build copies of historical craft using advanced tech, when for the same development effort, you could make completely new designs using distinctive asthetics?

third, why should someone buy one of these products, when for similar prices one could get a northern gun, wellington industries, triax, or similar product that carries a market wide reputation for quality?
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by taalismn »

Eccentric Alien Intelligence who likes to make the equivalent of paper planes..only with real live pilots in them?
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by ZINO »

taalismn wrote:At least I got to the Sunderland flying boats...You can take the Dorniers
But the Blohm und Voss Bv-141 is MINE! :D :D :D

yes master . i will obey
let your YES be YES and your NO be NO but plz no maybe
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by ZINO »

first, how did this company manage to set up factories on all continents, and manage to keep them co-ordinated? most companies starting out can barely boast a single factory, much less a dozen, and when nations like the CS and the NGR have a hard time communcating across their own continents, much less across oceans, how can this group do so?


one possible answer might be a

Eccentric Alien Intelligence who likes to make the equivalent of paper planes..only with real live pilots in them?
sorry had to use one

another dimensional humans from other plane of exist

or a GM pick one

second, why would you build copies of historical craft using advanced tech, when for the same development effort, you could make completely new designs using distinctive asthetics?


tell a human or a man of arms which plane they would love to learn to fly and use . even pilots wold i would love to that xyz plane . and is able to shot down a skycycle , make better to turn ratio and have a boat load of weapons aim at one target or getting many targets . and giving a hell of hurt to that target or targets robot or other. remember simple rule
K.I.SS

( k.eep i.t s.imple and s.traight to the point) .also tell who would WANT to learn and fly and fight in these old wars birds i ask sooo many student boy and girls , adult also wouldn't mind either( I WISH I COULD ) ,now imagine a mercenary company do air to ground support .

third, why should someone buy one of these products,

one is money low cost to make , maintain and able to fight
when for similar prices one could get a northern gun, wellington industries

one )again $$$$ cost runs are low and still do the job
second) know what work and fix it weakness ,making it better and it is from the past earth history we made better and cheaper
third
, triax,

to far away expensive as hell

or similar product that carries a market wide reputation for quality



also the reputation it made in the past and made better in rifts earth , to any who know that if it is not broken don't fix just make it better , deadlier and improved upon it ( look at the hornet and super hornet ) . the USA used only WW II plane in Korea , Vietnam, look at the south America wars in 1970 and 1980 . look at a private company making P51 NOW !!!!!!!! they or that plane made a reputation then and now .look at the history channel or military channel as a group of engineers make a WWII plane that all the sheath ideas begin put in place .because it HAD A REPUTATION of doing the job . it did then and can do it again on rifts earth add mini radar ,chaff , and other MDCcomponents and MDC allies take it for a spin .and look what man of arms will tell ,cheap, easy fix and maintain and get me in and out plus new features and kinetic resistance ( taking half damage form rail gun or projectiles weapons will give an advantage to rally high tech )

and lastly your not the only which end up going in circles :thwak: ahhhh that hurts :D
THEN WHY .well ......why NOT
if it work use it , BUT THE MAIN REASON IT IS :D FUN TO PLAY :D

thanks if one want add something please i love your post glitterboy2098 , thank so much asking why and if someone add post the good the bad and the ugly thanks again glitterboy2098 :ok: your a real help tho these posts

PS glitterboy2098 the intro is just a draft sorry i didn't mention it in the beginning sorry :(
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by taalismn »

Besides...I like to cast Spinning Blades on my props....Great for flying through swarms of ickies... :D
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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Arnie100
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by Arnie100 »

How's about the F7F Tigercat or the F8F Bearcat?
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by taalismn »

Give him time..he's probably just catching his breath...
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by ZINO »

i sorry i could post anything recent lost a co-worker he always told to put a post idea of rifts war birds and also to submitted to palladium books about a a Little of a year and 6 months ago of getting any war birds in any game setting ( except in PFRPGS) which i am still waiting



but since you want to post or want me to post a warbird ask away and enjoy but most have guns or special features let me know from Joel (AKA ZINO)




F8F Bearcat


The Grumman F8F Bearcat (affectionately called "Bear") was an American single-engine naval fighter aircraft of the 1940s. It went on to serve into the mid-20th Century in the United States Navy and other air forces, and would be the company's final piston engined fighter aircraft.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... earcat.jpg



Designed for the interceptor fighter role, the design team's aim was to create the smallest, lightest fighter that could fit around the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine (carried over from the F6F Hellcat). Compared to its predecessor, the Bearcat was 20% lighter, had a 30% better rate of climb and was 50 mph (80 km/h) faster. It was also considerably smaller in size, as it was designed to be operated from small escort aircraft carriers, something the big Hellcat rarely did. Thus the F8F Bearcat was intended mainly as a replacement[dubious – discuss] for the obsolete FM2 Wildcat,[citation needed] still the mainstay fighter of the many wartime escort carriers.
In comparison with the Vought F4U Corsair, the initial Bearcat (F8F-1) was marginally slower but was more maneuverable and climbed more quickly. Its huge 12 ft 4 in Aero Products four-bladed propeller required a long landing gear (made even longer by the mid-fuselage position of the wing), giving the Bearcat an easily-recognized, "nose-up" profile. The hydraulically operated undercarriage used an articulated trunnion which extende the length of the oleo legs to lengthen when down; as the undercarriage retracted the legs were shortened, enabling them to fit into a wheel well which was entirely in the wing. An additional benefit of the inward retracting units was a wide track, which helped counter propeller torque on takeoff and gave the F8F good ground and carrier deck handling.[1]. For the first time in a production Navy fighter, a bubble canopy offered 360° visibility.
The Bearcat concept was inspired by the early 1943 evaluation of a captured Focke-Wulf Fw 190 by Grumman test pilots and engineering staff.[2] After flying the Fw 190, Grumman test pilot Bob Hall wrote a report directed to President Leroy Grumman, who then personally laid out the specifications for Design 58, the successor to the Hellcat. Design 58 closely emulated the design philosophy of the German fighter, although no part of the FW 190 was copied. The F8F Bearcat stemmed from Design 58 [1] with the primary missions of outperforming highly maneuverable late-model Japanese fighter aircraft such as the A6M5 Zero.[3] A role which later developed was that defending the fleet against incoming airborne suicide (kamikaze) attacks.[4]


he target loaded weight of 8,750 lb/3,969 kg (derived from the land-based German aircraft) was essentially impossible to achieve as the structure of the new fighter had to be made strong enough for aircraft carrier landings. Structurally the fuselage used flush riveting as well as spot welding, with a heavy gauge 302W aluminium alloy skin.[1] Armor protection was provided for the pilot, engine and oil cooler; weight saving measures include restricting the internal fuel capacity to 160 gal (606 l) [1](later 183)[5] and limiting the fixed armament to four .50 cal Browning M2/AN machine guns, two in each wing.
As a weight-saving concept the designers came up with detachable wingtips; if the g-force exceeded 7.5 g then the tips would be allowed to snap off, leaving a perfectly flyable aircraft still capable of carrier landing. While this worked very well under carefully controlled conditions in flight and on the ground, in the field, where aircraft were repetitively stressed by landing on carriers and since the wings were slightly less carefully made in the factories, there was a possibility that only one wingtip would break away with the possibility of the aircraft crashing.[6] This was replaced with an explosives system to blow the wings off together, which also worked well, however this ended when a ground technician died due to accidental triggering. In the end the wings were reinforced and the aircraft limited to 7.5 g.[7]
Grumman's project pilot for the Bearcat series was legendary test pilot Corky Meyer, who also had this role on the F6F Hellcat, F7F Tigercat, F9F Panther, XF10F-1 Jaguar, and the F11F Tiger series. Meyer was head of Grumman Flight Operations at Edwards Air Force Base from 1952–56.[8][9]
Another famous name is associated with the type; when asked his favorite aircraft to fly, Neil Armstrong's immediate and unequivocal answer was "Bearcat". Armstrong had flown the type in 1950 during his Navy Advanced Training, field qualifying in it at age 19.[10]


Air racing


Bearcats have long been popular in air racing. A stock Bearcat flown by Mira Slovak and sponsored by Bill Stead won the first Reno Air Race in 1964. Rare Bear, a highly-modified F8F owned by Lyle Shelton, went on to dominate the event for decades, often competing with Daryl Greenamyer, another famous racer with victories in his own Bearcat ("Conquest I") and holder of a propeller-driven aircraft world speed record in it. Rare Bear also set many performance records, including the 3 km World Speed Record for piston-driven aircraft (528.33 mph/850.26 km/h), set in 1989), and a new time-to-climb record (3,000 m in 91.9 seconds, set in 1972, breaking the 1946 record cited above).

General characteristics
• Crew: 1 pilot
• Length: 28 ft 3 in (8.61 m)
• Wingspan: 35 ft 10 in (10.92 m)
• Height: 13 ft 9 in (4.21 m)
• Wing area: ft² (m²)
• Empty weight: 7,070 lb (3,207 kg)
• Loaded weight: 9,600 lb (4,354 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 12,947 lb (5,873 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-34W "Double Wasp" two-row radial engine, 2,100 hp (1,567 kW)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 421 mph (366 kn, 678 km/h)
• Range: 1,105 mi (1,778 km)
• Service ceiling: 38,700 ft (11,796 m)
• Rate of climb: 4,570 ft/min (23.2 m/s)
• Power/mass: 0.22 hp/lb (360 W/kg)
Armament
• Guns: 4 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns (Four 20mm M3 cannon F8F-1B)
• Rockets: 4× 5 in (127 mm) unguided rockets
• Bombs: 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs
Data from F8F Bearcat in action[16]
General characteristics
• Length: 28 ft 3 in (8.61 m)
• Wingspan: 35 ft 10 in (10.92 m)
• Height: 13 ft 10 in (4.21 m)
• Empty weight: 7,650 lb (3,207 kg)
• Loaded weight: 10,200 lb (4,627 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 13,460 lb (6,105 kg)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 455 mph (405 kn, 750 km/h)
• Range: 1,105 mi (1,778 km)
• Service ceiling: 40,800 ft (12,436 m)
• Rate of climb: 6,300 ft/min (32.0 m/s)
Armament
• Guns: 4 × 20 mm (.79 in) M3 cannon
• Rockets: 4× 5 in (127 mm) unguided rockets
• Bombs: 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs



F6F Hellcat


The Grumman F6F Hellcat was a carrier-based fighter aircraft developed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat in United States Navy service. Although the F6F bore a family resemblance to the Wildcat, it was a completely new design powered by a 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800. Some tagged it as the "Wildcat's big brother".[2] The Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair were the primary USN fighters during the second half of World War II.
The Hellcat was the first US Navy fighter for which the design took into account lessons from combat with the Japanese Zero.[3] The Hellcat proved to be the most successful aircraft in naval history, destroying 5,271 aircraft[4] while in service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps (5,163 in the Pacific and eight more during the invasion of Southern France, plus 52 with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm during World War II.)[5] Postwar, the Hellcat aircraft was systematically phased out of front line service, but remained in service as late as 1954 as a night-fighter in composite squadrons.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... ellcat.jpg

Grumman was working on a successor to the F4F Wildcat well before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. While the F4F was a capable fighter, early air battles revealed the Japanese A6M Zero was more maneuverable and possessed a better rate of climb than the F4F. The F4F did have some advantages over the Zero. Wildcats were able to absorb a tremendous amount of damage compared to the Zero, and had better armament. The F4F was also much faster in a dive than the Zero, an advantage Wildcat pilots used frequently to elude attacking Zeros.
These advantages carried over into the F6F and, combined with other improvements, created a fighter that outclassed the Zero almost completely. The contract for the prototype XF6F-1 was signed on 30 June 1941. The F6F was originally to be given the Wright R-2600 Cyclone engine of 1,700 hp (1,268 kW), but based on combat experience of F4F Wildcat and Zero encounters, Grumman decided to further improve their new fighter to overcome the A6M Zero's dominance in the Pacific theater.[2] Grumman installed the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) estimating a 25% increase in performance would result.[2] The first Cyclone-equipped prototype (02981) flew on 26 June 1942 while the first Double Wasp-equipped aircraft, the XF6F-3 (02982) had its first flight on 30 July 1942.
Proposed at the same time as the first Hellcat prototypes, the XF6F-2 incorporated a turbo-supercharger, but performance gains were only slight and until fleet demands for improvements in speed arose, this variant, along with the two-speed supercharger-equipped XF6F-3, languished. However, later F6F-4 and F6F-5 variants did benefit from these initial development programs.
Like the Wildcat, the Hellcat was designed for ease of manufacture and ability to withstand significant damage. A total of 212 lb (96 kg) of cockpit armor was fitted to aid pilot survival, as well as a bullet-resistant windshield and armor around the engine oil tank and oil cooler.[7] Self-sealing fuel tanks further reduced susceptibility to fire and often allowed damaged aircraft to return home. The U.S. Navy's all-time leading ace, Captain David McCampbell USN (Ret) scored all his 34 victories in the Hellcat. He once described the F6F as "...an outstanding fighter plane. It performed well, was easy to fly and was a stable gun platform. But what I really remember most was that it was rugged and easy to maintain."[8]
The first production aircraft off the line, designated F6F-3s, flew on 3 October 1942 with the type reaching operational readiness with VF-9 on USS Essex in February 1943.[7]
Two night fighter subvariants of the F6F-3 were also developed. The F6F-3E, converted from standard -3 frames, featured the AN/APS-4 radar in a fairing in the starboard wing. The later F6F-3N, first seen in July 1943, was fitted with the AN/APS-6 radar in a similar fairing. By November 1943, Hellcat night fighters had seen their first action.[9] Fitting AN/APS-6 radar fairings to F6F-5s resulted in the night fighter F6F-5N, and a small number of standard F6F-5s were also fitted with camera equipment for reconnaissance duties as the F6F-5P.[10]
Instead of the Wildcat's narrow-track undercarriage retracting into the fuselage requiring awkward hand-cranking by the pilot, the Hellcat had hydraulically-actuated undercarriage struts set wider and retracting backward, twisting through 90° into the wings,[11] exactly as the Chance Vought F4U Corsair's landing gear did. The wing was low-mounted instead of mid-mounted and folded the same way as the later versions of the Wildcat, allowing the Hellcat to take on a compact, tucked-in appearance on a flight deck.[12]
Standard armament on the F6F consisted of six .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning air-cooled machine guns with 400 rpg; later aircraft gained three hardpoints to carry a total bombload in excess of 2,000 lb (900 kg). The center hardpoint also had the ability to carry a single 150 gal (568 l) disposable drop tank. Six 5 in (127 mm) HVARs (High Velocity Aircraft Rocket)[13] could be carried; three under each wing.[14]
The next and most common variant, the F6F-5, featured improvements such as a more powerful R-2800-10W engine housed in a slightly more streamlined engine cowling, spring-loaded control tabs on the ailerons, deletion of the rear-view windows behind the main canopy, an improved, clear view windscreen with a flat armored-glass front panel replacing the curved perspex panel and internal armor glass screen and numerous other minor advances.[11][15] Another improvement in the F6F-5 was the availability of more potent armament than the standard six .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns. Trials with cannon-armed Hellcats were not followed up by a production version; although all F6F-5s could carry an armament mix of a pair of 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano cannon, one mounted in each of the inboard gun bays, with a minimum of 220 rpg, along with two pairs of .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns, with 400 rpg, this configuration was only used on many later F6F-5N night fighters.[16]
Two F6F-5s were fitted with the 18-cylinder 2,100 hp (1,567 kW) Pratt and Whitney R-2800-18W two-stage blower radial engine which was also used by the F4U-4 Corsair. The new Hellcat variant was fitted with a four-bladed propeller and was called the XF6F-6. The aircraft proved to be the best performer in the series with a top speed of 417 mph (671 km/h).[11] The war ended before this variant could be mass-produced.[17]
The last Hellcat rolled out in November 1945, the total production figure being 12,275, of which 11,000 had been built in just two years.[18] This impressive production rate was credited to the sound original design, which required little modification once production was underway.




http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... n_1943.jpg

General characteristics
• Crew: 1
• Length: 33 ft 7 in (10.24 m)
• Wingspan: 42 ft 10 in (13.06 m)
• Height: 13 ft 1 in (3.99 m)
• Wing area: 334 ft² (31 m²)
• Airfoil: NACA 23015.6 mod root; NACA 23009 tip
• Empty weight: 9,238 lb (4,190 kg)
• Loaded weight: 12,598 lb (5,714 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 15,415 lb (6,990 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10W "Double Wasp" two-row radial engine with a two-speed two-stage supercharger, 2,000 hp (1,491 kW[37])
• Propellers: 3-blade Hamilton Standard
o Propeller diameter: 13 ft 1 in (4.0 m)
• * Fuel capacity: 250 gal (946 L) internal; up to 3 × 150 gal (568 L) external drop tanks
• Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0211
• Drag area: 7.05 ft² (0.65 m²)
• Aspect ratio: 5.5
Performance
• Maximum speed: 330 kn (380 mph, 610 km/h)
• Stall speed: 73 kn (84 mph, 135 km/h)
• Combat radius: 820 nmi (945 mi, 1,520 km)
• Ferry range: 1,330 nmi (1,530 mi, 2,460 km)
• Service ceiling: 37,300 ft (11,370 m)
• Rate of climb: 3,500 ft/min (17.8 m/s)
• Wing loading: 37.7 lb/ft² (184 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (260 W/kg)
• Time-to-altitude: 7.7 min to 20,000 ft (6,100 m)
• Lift-to-drag ratio: 12.2
• Takeoff roll: 799 ft (244 m)
Armament
• Guns:
o either 6× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, with 400 rpg, (All F6F-3, and most F6F-5)
o or 2 × 20 mm (.79 in) cannon, with 225 rpg
o and 4 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns with 400 rpg (F6F-5N only)
• Rockets:
o 6 × 5 in (127 mm) HVARs or
o 2 × 11¾ in (298 mm) Tiny Tim unguided rockets
• Bombs: up to 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) full load, including:
o Bombs or Torpedoes:(Fuselage mounted on centreline rack)
 1 × 2,000 lb (907 kg) bomb or
 1 × Mk.13-3 torpedo;
o Underwing bombs: (F6F-5 had two additional weapons racks either side of fuselage on wing centre-section)
 2 × 1,000 lb (450 kg) or
 4 × 500 lb (227 kg)
 8 × 250 lb (110 kg)





F7F Tigercat


The Grumman F7F Tigercat was the first twin-engined fighter aircraft to enter service with the United States Navy. Designed for the new Midway-class aircraft carriers, the aircraft were too large to operate from earlier decks. Although delivered to United States Marine Corps (USMC) combat units before the end of World War II, the Tigercat did not see combat service in that war. Most F7Fs ended up in land-based service, as attack aircraft or night fighters; only the later F7F-4N was certified for carrier service. They saw service in the Korean War and were withdrawn from service in 1954.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... gercat.jpg

The contract for the prototype XF7F-1 was signed on 30 June 1941. Grumman's aim was to produce a plane that out-performed and out-gunned all existing fighter aircraft, and that had an auxiliary ground attack capability.[1] Armament was heavy: four 20 mm cannons and four 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns, as well as underwing and under-fuselage hardpoints for bombs and torpedoes. Performance met expectations too; the F7F Tigercat was one of the highest-performance piston-engined fighters, with a top speed well in excess of the US Navy's single-engined aircraft—71 mph faster than a F6F Hellcat at sea level.[2] The opinion of Capt. Fred M. Trapnell, one of the Navy's premier test pilots, was that "It's the best damn fighter I've ever flown."[3]The Grumman F7F was originally named the "Tomcat" but this name was rejected as it was considered at the time too suggestive.[4] The name would much later be used for the Grumman F-14.


All this was bought at the cost of heavy weight and a high landing speed, but what caused the aircraft to fail carrier suitability trials was poor directional stability with only one engine operational, as well as problems with the tail-hook design.[5] Therefore, the initial production series was only used from land bases by the USMC, as night fighters with APS-6 radar.[6] At first, they were single-seater F7F-1N aircraft, but after the 34th production aircraft, a second seat for a radar operator was added; these planes were designated F7F-2N.
The next version produced, the F7F-3 was modified to correct the issues that caused the aircraft to fail carrier acceptance and this version was again trialled on the USS Shangri-La (CV-38). A wing failure on a heavy landing caused the failure of this carrier qualification too. F7F-3 aircraft were produced in day fighter, night fighter and photo-reconnaissance versions.[7]
A final version, the F7F-4N, was extensively rebuilt for additional strength and stability, and did pass carrier qualification, but only 12 were built.[7]


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... gercat.jpg



Beginning in 1949, F7Fs were flown to the US Navy storage facility at Litchfield Park in Arizona. [8]Although the vast majority of the airframes were eventually scrapped, a number of examples were purchased as surplus. The surviving Tigercats were primarily used as water bombers to fight forest fires in the 1960s and 1970s. A total of 12 examples exist today with three F7Fs remaining airworthy.[9]
As warbird racers, in 1976, Robert Forbes qualified an F7F-3N but did not race at Reno. Another modified F7F-3N Tigercat, (Bu No. 80503) "Big Bossman" owned by Mike Brown presently competes in the national air racing circuit.[10]
At least three F7F Tigercats are preserved in aviation museums:
• F7F-3 (Serial no. 80373/N7654C) National Museum of Naval Aviation, NAS Pensacola, Florida
• F7F-3 (Serial no. 80410) Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, Arizona
• F7F-3P (Serial no. 80390/N700F) Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum, Kalamazoo, Michigan


General characteristics
• Crew: 2 (pilot, radar operator)
• Length: 45 ft 4 in (13.8 m)
• Wingspan: 51 ft 6 in (15.7 m)
• Height: 16 ft 7 in (5.1 m)
• Wing area: 455 ft² (42.3 m²)
• Empty weight: 16,270 lb (7,380 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 25,720 lb (11,670 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-34W "Double Wasp" radial engines, 2,100 hp (1,566 kW) each
Performance
• Maximum speed: 460 mph (400 knots, 740 km/h)
• Range: 1,200 mi (1,000 nmi, 1,900 km)
• Service ceiling: 40,400 ft (12,300 m)
• Rate of climb: 4,530 ft/min (1,381 m/min)
Armament
• Guns:
o 4 × 20 mm (0.79 in) M2 cannon
o 4 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun
• Bombs:
o 2 × 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs under wings or
o 1 × torpedo under fuselage
Avionics
• AN/APS-19 radar
let your YES be YES and your NO be NO but plz no maybe
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ZINO
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by ZINO »

i sorry i could post anything recent lost a co-worker he always told to put a post idea of rifts war birds and also to submitted to palladium books about a a Little of a year and 6 months ago of getting any war birds in any game setting ( except in PFRPGS) which i am still waiting



but since you want to post or want me to post a warbird ask away and enjoy but most have guns or special features let me know from Joel (AKA ZINO)




F8F Bearcat


The Grumman F8F Bearcat (affectionately called "Bear") was an American single-engine naval fighter aircraft of the 1940s. It went on to serve into the mid-20th Century in the United States Navy and other air forces, and would be the company's final piston engined fighter aircraft.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... earcat.jpg



Designed for the interceptor fighter role, the design team's aim was to create the smallest, lightest fighter that could fit around the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine (carried over from the F6F Hellcat). Compared to its predecessor, the Bearcat was 20% lighter, had a 30% better rate of climb and was 50 mph (80 km/h) faster. It was also considerably smaller in size, as it was designed to be operated from small escort aircraft carriers, something the big Hellcat rarely did. Thus the F8F Bearcat was intended mainly as a replacement[dubious – discuss] for the obsolete FM2 Wildcat,[citation needed] still the mainstay fighter of the many wartime escort carriers.
In comparison with the Vought F4U Corsair, the initial Bearcat (F8F-1) was marginally slower but was more maneuverable and climbed more quickly. Its huge 12 ft 4 in Aero Products four-bladed propeller required a long landing gear (made even longer by the mid-fuselage position of the wing), giving the Bearcat an easily-recognized, "nose-up" profile. The hydraulically operated undercarriage used an articulated trunnion which extende the length of the oleo legs to lengthen when down; as the undercarriage retracted the legs were shortened, enabling them to fit into a wheel well which was entirely in the wing. An additional benefit of the inward retracting units was a wide track, which helped counter propeller torque on takeoff and gave the F8F good ground and carrier deck handling.[1]. For the first time in a production Navy fighter, a bubble canopy offered 360° visibility.
The Bearcat concept was inspired by the early 1943 evaluation of a captured Focke-Wulf Fw 190 by Grumman test pilots and engineering staff.[2] After flying the Fw 190, Grumman test pilot Bob Hall wrote a report directed to President Leroy Grumman, who then personally laid out the specifications for Design 58, the successor to the Hellcat. Design 58 closely emulated the design philosophy of the German fighter, although no part of the FW 190 was copied. The F8F Bearcat stemmed from Design 58 [1] with the primary missions of outperforming highly maneuverable late-model Japanese fighter aircraft such as the A6M5 Zero.[3] A role which later developed was that defending the fleet against incoming airborne suicide (kamikaze) attacks.[4]


he target loaded weight of 8,750 lb/3,969 kg (derived from the land-based German aircraft) was essentially impossible to achieve as the structure of the new fighter had to be made strong enough for aircraft carrier landings. Structurally the fuselage used flush riveting as well as spot welding, with a heavy gauge 302W aluminium alloy skin.[1] Armor protection was provided for the pilot, engine and oil cooler; weight saving measures include restricting the internal fuel capacity to 160 gal (606 l) [1](later 183)[5] and limiting the fixed armament to four .50 cal Browning M2/AN machine guns, two in each wing.
As a weight-saving concept the designers came up with detachable wingtips; if the g-force exceeded 7.5 g then the tips would be allowed to snap off, leaving a perfectly flyable aircraft still capable of carrier landing. While this worked very well under carefully controlled conditions in flight and on the ground, in the field, where aircraft were repetitively stressed by landing on carriers and since the wings were slightly less carefully made in the factories, there was a possibility that only one wingtip would break away with the possibility of the aircraft crashing.[6] This was replaced with an explosives system to blow the wings off together, which also worked well, however this ended when a ground technician died due to accidental triggering. In the end the wings were reinforced and the aircraft limited to 7.5 g.[7]
Grumman's project pilot for the Bearcat series was legendary test pilot Corky Meyer, who also had this role on the F6F Hellcat, F7F Tigercat, F9F Panther, XF10F-1 Jaguar, and the F11F Tiger series. Meyer was head of Grumman Flight Operations at Edwards Air Force Base from 1952–56.[8][9]
Another famous name is associated with the type; when asked his favorite aircraft to fly, Neil Armstrong's immediate and unequivocal answer was "Bearcat". Armstrong had flown the type in 1950 during his Navy Advanced Training, field qualifying in it at age 19.[10]


Air racing


Bearcats have long been popular in air racing. A stock Bearcat flown by Mira Slovak and sponsored by Bill Stead won the first Reno Air Race in 1964. Rare Bear, a highly-modified F8F owned by Lyle Shelton, went on to dominate the event for decades, often competing with Daryl Greenamyer, another famous racer with victories in his own Bearcat ("Conquest I") and holder of a propeller-driven aircraft world speed record in it. Rare Bear also set many performance records, including the 3 km World Speed Record for piston-driven aircraft (528.33 mph/850.26 km/h), set in 1989), and a new time-to-climb record (3,000 m in 91.9 seconds, set in 1972, breaking the 1946 record cited above).

General characteristics
• Crew: 1 pilot
• Length: 28 ft 3 in (8.61 m)
• Wingspan: 35 ft 10 in (10.92 m)
• Height: 13 ft 9 in (4.21 m)
• Wing area: ft² (m²)
• Empty weight: 7,070 lb (3,207 kg)
• Loaded weight: 9,600 lb (4,354 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 12,947 lb (5,873 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-34W "Double Wasp" two-row radial engine, 2,100 hp (1,567 kW)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 421 mph (366 kn, 678 km/h)
• Range: 1,105 mi (1,778 km)
• Service ceiling: 38,700 ft (11,796 m)
• Rate of climb: 4,570 ft/min (23.2 m/s)
• Power/mass: 0.22 hp/lb (360 W/kg)
Armament
• Guns: 4 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns (Four 20mm M3 cannon F8F-1B)
• Rockets: 4× 5 in (127 mm) unguided rockets
• Bombs: 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs
Data from F8F Bearcat in action[16]
General characteristics
• Length: 28 ft 3 in (8.61 m)
• Wingspan: 35 ft 10 in (10.92 m)
• Height: 13 ft 10 in (4.21 m)
• Empty weight: 7,650 lb (3,207 kg)
• Loaded weight: 10,200 lb (4,627 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 13,460 lb (6,105 kg)
Performance
• Maximum speed: 455 mph (405 kn, 750 km/h)
• Range: 1,105 mi (1,778 km)
• Service ceiling: 40,800 ft (12,436 m)
• Rate of climb: 6,300 ft/min (32.0 m/s)
Armament
• Guns: 4 × 20 mm (.79 in) M3 cannon
• Rockets: 4× 5 in (127 mm) unguided rockets
• Bombs: 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs



F6F Hellcat


The Grumman F6F Hellcat was a carrier-based fighter aircraft developed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat in United States Navy service. Although the F6F bore a family resemblance to the Wildcat, it was a completely new design powered by a 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800. Some tagged it as the "Wildcat's big brother".[2] The Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair were the primary USN fighters during the second half of World War II.
The Hellcat was the first US Navy fighter for which the design took into account lessons from combat with the Japanese Zero.[3] The Hellcat proved to be the most successful aircraft in naval history, destroying 5,271 aircraft[4] while in service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps (5,163 in the Pacific and eight more during the invasion of Southern France, plus 52 with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm during World War II.)[5] Postwar, the Hellcat aircraft was systematically phased out of front line service, but remained in service as late as 1954 as a night-fighter in composite squadrons.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... ellcat.jpg

Grumman was working on a successor to the F4F Wildcat well before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. While the F4F was a capable fighter, early air battles revealed the Japanese A6M Zero was more maneuverable and possessed a better rate of climb than the F4F. The F4F did have some advantages over the Zero. Wildcats were able to absorb a tremendous amount of damage compared to the Zero, and had better armament. The F4F was also much faster in a dive than the Zero, an advantage Wildcat pilots used frequently to elude attacking Zeros.
These advantages carried over into the F6F and, combined with other improvements, created a fighter that outclassed the Zero almost completely. The contract for the prototype XF6F-1 was signed on 30 June 1941. The F6F was originally to be given the Wright R-2600 Cyclone engine of 1,700 hp (1,268 kW), but based on combat experience of F4F Wildcat and Zero encounters, Grumman decided to further improve their new fighter to overcome the A6M Zero's dominance in the Pacific theater.[2] Grumman installed the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) estimating a 25% increase in performance would result.[2] The first Cyclone-equipped prototype (02981) flew on 26 June 1942 while the first Double Wasp-equipped aircraft, the XF6F-3 (02982) had its first flight on 30 July 1942.
Proposed at the same time as the first Hellcat prototypes, the XF6F-2 incorporated a turbo-supercharger, but performance gains were only slight and until fleet demands for improvements in speed arose, this variant, along with the two-speed supercharger-equipped XF6F-3, languished. However, later F6F-4 and F6F-5 variants did benefit from these initial development programs.
Like the Wildcat, the Hellcat was designed for ease of manufacture and ability to withstand significant damage. A total of 212 lb (96 kg) of cockpit armor was fitted to aid pilot survival, as well as a bullet-resistant windshield and armor around the engine oil tank and oil cooler.[7] Self-sealing fuel tanks further reduced susceptibility to fire and often allowed damaged aircraft to return home. The U.S. Navy's all-time leading ace, Captain David McCampbell USN (Ret) scored all his 34 victories in the Hellcat. He once described the F6F as "...an outstanding fighter plane. It performed well, was easy to fly and was a stable gun platform. But what I really remember most was that it was rugged and easy to maintain."[8]
The first production aircraft off the line, designated F6F-3s, flew on 3 October 1942 with the type reaching operational readiness with VF-9 on USS Essex in February 1943.[7]
Two night fighter subvariants of the F6F-3 were also developed. The F6F-3E, converted from standard -3 frames, featured the AN/APS-4 radar in a fairing in the starboard wing. The later F6F-3N, first seen in July 1943, was fitted with the AN/APS-6 radar in a similar fairing. By November 1943, Hellcat night fighters had seen their first action.[9] Fitting AN/APS-6 radar fairings to F6F-5s resulted in the night fighter F6F-5N, and a small number of standard F6F-5s were also fitted with camera equipment for reconnaissance duties as the F6F-5P.[10]
Instead of the Wildcat's narrow-track undercarriage retracting into the fuselage requiring awkward hand-cranking by the pilot, the Hellcat had hydraulically-actuated undercarriage struts set wider and retracting backward, twisting through 90° into the wings,[11] exactly as the Chance Vought F4U Corsair's landing gear did. The wing was low-mounted instead of mid-mounted and folded the same way as the later versions of the Wildcat, allowing the Hellcat to take on a compact, tucked-in appearance on a flight deck.[12]
Standard armament on the F6F consisted of six .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning air-cooled machine guns with 400 rpg; later aircraft gained three hardpoints to carry a total bombload in excess of 2,000 lb (900 kg). The center hardpoint also had the ability to carry a single 150 gal (568 l) disposable drop tank. Six 5 in (127 mm) HVARs (High Velocity Aircraft Rocket)[13] could be carried; three under each wing.[14]
The next and most common variant, the F6F-5, featured improvements such as a more powerful R-2800-10W engine housed in a slightly more streamlined engine cowling, spring-loaded control tabs on the ailerons, deletion of the rear-view windows behind the main canopy, an improved, clear view windscreen with a flat armored-glass front panel replacing the curved perspex panel and internal armor glass screen and numerous other minor advances.[11][15] Another improvement in the F6F-5 was the availability of more potent armament than the standard six .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns. Trials with cannon-armed Hellcats were not followed up by a production version; although all F6F-5s could carry an armament mix of a pair of 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano cannon, one mounted in each of the inboard gun bays, with a minimum of 220 rpg, along with two pairs of .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns, with 400 rpg, this configuration was only used on many later F6F-5N night fighters.[16]
Two F6F-5s were fitted with the 18-cylinder 2,100 hp (1,567 kW) Pratt and Whitney R-2800-18W two-stage blower radial engine which was also used by the F4U-4 Corsair. The new Hellcat variant was fitted with a four-bladed propeller and was called the XF6F-6. The aircraft proved to be the best performer in the series with a top speed of 417 mph (671 km/h).[11] The war ended before this variant could be mass-produced.[17]
The last Hellcat rolled out in November 1945, the total production figure being 12,275, of which 11,000 had been built in just two years.[18] This impressive production rate was credited to the sound original design, which required little modification once production was underway.




http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... n_1943.jpg

General characteristics
• Crew: 1
• Length: 33 ft 7 in (10.24 m)
• Wingspan: 42 ft 10 in (13.06 m)
• Height: 13 ft 1 in (3.99 m)
• Wing area: 334 ft² (31 m²)
• Airfoil: NACA 23015.6 mod root; NACA 23009 tip
• Empty weight: 9,238 lb (4,190 kg)
• Loaded weight: 12,598 lb (5,714 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 15,415 lb (6,990 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10W "Double Wasp" two-row radial engine with a two-speed two-stage supercharger, 2,000 hp (1,491 kW[37])
• Propellers: 3-blade Hamilton Standard
o Propeller diameter: 13 ft 1 in (4.0 m)
• * Fuel capacity: 250 gal (946 L) internal; up to 3 × 150 gal (568 L) external drop tanks
• Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0211
• Drag area: 7.05 ft² (0.65 m²)
• Aspect ratio: 5.5
Performance
• Maximum speed: 330 kn (380 mph, 610 km/h)
• Stall speed: 73 kn (84 mph, 135 km/h)
• Combat radius: 820 nmi (945 mi, 1,520 km)
• Ferry range: 1,330 nmi (1,530 mi, 2,460 km)
• Service ceiling: 37,300 ft (11,370 m)
• Rate of climb: 3,500 ft/min (17.8 m/s)
• Wing loading: 37.7 lb/ft² (184 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (260 W/kg)
• Time-to-altitude: 7.7 min to 20,000 ft (6,100 m)
• Lift-to-drag ratio: 12.2
• Takeoff roll: 799 ft (244 m)
Armament
• Guns:
o either 6× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, with 400 rpg, (All F6F-3, and most F6F-5)
o or 2 × 20 mm (.79 in) cannon, with 225 rpg
o and 4 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns with 400 rpg (F6F-5N only)
• Rockets:
o 6 × 5 in (127 mm) HVARs or
o 2 × 11¾ in (298 mm) Tiny Tim unguided rockets
• Bombs: up to 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) full load, including:
o Bombs or Torpedoes:(Fuselage mounted on centreline rack)
 1 × 2,000 lb (907 kg) bomb or
 1 × Mk.13-3 torpedo;
o Underwing bombs: (F6F-5 had two additional weapons racks either side of fuselage on wing centre-section)
 2 × 1,000 lb (450 kg) or
 4 × 500 lb (227 kg)
 8 × 250 lb (110 kg)





F7F Tigercat


The Grumman F7F Tigercat was the first twin-engined fighter aircraft to enter service with the United States Navy. Designed for the new Midway-class aircraft carriers, the aircraft were too large to operate from earlier decks. Although delivered to United States Marine Corps (USMC) combat units before the end of World War II, the Tigercat did not see combat service in that war. Most F7Fs ended up in land-based service, as attack aircraft or night fighters; only the later F7F-4N was certified for carrier service. They saw service in the Korean War and were withdrawn from service in 1954.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... gercat.jpg

The contract for the prototype XF7F-1 was signed on 30 June 1941. Grumman's aim was to produce a plane that out-performed and out-gunned all existing fighter aircraft, and that had an auxiliary ground attack capability.[1] Armament was heavy: four 20 mm cannons and four 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns, as well as underwing and under-fuselage hardpoints for bombs and torpedoes. Performance met expectations too; the F7F Tigercat was one of the highest-performance piston-engined fighters, with a top speed well in excess of the US Navy's single-engined aircraft—71 mph faster than a F6F Hellcat at sea level.[2] The opinion of Capt. Fred M. Trapnell, one of the Navy's premier test pilots, was that "It's the best damn fighter I've ever flown."[3]The Grumman F7F was originally named the "Tomcat" but this name was rejected as it was considered at the time too suggestive.[4] The name would much later be used for the Grumman F-14.


All this was bought at the cost of heavy weight and a high landing speed, but what caused the aircraft to fail carrier suitability trials was poor directional stability with only one engine operational, as well as problems with the tail-hook design.[5] Therefore, the initial production series was only used from land bases by the USMC, as night fighters with APS-6 radar.[6] At first, they were single-seater F7F-1N aircraft, but after the 34th production aircraft, a second seat for a radar operator was added; these planes were designated F7F-2N.
The next version produced, the F7F-3 was modified to correct the issues that caused the aircraft to fail carrier acceptance and this version was again trialled on the USS Shangri-La (CV-38). A wing failure on a heavy landing caused the failure of this carrier qualification too. F7F-3 aircraft were produced in day fighter, night fighter and photo-reconnaissance versions.[7]
A final version, the F7F-4N, was extensively rebuilt for additional strength and stability, and did pass carrier qualification, but only 12 were built.[7]


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... gercat.jpg



Beginning in 1949, F7Fs were flown to the US Navy storage facility at Litchfield Park in Arizona. [8]Although the vast majority of the airframes were eventually scrapped, a number of examples were purchased as surplus. The surviving Tigercats were primarily used as water bombers to fight forest fires in the 1960s and 1970s. A total of 12 examples exist today with three F7Fs remaining airworthy.[9]
As warbird racers, in 1976, Robert Forbes qualified an F7F-3N but did not race at Reno. Another modified F7F-3N Tigercat, (Bu No. 80503) "Big Bossman" owned by Mike Brown presently competes in the national air racing circuit.[10]
At least three F7F Tigercats are preserved in aviation museums:
• F7F-3 (Serial no. 80373/N7654C) National Museum of Naval Aviation, NAS Pensacola, Florida
• F7F-3 (Serial no. 80410) Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, Arizona
• F7F-3P (Serial no. 80390/N700F) Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum, Kalamazoo, Michigan


General characteristics
• Crew: 2 (pilot, radar operator)
• Length: 45 ft 4 in (13.8 m)
• Wingspan: 51 ft 6 in (15.7 m)
• Height: 16 ft 7 in (5.1 m)
• Wing area: 455 ft² (42.3 m²)
• Empty weight: 16,270 lb (7,380 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 25,720 lb (11,670 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-34W "Double Wasp" radial engines, 2,100 hp (1,566 kW) each
Performance
• Maximum speed: 460 mph (400 knots, 740 km/h)
• Range: 1,200 mi (1,000 nmi, 1,900 km)
• Service ceiling: 40,400 ft (12,300 m)
• Rate of climb: 4,530 ft/min (1,381 m/min)
Armament
• Guns:
o 4 × 20 mm (0.79 in) M2 cannon
o 4 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun
• Bombs:
o 2 × 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs under wings or
o 1 × torpedo under fuselage
Avionics
• AN/APS-19 radar
let your YES be YES and your NO be NO but plz no maybe
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Aramanthus
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by Aramanthus »

Ah I see a double post and still no P-38! As for WW2 planes It's nice to see them. I've always personally enjoyed them over even jets. I've always loved the sound of a WW2 fighter engine revving up. And it flying over at an airshow.
"Your Grace," she said, "I have only one question. Do you wish this man crippled or dead?"

"My Lady," the protector of Grayson told his Champion, "I do not wish him to leave this chamber alive."

"As you will it, your Grace."

HH....FIE
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taalismn
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by taalismn »

...and seeing them up close, you realize how SMALL some of them are...Having been aboard a B-17 and a Heinkel, I can attest how cramped they are...and they were on the GROUND...I can hardly imagine trying to get through a B-17 while wearing full flying gear, leather helmet, and a parachute....
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
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ZINO
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by ZINO »

Ah I see a double post
where ?


Code: Select all

and still no P-38!  

here you go and more related to that plane or similar design
enjoy :-D
P-38 Lightning

the Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament. Called "fork-tailed devil" by the Luftwaffe, this unique [4]aircraft was used in a number of different roles including dive bombing, level bombing, ground strafing, photo reconnaissance missions,[5] and extensively as a long-range escort fighter when equipped with drop tanks under its wings.
The P-38 was used most successfully in the Pacific Theater of Operations and the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations as the mount of America's top aces, Richard Bong (40 victories) and Thomas McGuire (38 victories). In the South West Pacific theater, the P-38 was the primary long-range fighter of United States Army Air Forces until the appearance of large numbers of P-51D Mustangs toward the end of the war.[6][7]
The P-38 was the only American fighter aircraft in active production throughout the duration of American involvement in the war, from Pearl Harbor to VJ Day.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... ng_-_1.jpg
Lockheed designed the P-38 in response to a February 1937 specification from the United States Army Air Corps. Circular Proposal X-608 was a set of aircraft performance goals authored by First Lieutenant Benjamin S. Kelsey (later Brigadier General) and First Lieutenant Gordon Saville (later General) for a twin-engine, high-altitude interceptor aircraft having "the tactical mission of interception and attack of hostile aircraft at high altitude."[8] Kelsey recalled in 1977 that he and Saville drew up the specification using the word "interceptor" as a way to bypass the inflexible Army Air Corps requirement for pursuit aircraft to carry no more than 500 lb (227 kg) of armament including ammunition, as well as the restriction of single-seat aircraft to one engine. Kelsey was looking for a minimum of 1,000 lb (454 kg) of armament.[9] Specifications called for a maximum airspeed of at least 360 mph (580 km/h) at altitude, and a climb to 20,000 ft (6,100 m) within six minutes;[10] the toughest set of specifications USAAC had presented to that date. The unbuilt Vultee XP1015 was designed to the same requirement, but was not advanced enough to merit further investigation. A similar single-engine proposal was issued at the same time: Circular Proposal X-609, in response to which the Bell P-39 Airacobra was designed.[11] Both proposals required liquid-cooled Allison V-1710 engines with turbo superchargers and tricycle landing gear.
The Lockheed design team, under the direction of Hall Hibbard and Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, considered a range of twin-engine configurations including both engines in a central fuselage with push-pull propellers.[12]
The eventual design was comparatively unique in contemporary fighter aircraft design, with only the Fokker G.1 and later Northrop P-61 Black Widow having a similar planform. The Lockheed team chose twin booms to accommodate the tail assembly, engines, and turbo superchargers, with a central nacelle for the pilot and armament. The nose was designed to carry two .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, with 200 rpg, two .30 in (7.62 mm) Brownings, with 500 rpg, and an Oldsmobile 37 mm (1.46 in) cannon with 15 rounds. Clustering all the armament in the nose was unlike most other U.S. aircraft which used wing-mounted guns with trajectories set up to crisscross at one or more points in a "convergence zone." Guns mounted in the nose did not suffer from having their useful ranges limited by pattern convergence, meaning good pilots could shoot much farther. A Lightning could reliably hit targets at any range up to 1,000 yd (910 m), whereas other fighters had to pick a single convergence range between 100 and 250 yd (230 m). The clustered weapons had a "buzz saw" effect on any target at the receiving end, making the aircraft effective for strafing as well.
The Lockheed design incorporated tricycle undercarriage and a bubble canopy, and featured two 1,000 hp (746 kW) turbo-supercharged 12-cylinder Allison V-1710 engines fitted with counter-rotating propellers to eliminate the effect of engine torque, with the superchargers positioned behind the engines in the booms.[13] It was the first American fighter to make extensive use of stainless steel and smooth, flush-riveted butt-jointed aluminum skin panels.[14] It was also the first fighter to fly faster than 400 mph (640 km/h).
Lockheed won the competition on 23 June 1937 with its Model 22 and was contracted to build a prototype XP-38[15] for US$163,000, though Lockheed's own costs on the prototype would add up to US$761,000.[16] Construction began in July 1938 and the XP-38 first flew on 27 January 1939 at the hands of Ben Kelsey.[17] Kelsey proposed a speed dash to Wright Field on 11 February 1939 to relocate the aircraft for further testing. General Henry "Hap" Arnold, commander of the USAAC, approved of the record attempt, and recommended a cross-country flight to New York. The flight set a speed record by flying from California to New York in seven hours and two minutes,[13] but was downed by carburetor icing short of the Mitchel Field runway in Hempstead, New York, and was wrecked. However, on the basis of the record flight, the Air Corps ordered 13 YP-38s on 27 April 1939 for US$134,284 apiece.[18][2] (The initial "Y" in "YP" was the USAAC's designation for a "prototype" while the "X" in "XP" was for "experimental".) According to Kelsey, the loss of the prototype, instead of hampering the program, speeded the process by cutting short the initial test series.[19] The success of the aircraft design contributed to Kelsey's promotion to captain in May, 1937.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... 9b-061.jpg
General characteristics
• Crew: One
• Length: 37 ft 10 in (11.53 m)
• Wingspan: 52 ft 0 in (15.85 m)
• Height: 12 ft 10 in (3.91 m)
• Wing area: 327.5 ft² (30.43 m²)
• Airfoil: NACA 23016 / NACA 4412
• Empty weight: 12,800 lb[70] (5,800 kg)
• Loaded weight: 17,500 lb[70] (7,940 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 21,600 lb (9,798 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Allison V-1710-111/113 liquid-cooled turbosupercharged V-12, 1,725 hp (As certified by Lockheed and Allison Industries) (1,194 kW) each
• Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0268[70]
• Drag area: 8.78 ft² (0.82 m²)[70]
• Aspect ratio: 8.26[70]
Performance
• Maximum speed: 443mph War Emergency Power-1,725 hp @ 64 inHG (28,000 ft)(Courtesy of Lockheed-Martin Corp.)
414mph on Military Power-1,425hp @ 54 inHG at 25,000 ft (667 km/h at 7,620 m)
• Stall speed: 105 mph (170 km/h)
• Range: 1,300 mi combat, over 3,300 mi (5,300 km) ferry (1,770 km / 3,640 km)
• Service ceiling: 44,000 ft (13,400 m)
• Rate of climb: maximum: 4,750 ft/min (1,448 m/min)
• Wing loading: 53.4 lb/ft²[70] (260.9 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (0.27 kW/kg)
• Turn radius: At Eglin Field in 1942, the P-38F was found to have an equal or tighter radius of turn above 15,000 ft (4,600 m) against the P-51, P-40F, P-47C-1 and P-39D.[59] The P-38G and later models further tightened the turn radius, especially the P-38L.
• Roll rate: Testing at Eglin Field determined the rate of roll to be too slow at high speeds, causing a serious disadvantage because the P-38F could not transition from level flight to its tightest turn radius fast enough to keep up with fighters that could roll more quickly into their turns.[59]
• Lift-to-drag ratio: 13.5
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... htning.jpg
• Armament1× Hispano M2(C) 20 mm cannon with 150 rounds (2 AP, 2 tracer and 2 HE ammo belt composition) and 4× Browning MG53-2 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns with 500 rpg. The rate of fire was about 650 rounds per minute for the 20×110 mm cannon round (130 g shell) at a muzzle velocity of about 2887 ft/s, and for the .50 in MGs (43–48 g), about 850 rpm at 2,756 ft/s velocity. Combined rate of fire was over 4,000 rpm with roughly every sixth projectile a 20 mm. Time of firing for the 20 mm cannon and .50 caliber machineguns were approximately 14 seconds and 35 seconds respectively.[71]
• 4× M10 three-tube 4.5 in (112 mm) rocket launchers or:
• Inner Hardpoints: 2× 2,000 lb (907 kg) bombs or drop tanks; or 2× 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs or drop tanks, plus either 4× 500 lb (227 kg) or 4× 250 lb (113 kg) bombs; or 6× 500 lb (227 kg) or 6× 250 lb (113 kg) bombs
• Outer Hardpoints: 10× 5 in (127 mm) HVARs (High Velocity Aircraft Rocket); or 2× 500 lb (227 kg) or 2× 250 lb (113 kg) bombs

Lockheed XP-49
The Lockheed XP-49 (company Model 522) was an advancement on the P-38 Lightning for a fighter in response to U.S. Army Air Corps proposal 39-775. Intended to use the new twenty-four cylinder Pratt & Whitney X-1800 engine, this proposal, which was for an aircraft substantially similar to the P-38, was assigned the designation XP-49, while the competing Grumman Model G-46 was awarded second place and designated
XP-50. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... 4P-002.jpg

Ordered in October 1939 and approved on January 8, 1940, the X-1800-powered XP-49 would feature a pressurized cockpit and armament of two 20 mm (.79 in) cannon and four 0.5 in (12.7 mm) machine guns. However, after two months into the contract a decision was made to substitute the Continental XI-1430-1 (or IV-1430) twelve cylinder liquid-cooled inverted vee engines for the X-1800. The XP-49 first flew on 11 November 1942. A crash landing in early January 1943 occurred when the port landing gear failed to lock down due to a combined hydraulic and electric failure, and the XP-49 flew again on 16 February 1943 after repairs were made. The preliminary flight data showed that performance of the XP-49 was not sufficiently better than the production P-38, and with a questionable future for the XI-1430 engine, to warrant disruption of the production line to introduce the new model aircraft. Consideration of quantity production was therefore abandoned.
The aircraft was flown to Wright Field, and after various problems further work on the XP-49 was halted.


General characteristics
• Crew: One
• Length: 40 ft 1 in (12.2 m)
• Wingspan: 52 ft (15.8 m)
• Height: 9 ft 10 in (3.0 m)
• Wing area: 327.5 ft² (30 m²)
• Empty weight: 15,410 lb (6990 kg)
• Loaded weight: 18,750 lb (8505 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Continental XI-1430-1 inverted V-12s, 1,600 hp (1,193 kW) each
Performance
• Maximum speed: 406 mph (653 km/h) 15,000 ft (4,570 m)
• Range: 679 mi (1,093 km)
• Rate of climb: 3,300 ft/min (16.8 m/s)
Armament
• 2 × 20 mm (.79 in) cannons
• 4 × 0.5 in (12.7 mm) machine guns

Fokker G.I


The Fokker G.I was a Dutch heavy twin-engined fighter plane comparable in size and role to the German Messerschmitt Bf 110 and the British Mosquito.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... ker_g1.gif

he G.I, given the nickname "Reaper", le faucheur in French, was designed as a private venture in 1936 by Fokker head engineer Dr. Schatzki. Intended for the role of jachtkruiser, "heavy" fighter or air cruiser, able to gain air superiority over the battlefield as well as being a bomber destroyer, the G.1 would fulfil a role seen as important at the time, by advocates of Giulio Douhet's theories on air power. The Fokker G.I utilized a twin-engined, twin-boom layout that featured a central nacelle housing two or three crew members (a pilot, radio operator/navigator/rear gunner or a bombardier) as well as a formidable armament of twin 23 mm (.91 in) Madsen cannon and a pair of 7.9 mm (.31 in) machine guns (later eight machine guns) in the nose and one in a rear turret. [2] Besides its main mission, the G.1 could be configured for ground attack and light bombing missions (it could carry a bomb load of one 400 kg/882 lb bomb or combinations of two 200 kg/441 lb or 10 26 kg/57 lb bombs).[2]
The design and construction of the prototype (registered as X-2) was completed in just seven months. At its introduction at the Paris Air Show in November 1936, even before its first flight, the G.I was a sensation, appearing in a purple and yellow finish (evocative of the Spanish Republican colors, thought to be Fokker's first export customer). [2]
Like all Fokker aircraft of the period, the G.I was of mixed construction; the front of the central pod and the tail booms were built around a welded frame, covered with aluminium plating. The back of the central pod, however, as well as the wings, had a wooden frame, covered with triplex, a technique also used in Fokker's successful passenger aircraft at that time.[3]
The G.I prototype powered by 485 kW (650 hp) Hispano-Suiza 14AB-02/03 engines had its first flight at Welschap, Eindhoven on 16 March 1937 with Karel Toman-Mares at the controls.[4] (Later, Emil Meinecke took over much of the test flights.)[5]The maiden flight went well, but a subsequent test flight in September 1937 ended with a supercharger explosion that nearly caused the loss of the prototype. [5] The accident prompted a replacement of the Hispano-Suiza engines with 559 kW (750 hp) Pratt & Whitney SB4-G Twin Wasp Junior engines.


During testing, the company received a contract from the Spanish Republican government for 12 G.1 "export" versions with Pratt & Whitney engines. Despite receiving payment, the order was destined never to be fulfilled as the Dutch government placed an embargo on the sale of military equipment to Spain. [5]
Besides the Dutch Luchtvaartafdeling, several foreign air forces showed an interest in the G.I. as either a fighter or dive-bomber. In order to test its potential as a dive-bomber, the G.1 prototype was fitted with hydraulically-operated dive brakes under the wings. Flight tests revealed that the G.1 was capable of diving at over 644 km/h (400 mph) and demonstrated aerobatic capabilities. Swedish Air Force officer Captain Bjorn Bjuggren tested the G.1 in over 20 dives and reported favourably on its effectiveness as a dive bomber.[6] Orders for G.1b aircraft came from Finland (26 ordered), Sweden (18), Denmark (12), Belgium, Turkey, Hungary and Switzerland.
The Luchtvaartafdeeling ordered 36 G.Ias with 541 kW (725 hp) Bristol Mercury VIII engines (the standard engine used by the Dutch Air Force in the Fokker D.XXI fighter), in order to equip two squadrons. [5] Only the first four examples were built as three-seaters intended for ground-atttack, with the remainder being completed as two-seat fighters. During the lead-up to hostilities, a total of 26 G.Ias were operational in 3rd Jactvliegtuigafdeling (JAVA) at Waalhaven, and 4th JAVA Fighter Group at Bergen. The aircraft were actively involved in border patrols and in order to insure neutrality, on 20 March 1940, a G.1a from 4th JAVA forced down a Armstrong Whitworth Whitley from the RAF's No. 77 Squadron when it strayed into Dutch air space.[7]


attle of the Netherlands
On 10 May 1940, when Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands, 23 G.1a aircraft were serviceable while production of Finland's order of the G.1b variant continued with a dozen aircraft completed, awaiting armament.[7]
The German invasion started with an early morning (0350 hours) Luftwaffe attack on the Dutch airfields. While 4th JAVA received a devastating blow, losing all but one of its aircraft, at least two 3rd JAVA G.1a fighters were launched in time to down three of the Heinkel He 111 bombers. The two squadrons continued to fly but with mounting losses bringing their numbers down to three airworthy aircraft by the end of the first day. At the Fokker factory, the embargoed Spanish G.1bs aircraft along with aircraft from the Finnish order were confiscated. [8]All of these aircraft were unarmed but three examples were hastily fitted with a four nose-mounted machine gun armament array.[9] In the "Five-day War", the available G.1 fighters were mainly deployed in ground attack missions, strafing advancing German infantry units but also used to attack Junkers Ju 52/3m transports. [7] Although reports are fragmentary and inaccurate as to the results, G.1 fighters were employed over Rotterdam and the Hague, contributing to the loss of 167 Ju 52s, scoring up to 14 confirmed kills. [10]
Aftermath
At the conclusion of hostilities, several G.Is were captured by the Germans, with the remainder of the Finnish order and G.1bs that the Danish government had ordered in 1939 completed at the Fokker plant by mid-1941 in order for the G.1s to be assigned as fighter trainers for Bf 110 crews at Wiener Neustadt.[11] For the next two years, Flugzeugfuhrerschule (B) 8 flew the G.1b until attrition grounded the fleet.[7]
On 5 May 1941, a Fokker test pilot, H. Leegstra accompanied by P. Vos, an engineer managed to fly a G.1 to England. [7]It was conscripted by Phillips and Powis Aircraft, later Miles Aircraft that designed an all-wooden fighter-bomber, and was interested in the G.1 wing structure and its resistance to the rigours of a British climate. Despite being left outdoors for the remainder of the war, the G.1 survived only to be eventually scrapped after 1945. [12]
There are no surviving G.Is today although a replica is found in the Dutch Air Force Museum in Soesterberg.




Specifications (Fokker G.Ia)
General characteristics
• Crew: Two
• Length: 10.87 m (35 ft 8 in)
• Wingspan: 17.16 m (56.29 ft)
• Height: 3.80 m (12.4 ft)
• Wing area: 38.30 m² ()
• Empty weight: 3,325 kg (7,330 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 4,800 kg (10,582 lb)
• Powerplant: 2× Bristol Mercury VIII radial engine, 730 hp at 2,650 rpm for takeoff, 830 hp (618 kW) at 2,750 rpm maximum continuous power (545 kW) each
Performance
• Maximum speed: 475 km/h (295 mph)
• Range: 1,510 km (938 mi)
• Service ceiling: 10,000 m (32,808 ft)
• Rate of climb: 13.5 m/s (44.29 ft/s)
Armament
• 8 × 7.9 mm (0.31 in) forward-firing FN-Browning machine guns in the nose
• 1 × 7.9 mm (0.31 in) machine gun in rear turret
• 400 kg (881 lb) of bombs




P-61 Black Widow


The Northrop P-61 Black Widow was the first operational U.S. military aircraft designed specifically to use radar.[2] The "Black Widow" was an all-metal, twin-engine, twin-boom, aircraft flown as a night-fighter by United States Army Air Forces squadrons in the European Theater, the Pacific Theater, the CBI Theater, and the Mediterranean Theater during World War II. It replaced earlier British-designed night-fighter aircraft that had been updated to incorporate radar when it became available. On the night of 14 August 1945, a P-61B-2 of the 548th NFS named "Lady in the Dark" was unofficially credited with the last allied air victory before VJ Day.[3] The P-61 was also modified to create the F-15 Reporter, the last piston-powered photo-reconnaissance aircraft designed and produced for the U.S. Air Force.[

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... rborne.jpg

n August 1940, a full 16 months before the United States entered the war, the U.S. Air Officer in London, Lieutenant General Delos C. Emmons, was briefed on British research in RADAR (Radio Detection and Ranging), which had been underway since 1936 and had played an important role in the nation's defense against the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain. General Emmons was informed of the new Airborne Intercept radar (AI for short), a self-contained unit that could be installed in an aircraft and allow it to operate independently of ground stations. In September 1940, the Tizard Mission traded British research on many aspects including radar for American production.
Simultaneously, the British Purchasing Commission evaluating US aircraft declared their urgent need for a high-altitude, high-speed aircraft to intercept the Luftwaffe bombers attacking London at night. The aircraft would need to patrol continuously over the city throughout the night, requiring at least an eight-hour loiter capability. The aircraft would carry one of the early (and heavy) AI radar units, and mount its specified armament in "multiple-gun turrets". The British conveyed the requirements for a new fighter to all the aircraft designers and manufacturers they were working with. Jack Northrop was among them, and he realized that the speed, altitude, fuel load and multiple-turret requirements demanded a large aircraft with multiple engines.
General Emmons returned to the U.S. with details of the British night-fighter requirements, and in his report said that US aircraft design bureaus possibly could produce such an aircraft. The Emmons Board developed basic requirements and specifications, handing them over towards the end of 1940 to Air Technical Service Command, Wright Field. After considering the two biggest challenges—the high weight of the AI radar and the very long (by fighter standards) loiter time of eight hours minimum—the board, like Jack Northrop, realized the aircraft would need the considerable power and resulting size of twin engines, and recommended such parameters.
Vladimir H. Pavlecka, Northrop Chief of Research, was present on unrelated business at Wright Field. On 21 October 1940, Colonel Laurence Craigie of the ATSC phoned Pavlecka, explaining the USAAC's specifications, but told him to "not take any notes, 'Just try and keep this in your memory!' "[5] What Pavlecka did not learn was radar's part in the aircraft; Craigie described the then super-secret radar as a "device which would locate enemy aircraft in the dark" and which had the capability to "see and distinguish other airplanes". The mission, Craigie explained, was "the interception and destruction of hostile aircraft in flight during periods of darkness or under conditions of poor visibility."
Pavlecka met with Jack Northrop the next day, and gave him the USAAC specification. Northrop compared his notes with those of Pavlecka, saw the similarity between the USAAC's requirements and those issued by the RAF, and pulled out the work he had been doing on the British aircraft's requirements. He was already a month along, and a week later, Northrop pounced on the USAAC proposal.
On 5 November, Northrop and Pavlecka met at Wright Field with Air Material Command officers and presented them with Northrop’s preliminary design. Douglas’ XA-26A night fighter proposal was the only competition, but Northrop’s design was selected and the Black Widow was conceived.
Early stages
Following the USAAC acceptance, Northrop began comprehensive design work on the aircraft to become the first to design a dedicated night fighter. The result was the largest and one of the most deadly pursuit-class aircraft flown by the U.S. during the war.
Jack Northrop's first proposal was a long fuselage gondola between two engine nacelles and tail booms. Engines were Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10 Double Wasp 18-cylinder radials, producing 2,000 hp (1,491 kW) each. The fuselage housed the three-man crew, the radar, and two four-gun turrets. The .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns were fitted with 36 in (91 cm) long "aircraft" barrels with perforated sleeves. The turrets were located in the nose and rear of the fuselage. It stood on tricycle landing gear and featured full-span retractable flaps, or "Zap flaps" (named after Northrop engineer Edward Zap) in the wings.
The aircraft was huge, as Northrop had anticipated. While far heavier and larger multi-engine bombers existed, its 45.5 ft (14 m) length, 66 ft (20 m) wingspan and projected 22,600 lb (10,251 kg) full-load weight were unheard of for a fighter, making the P-61 hard for many to accept as a feasible combat aircraft.

Some alternative design features were investigated before finalization. Among them were conversion to a single vertical stabilizer/rudder and the shifting of the nose and tail gun turrets to the top and bottom of the fuselage along with the incorporation of a second gunner.
Late in November 1940, Jack Northrop returned to the crew of three and twin tail/rudder assembly. To meet USAAC's request for more firepower, designers abandoned the ventral turret and mounted four 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano M2 cannons in the wings. As the design evolved, the cannons were subsequently repositioned in the belly of the aircraft. The P-61 therefore became one of the few U.S.-designed fighter aircraft to have 20 mm (.79 in) cannons as factory-standard in World War II. Others were the P-38 Lightning, the F4U-1C (a limited-production Corsair sub-variant), and the A-36 Apache dive-bomber (an early form of the P-51 Mustang). While some F6F Hellcats and repossessed British lend-lease P-39 Airacobras (renamed P-400) were also fitted with 20 mm (.79 in) cannons, it was not standard practice.
Northrop Specification 8A was formally submitted to Army Air Material Command at Wright Field, on 5 December 1940. Following a few small changes, Northrop's NS-8A fulfilled all USAAC requirements, and the Air Corps issued Northrop a Letter of Authority For Purchase on 17 December. A contract for two prototypes and two scale models to be used for wind tunnel testing, (costs not to exceed $1,367,000), was awarded on 10 January 1941. Northrop Specification 8A became, by designation of the War Department, the XP-61.
XP-61 development
In March 1941, the Army/Navy Standardization Committee decided to standardize use of updraft carburetors across all U.S. military branches. The XP-61, designed with downdraft carburetors, faced an estimated minimum two-month redesign of the engine nacelle to bring the design into compliance. The committee later reversed the updraft carburetor standardization decision (the XP-61 program's predicament likely having little influence), preventing a potential setback in the XP-61's development.
The Air Corps Mockup Board met at Northrop on 2 April 1941, to inspect the XP-61 mock-up. They recommended several changes following this review. Most prominently, the four 20 mm (.79 in) M2 cannons were relocated from the outer wings to the belly of the aircraft, clustered tightly just behind the rear of the nose gear well. The closely spaced, centered installation, with two cannons stacked vertically, slightly outboard of the aircraft's centerline on each side, and the top cannon in each pair only a few inches farther outboard, eliminated the inherent drawbacks of convergence.
Convergence was a necessity in wing-mounted guns. Convergence is the specific point or points of range and elevation at which arming crews calibrate the weapons' projectile paths to intersect the aircraft's centerline, preventing a "safe zone" in front of the aircraft through which no projectiles would pass if wing guns were set to fire straight ahead. Projectiles fired at a target beyond the point of convergence crisscross before reaching the target and miss wide; projectiles fired at a target closer than the point of convergence either pass on either side or fail to impact at a concentrated point, minimizing the damage inflicted. In practice, both cases limit the cannons' effective ranges to a very small zone on either side of a set distance, and create additional challenges when calculating deflection ("pulling lead") for a moving target.
Without convergence, aiming was considerably easier and faster, and the tightly grouped cannons created a thick stream of 20 mm (.79 in) projectiles. The removal of the guns and ammunition from the wings also cleaned up the wings' airfoil and increased internal fuel capacity from 540 gal (2,044 l) to 646 gal (2,445 l).
Other changes included the provision for external fuel carriage in drop tanks, flame arrestors/dampeners on engine exhausts, and redistribution of some radio equipment. While all beneficial from a performance standpoint — especially the movement of the cannons—the modifications required over a month of redesign work, and the XP-61 was already behind schedule.
In mid-1941, the dorsal turret mount finally proved too difficult to install in the aircraft, and was changed from the General Electric ring mount to a pedestal mount like that used for the upper turrets in B-17s, B-24s, B-25s, A-20s and other bombers. Following this modification, the turret itself became unavailable, as operational aircraft, in this case, the B-29, were ahead of experimental aircraft in line for the high-demand component. For flight testing, engineers used a dummy turret.
During February 1942, subcontracting manufacturer Curtiss notified Northrop that the C5424-A10 four-bladed, automatic, full-feathering propeller Northrop had planned for use in the XP-61 would not be ready for the prototype rollout or the beginning of flight tests. Hamilton Standard propellers were used in lieu of the Curtiss props until the originally planned component became available.
The XP-61's weight rose during construction of the prototype, to 22,392 lb (10,157 kg) empty and 29,673 lb (13,459 kg) at takeoff. Engines were R-2800-25S Double Wasp radials; turning 12 ft 2 in diameter Curtiss C5425-A10 four-blade propellers, both rotating counterclockwise when viewed from the front. Radios included two command radios, SCR-522As, and three other radio sets, the SCR-695A, AN/APG-1, and AN/APG-2. Central fire control for the gun turret was similar to that used on the B-29, the General Electric GE2CFR12A3.
P-61C
The P-61C was a high-performance variant designed to rectify some of the combat deficiencies encountered with the A and B variants. Work on the P-61C proceeded quite slowly at Northrop because of the higher priority of the XB-35 flying wing project. In fact, much of the work on the P-61C was farmed out to Goodyear, which had been a subcontractor for production of Black Widow components. It was not until early 1945 that the first production P-61C-1-NO rolled off the production lines. As promised, the performance was substantially improved in spite of a 2,000 lb (907 kg) increase in empty weight. Maximum speed was 430 mph (690 km/h) at 30,000 ft (9,000 m), service ceiling was 41,000 ft (12,500 m), and an altitude of 30,000 ft (9,000 m) could be attained in 14.6 minutes.
The P-61C was equipped with perforated fighter airbrakes located both below and above the wing surfaces. These were to provide a means of preventing the pilot from overshooting his target during an intercept. For added fuel capacity, the P-61C was equipped with four underwing pylons (two inboard of the nacelles, two outboard) which could carry four 310 gal (1,173 l) drop tanks. The first P-61C aircraft was accepted by the USAAF in July 1945. However, the war in the Pacific ended before any P-61Cs could see combat. The 41st and last P-61C-1-NO was accepted on 28 January 1946. At least 13 more were completed by Northrop, but were scrapped before they could be delivered to the USAAF.
The service life of the P-61C was quite brief, since it was being quickly outclassed by jet aircraft. Most were used for test and research purposes. By the end of March 1949, most P-61Cs had been scrapped. Two entered the civilian market and two others went to museums.
F-15/RF-61C
Main article: F-15 Reporter
In mid-1945, the surviving XP-61E was modified into an unarmed photographic reconnaissance aircraft. All the guns were removed, and a new nose was fitted, capable of holding an assortment of aerial cameras. The aircraft, redesignated XF-15, flew for the first time on 3 July 1945. A P-61C-1-NO (serial number 42-8335) was also modified to XF-15 standards. Apart from the turbosupercharged R-2800-C engines, it was identical to the XF-15 and flew for the first time on 17 October 1945. The nose for the F-15A-1-NO was subcontracted to the Hughes Tool Company of Culver City, California. The F-15A was basically the P-61C with the new bubble-canopy fuselage and the camera-carrying nose, but without the fighter brakes on the wing.
F2T-1N
The United States Marine Corps had planned to acquire 75 Black Widows, but these were cancelled in 1944 in favor of the F7F Tigercat. In September 1945, however, the Marines received a dozen surplus P-61B-10 / 15 / 20 to serve as radar trainers until the F7F-3Ns would be available in squadron strength.[6] Designated F2T-1N and given the build numbers 52750–52761,[7] these aircraft were assigned to shore-based Marine units and served briefly – the last 2 F2T-1s being stricken on 30 August 1947.
Design
The P-61 featured a crew of three: pilot, gunner, and radar operator. It was armed with four 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano M2 forward firing cannons mounted in the lower fuselage, and four .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns lined up horizontally with the two middle guns slightly offset upwards in a remotely-aimed dorsally mounted turret. The turret was driven by the General Electric GE2CFR12A3 gyroscopic fire control computer, and could be directed by either the gunner or radar operator, who both had the aiming control and gyroscopic collimator sight assembly posts attached to their swiveling seats.
The two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-25S Double Wasp engines were each mounted approximately one-sixth out on the wing's span. Two-stage, two-speed mechanical superchargers were fitted. In an effort to save space and weight, no turbo-superchargers were fitted, despite the expected 50 mph (80 km/h) top speed and 10,000 ft (3,048 m) operational ceiling increases.
Main landing gear bays were located at the bottom of each nacelle, directly behind the engine. The two main gear legs were each offset significantly towards outboard in their nacelles, and retracted towards the tail; oleo scissors faced forwards. Each main wheel was inboard of its gear leg and oleo. Main gear doors were two pieces, split evenly, longitudinally, hinged at inner door's inboard edge and the outer door's outboard edge.
Each engine cowling and nacelle drew back into tail booms that terminated upwards in large vertical stabilizers and their component rudders, each of a shape similar to a rounded right triangle. The leading edge of each vertical stabilizer was faired smoothly from the surface of the tail boom upwards, swept back to 37°. The horizontal stabilizer extended between the inner surfaces of the two vertical stabilizers, and was approximately ¾ the chord of the wing root, including the elevator. The elevator spanned approximately ⅓ of the horizontal stabilizer's width, and in overhead plan view, angled inwards in the horizontal from both corners of leading edge towards the trailing edge approximately 15°, forming the elevator into a wide, short trapezoid. The horizontal stabilizer and elevator assembly possessed a slight airfoil cross-section.
The engines and nacelles were outboard of the wing root and a short "shoulder" section of the wing that possessed a 4° dihedral, and were followed by the remainder of the wing which had a dihedral of 2°. The leading edge of the wing was straight and perpendicular to the aircraft's centerline. The trailing edge was straight and parallel to the leading edge in the shoulder, and tapered forward 15° outboard of the nacelle. Leading edge updraft carburetor intakes were present on the wing shoulder and the root of the outer wing, with a few inches of separation from the engine nacelle itself. They were very similar in appearance to those on the F4U Corsair — thin horizontal rectangles with the ends rounded out to nearly a half-circle, with multiple vertical vanes inside to direct the airstream properly.
The P-61 did not have ailerons. Aside from the full-span retractable "Zap flaps", all control of the aircraft about the roll axis was maintained through the use of curved, tapered spoilerons, of approximately 10 ft (3 m) in length and 6 in (15 cm) in width (in overhead plan view) each. They were located outboard of the outer edge of each nacelle in overhead plan view, approximately ¼ the length of the outer wing panel (the wing panel beyond the engine nacelle's outboard surface, out to the wingtip) and offset towards the wing leading edge approximately one third the wing's chord from the trailing edge, running towards the wing-tip approximately half the length of the outer wing. Operation was as follows: the spoileron in the inside wing rotated out of the wing's upper surface into the airstream, disrupting the effect of Bernoulli's principle and reducing lift over that wing, causing it to drop.
The main fuselage, or gondola, was centered on the aircraft's centerline. It was, from the tip of the nose to the end of the Plexiglas tail-cone, approximately five-sixths the length of one wing (root to tip). The nose housed an evolved form of the SCR-268 Signal Corps Radar, the Western Electric Company's SCR-720A. Immediately behind the radar was the forward crew compartment, seating the pilot and behind him the gunner, the latter elevated approximately 6 in (15 cm). The multi-framed "greenhouse" canopy featured two distinct levels, one for the pilot and a second for the gunner above and behind him. Combined with the nearly flat upper surface of the aircraft's nose, the two-tiered canopy gave the aircraft's nose a distinct appearance of three wide, shallow steps. The forward canopy in the XP-61 featured contiguous, smooth-curved, blown-Plexiglas canopy sections facing forward, in front of the pilot and the gunner. The tops and sides were framed.
Beneath the forward crew compartment was the nose gear wheel well, through which the pilot and gunner entered and exited the aircraft. The forward gear leg retracted to the rear, up against a contoured cover that when closed for flight formed part of the cockpit floor; the gear would not have space to retract with it open. The oleo scissor faced forwards. The nosewheel was centered, with the strut forking to the aircraft's left. The nosewheel was approximately ¾ the diameter of the main wheels. Nose gear doors were two pieces, split evenly longitudinally, and hinged at each outboard edge.
The center of the gondola housed the main wing spar, fuel storage, fuel piping and control mechanisms, control surface cable sections, propeller and engine controls, and radio/IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) /communications equipment, but was predominantly occupied by the top turret mounting ring, rotation and elevation mechanisms, ammunition storage for the turret's machine guns, the GE2CFR12A3 gyroscopic fire control computer, and linkages to the gunner and radar operator's turret control columns, forward and aft, respectively.
The radar operator's station was at the aft of the gondola. The radar operator controlled the SRC-720 radar set and viewed its display scopes from the isolated rear compartment, which he entered by way of a small hatch with a built-in ladder on the underside of the aircraft. In addition to the radar systems themselves, the radar operator had intercom and radio controls, as well as the controls and sight for the remote turret. The compartment's canopy followed the curvature of the gondola's rear section, with only a single rounded step to the forwards canopy's double step. The rear of the gondola was enclosed by a blown Plexiglas cap that tapered quickly in overhead plan view to a barely-rounded point; the shape was somewhat taller in side profile than it was in overhead plan view, giving the end of the "cone", a rounded "blade" appearance when viewed in perspective.
The cross-section of the gondola, front to back, was generally rectangular, vertically oriented. The tip of the nose was very rounded, merging quickly to a rectangular cross-section that tapered slightly towards the bottom. This cross-section lost its taper but became clearly rounded at the bottom moving back through the forward crew compartment and nose gear well. Height increased at both steps in the forward canopy, with the second step being flush with the top of the aircraft (not counting the spinal gun turret). At the rear of the forward crew compartment, the cross-section's bottom bulged downwards considerably and continued to do so until just past the midpoint between the rear of the forward crew compartment and the front of the rear crew compartment, where the lower curvature began to recede. Beginning at the front of the rear crew compartment, the top of the cross-section began to taper increasingly inwards above the aircraft's center of gravity when progressing towards the rear of the gondola. The cross-section rounded out considerably by the downward step in the rear canopy, and rapidly became a straight-sided oval, shrinking and terminating in the tip of the blown-Plexiglas "cone" described above.
The cross-section of the nacelles was essentially circular throughout, growing then diminishing in size when moving from the engine cowlings past the wing and gear bay, towards the tail booms and the vertical stabilizers. A bulge on the top of the wing maintained the circular cross-section as the nacelles intersected the wing. The cross-section became slightly egg-shaped around the main gear bays, larger at the bottom but still round. An oblong bulge on the bottom of the main gear doors, oriented longitudinally, accommodated the main wheels when the gear was retracted.
Wing tips, wing-to-nacelle joints, tips and edge of stabilizers and control surfaces (excluding the horizontal stabilizer and elevator) were all smoothly rounded, blended or filleted. The overall design was exceptionally clean and fluid as the aircraft possessed very few sharp corners or edges.


SCR-720 radar


he production model of the SCR-720A mounted a scanning radio transmitter in the aircraft nose; in Airborne Intercept mode, it had a range of nearly five miles. The unit could also function as an airborne beacon / homing device, navigational aid, or in concert with interrogator-responder IFF units. The XP-61's radar operator located targets on his scope and steered the unit to track them, vectoring and steering the pilot to the radar target via oral instruction and correction. Once within range, the pilot used a smaller scope integrated into the main instrument panel to track and close on the targe

Remote turret


The XP-61's spine-mounted dorsal remote turret could be aimed and fired by any one of the three-man crew, or could be locked forward to be fired by the pilot in addition to the 20 mm (.79 in) cannons. The radar operator could rotate the turret to face to the rear, in order to engage targets behind the aircraft. Capable of a full 360° rotation and 90° elevation, the turret could conceivably be used to engage any target in the entire hemisphere above and to the sides of the XP-61. The turret had buffeting problems on the airframe and was not installed for a few production runs
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Though the P-61 proved itself very capable against the majority of German aircraft it encountered, it was clearly outclassed by the new aircraft arriving in the last months of World War II. It also lacked external fuel tanks until the last months of the War,[14] an addition that would have extended its range and saved many doomed crews looking for a landing site in darkness and bad weather. External bomb loads would also have made the type more adaptable to the ground attack role it soon took on in Europe. These problems were all addressed eventually, but too late to have the impact they might have had earlier in the war. The P-61 proved very capable against all Japanese aircraft it encountered, but saw too few of them to make a significant difference in the Pacific war effort
Postwar military service
The useful life of the Black Widow was extended for a few years into the immediate postwar period due to the USAAF's problems in developing a useful jet-powered night/all-weather fighter. The Curtiss P-87 had initially been scheduled as the jet-powered replacement for the Black Widow, but the failure of the XP-87 project meant the Black Widow had to soldier on for another few years.
Replacement of the Black Widow by F-82F/G Twin Mustang night fighters began in early 1948, and by early 1950, most Black Widows were out of operational service. The last operational Black Widow left Japan in May 1950, missing the Korean War by only a month, while the last operational F-61 was retired in 1952.
Ejection seat experiments
A Black Widow participated in early American ejection seat experiments performed shortly after the war. The Germans had pioneered the development of ejection seats early in the war, the first-ever emergency use of an ejection seat having been made on 14 January 1942 by a Luftwaffe test pilot when he escaped from a disabled Heinkel He 280 V1. American interest in ejection seats during the war was largely a side-issue of the developmental work done on pusher aircraft such as the Vultee XP-54, the goal being to give the pilot at least some slim chance of clearing the tail assembly and the propeller of the aircraft in the case of an emergency escape, but little progress had been made since pusher aircraft development had never really gotten past the drawing board or the initial prototype stage. However, the development of high-speed jet-powered aircraft made the development of practical ejection seats mandatory.
Initially, an ejection seat was "borrowed" from a captured German Heinkel He 162 and was installed in a Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star in August 1945. However, it was decided that the single-seat P-80 would not be suitable for these tests, and it was decided to switch to a three-seat Black Widow. A P-61B-5-NO (serial number 42-39489) was modified for the tests, the ejection seat being fitted in the forward gunner's compartment. The aircraft was redesignated XP-61B for these tests (there having been no XP-61B prototype for the initial P-61B series). A dummy was used in the initial ejection tests, but on 17 April 1946, a volunteer, Sgt. Lawrence Lambert was successfully ejected from the P-61B at a speed of 302 mph (486 km/h) at 7,800 ft (2,380 m).[15] With the concept having been proven feasible, newer jet-powered aircraft were brought into the program, and the XP-61B was reconverted to standard P-61B configuration.


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General characteristics
• Crew: 2-3 (pilot, radar operator, optional gunner)
• Length: 49 ft 7 in (15.11 m)
• Wingspan: 66 ft 0 in (20.12 m)
• Height: 14 ft 8 in (4.47 m)
• Wing area: 662.36 ft² (61.53 m²)
• Empty weight: 23,450 lb (10,637 kg)
• Loaded weight: 29,700 lb (13,471 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 36,200 lb (16,420 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-65W Double Wasp radial engines, 2,250 hp (1,680 kW) each
• Propellers: four-bladed Curtiss Electric propeller, 1 per engine
o Propeller diameter: 146 in (3.72 m)

• Fuel capacity:
o Internal: 640 gal (2,423 L) of AN-F-48 100/130-octane rating gasoline
o External: Up to four 165 gal (625 L) or 310 gal (1,173 L) tanks under the wings
Performance
• Maximum speed: 366 mph (318 kn, 589 km/h) at 20,000 ft (6,095 m)
• Combat range: 610 mi (520 nmi, 982 km)
• Ferry range: 1,900 mo (1,650 mi, 3,060 km) with four external fuel tanks
• Service ceiling: 33,100 ft (10,600 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,540 ft/min (12.9 m/s)
• Wing loading: 45 lb/ft² (219 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.15 hp/lb (25 W/kg)
• Time to altitude: 12 min to 20,000 ft (6,100 m) (1,667 fpm)
Armament
• Guns:
o 4 × 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano M2 cannon in ventral fuselage, 200 rpg
o 4 × .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in upper turret, 560 rpg
• Bombs: for ground attack, four bombs of up to 1,600 lb (726 kg) each or six 5 in (127 mm) HVAR unguided rockets could be carried under the wings. Some aircraft could also carry one 1,000 lb (454 kg) bomb under the fuselage.
Avionics
• SCR-720 (AI Mk.X) search radar
• SCR-695 tail warning radar


XP-58 Chain Lightning


The Lockheed XP-58 Chain Lightning was an American long-range fighter developed during World War II. Although derived from the successful P-38 Lightning, the XP-58 was plagued by technical problems with its engines that eventually led to the cancellation of the project.



The XP-58 was a Lockheed Aircraft Company funded initiative to develop an improved Lightning as a long-range fighter following the release by the U.S. Army Air Corps of the Lightning for sale to Britain on 20 April 1940. Initially, two designs were formulated, both using the Continental IV-1440 engines. One would be a single seat aircraft with one 20 mm (.79 in) cannon and four .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns. The second would be a two-seat aircraft with the addition of a flexible .50 in (12.7 mm) gun at the end of each tail boom.
By July 1940, when use of the Pratt & Whitney XH-2600 was entertained, it was decided that the aircraft would have two seats, and the aircraft was designated XP-58. However, soon Lockheed was advised the development of the XH-2600 engine was terminated. After consideration of the engine alternatives, the design was changed to use two Wright R-2160 Tornado engines, as well as a change of the rear facing armament to two turrets, one upper and the other lower on the fuselage, each turret containing two .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns. As support equipment for the two crewmen was added, the estimated weight of the XP-58 grew to 34,232 lb (15,527 kg) by August 1941.
As vacillation continued over the engine and role of the XP-58, the USAAF agreed to a Lockheed proposal for a second XP-58 that would incorporate features to obtain a range of 3,000 mi (4,800 km). In September 1942, a decision was made to convert the aircraft for a role as a low-altitude tank-killer, which introduced complications as the Beechcraft XA-38 Grizzly was being developed for this role. As a result, the second XP-58 was canceled and the role of the design reverted to that of a high-altitude fighter, but one using large-bore cannon firing high-explosive shells to break up bomber formations.
The 37 mm (1.46 in) M4 autocannon was originally selected for a quadruple mount in the nose, but its drooping trajectory limited its effective range. An hydraulically-articulated nose that could be bent up to correct this problem was tried, but was dismissed as too complex. Then, a 75 mm (2.95 in) M5 autocannon paired with twin .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns was tried and proved much more successful.
[edit] Testing
In February 1943, use of another engine, the Allison V-3420, was necessary due to poor progress with the Tornado engine development. With this change, the second XP-58 was resurrected. The XP-58 finally flew on 6 June 1944, but flight test work on the XP-58 took second place to other higher priority developments. Eventually, 25 test flights were completed. The XP-58 was then flown to Wright Field for USAAF acceptance tests, even though the turbo-superchargers were experiencing torching and a number of systems were not installed including provision for cockpit pressurization and armament with its fire-control equipment. Although the prototype arrived at Wright Field on 22 October 1944 the aircraft was a maintenance headache and no further trials were conducted. The construction of the second prototype was abandoned.
Specifications (XP-58)


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The XP-58 was a Lockheed Aircraft Company funded initiative to develop an improved Lightning as a long-range fighter following the release by the U.S. Army Air Corps of the Lightning for sale to Britain on 20 April 1940. Initially, two designs were formulated, both using the Continental IV-1440 engines. One would be a single seat aircraft with one 20 mm (.79 in) cannon and four .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns. The second would be a two-seat aircraft with the addition of a flexible .50 in (12.7 mm) gun at the end of each tail boom.
By July 1940, when use of the Pratt & Whitney XH-2600 was entertained, it was decided that the aircraft would have two seats, and the aircraft was designated XP-58. However, soon Lockheed was advised the development of the XH-2600 engine was terminated. After consideration of the engine alternatives, the design was changed to use two Wright R-2160 Tornado engines, as well as a change of the rear facing armament to two turrets, one upper and the other lower on the fuselage, each turret containing two .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns. As support equipment for the two crewmen was added, the estimated weight of the XP-58 grew to 34,232 lb (15,527 kg) by August 1941.
As vacillation continued over the engine and role of the XP-58, the USAAF agreed to a Lockheed proposal for a second XP-58 that would incorporate features to obtain a range of 3,000 mi (4,800 km). In September 1942, a decision was made to convert the aircraft for a role as a low-altitude tank-killer, which introduced complications as the Beechcraft XA-38 Grizzly was being developed for this role. As a result, the second XP-58 was canceled and the role of the design reverted to that of a high-altitude fighter, but one using large-bore cannon firing high-explosive shells to break up bomber formations.
The 37 mm (1.46 in) M4 autocannon was originally selected for a quadruple mount in the nose, but its drooping trajectory limited its effective range. An hydraulically-articulated nose that could be bent up to correct this problem was tried, but was dismissed as too complex. Then, a 75 mm (2.95 in) M5 autocannon paired with twin .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns was tried and proved much more successful.
Testing
In February 1943, use of another engine, the Allison V-3420, was necessary due to poor progress with the Tornado engine development. With this change, the second XP-58 was resurrected. The XP-58 finally flew on 6 June 1944, but flight test work on the XP-58 took second place to other higher priority developments. Eventually, 25 test flights were completed. The XP-58 was then flown to Wright Field for USAAF acceptance tests, even though the turbo-superchargers were experiencing torching and a number of systems were not installed including provision for cockpit pressurization and armament with its fire-control equipment. Although the prototype arrived at Wright Field on 22 October 1944 the aircraft was a maintenance headache and no further trials were conducted. The construction of the second prototype was abandoned.
Specifications (XP-58)
The XP-58 was a Lockheed Aircraft Company funded initiative to develop an improved Lightning as a long-range fighter following the release by the U.S. Army Air Corps of the Lightning for sale to Britain on 20 April 1940. Initially, two designs were formulated, both using the Continental IV-1440 engines. One would be a single seat aircraft with one 20 mm (.79 in) cannon and four .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns. The second would be a two-seat aircraft with the addition of a flexible .50 in (12.7 mm) gun at the end of each tail boom.
By July 1940, when use of the Pratt & Whitney XH-2600 was entertained, it was decided that the aircraft would have two seats, and the aircraft was designated XP-58. However, soon Lockheed was advised the development of the XH-2600 engine was terminated. After consideration of the engine alternatives, the design was changed to use two Wright R-2160 Tornado engines, as well as a change of the rear facing armament to two turrets, one upper and the other lower on the fuselage, each turret containing two .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns. As support equipment for the two crewmen was added, the estimated weight of the XP-58 grew to 34,232 lb (15,527 kg) by August 1941.
As vacillation continued over the engine and role of the XP-58, the USAAF agreed to a Lockheed proposal for a second XP-58 that would incorporate features to obtain a range of 3,000 mi (4,800 km). In September 1942, a decision was made to convert the aircraft for a role as a low-altitude tank-killer, which introduced complications as the Beechcraft XA-38 Grizzly was being developed for this role. As a result, the second XP-58 was canceled and the role of the design reverted to that of a high-altitude fighter, but one using large-bore cannon firing high-explosive shells to break up bomber formations.
The 37 mm (1.46 in) M4 autocannon was originally selected for a quadruple mount in the nose, but its drooping trajectory limited its effective range. An hydraulically-articulated nose that could be bent up to correct this problem was tried, but was dismissed as too complex. Then, a 75 mm (2.95 in) M5 autocannon paired with twin .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns was tried and proved much more successful.
Testing
In February 1943, use of another engine, the Allison V-3420, was necessary due to poor progress with the Tornado engine development. With this change, the second XP-58 was resurrected. The XP-58 finally flew on 6 June 1944, but flight test work on the XP-58 took second place to other higher priority developments. Eventually, 25 test flights were completed. The XP-58 was then flown to Wright Field for USAAF acceptance tests, even though the turbo-superchargers were experiencing torching and a number of systems were not installed including provision for cockpit pressurization and armament with its fire-control equipment. Although the prototype arrived at Wright Field on 22 October 1944 the aircraft was a maintenance headache and no further trials were conducted. The construction of the second prototype was abandoned.
Specifications (XP-58)
The XP-58 was a Lockheed Aircraft Company funded initiative to develop an improved Lightning as a long-range fighter following the release by the U.S. Army Air Corps of the Lightning for sale to Britain on 20 April 1940. Initially, two designs were formulated, both using the Continental IV-1440 engines. One would be a single seat aircraft with one 20 mm (.79 in) cannon and four .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns. The second would be a two-seat aircraft with the addition of a flexible .50 in (12.7 mm) gun at the end of each tail boom.
By July 1940, when use of the Pratt & Whitney XH-2600 was entertained, it was decided that the aircraft would have two seats, and the aircraft was designated XP-58. However, soon Lockheed was advised the development of the XH-2600 engine was terminated. After consideration of the engine alternatives, the design was changed to use two Wright R-2160 Tornado engines, as well as a change of the rear facing armament to two turrets, one upper and the other lower on the fuselage, each turret containing two .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns. As support equipment for the two crewmen was added, the estimated weight of the XP-58 grew to 34,232 lb (15,527 kg) by August 1941.
As vacillation continued over the engine and role of the XP-58, the USAAF agreed to a Lockheed proposal for a second XP-58 that would incorporate features to obtain a range of 3,000 mi (4,800 km). In September 1942, a decision was made to convert the aircraft for a role as a low-altitude tank-killer, which introduced complications as the Beechcraft XA-38 Grizzly was being developed for this role. As a result, the second XP-58 was canceled and the role of the design reverted to that of a high-altitude fighter, but one using large-bore cannon firing high-explosive shells to break up bomber formations.
The 37 mm (1.46 in) M4 autocannon was originally selected for a quadruple mount in the nose, but its drooping trajectory limited its effective range. An hydraulically-articulated nose that could be bent up to correct this problem was tried, but was dismissed as too complex. Then, a 75 mm (2.95 in) M5 autocannon paired with twin .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns was tried and proved much more successful.
Testing
In February 1943, use of another engine, the Allison V-3420, was necessary due to poor progress with the Tornado engine development. With this change, the second XP-58 was resurrected. The XP-58 finally flew on 6 June 1944, but flight test work on the XP-58 took second place to other higher priority developments. Eventually, 25 test flights were completed. The XP-58 was then flown to Wright Field for USAAF acceptance tests, even though the turbo-superchargers were experiencing torching and a number of systems were not installed including provision for cockpit pressurization and armament with its fire-control equipment. Although the prototype arrived at Wright Field on 22 October 1944 the aircraft was a maintenance headache and no further trials were conducted. The construction of the second prototype was abandoned.
Specifications (XP-58)
The XP-58 was a Lockheed Aircraft Company funded initiative to develop an improved Lightning as a long-range fighter following the release by the U.S. Army Air Corps of the Lightning for sale to Britain on 20 April 1940. Initially, two designs were formulated, both using the Continental IV-1440 engines. One would be a single seat aircraft with one 20 mm (.79 in) cannon and four .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns. The second would be a two-seat aircraft with the addition of a flexible .50 in (12.7 mm) gun at the end of each tail boom.
By July 1940, when use of the Pratt & Whitney XH-2600 was entertained, it was decided that the aircraft would have two seats, and the aircraft was designated XP-58. However, soon Lockheed was advised the development of the XH-2600 engine was terminated. After consideration of the engine alternatives, the design was changed to use two Wright R-2160 Tornado engines, as well as a change of the rear facing armament to two turrets, one upper and the other lower on the fuselage, each turret containing two .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns. As support equipment for the two crewmen was added, the estimated weight of the XP-58 grew to 34,232 lb (15,527 kg) by August 1941.
As vacillation continued over the engine and role of the XP-58, the USAAF agreed to a Lockheed proposal for a second XP-58 that would incorporate features to obtain a range of 3,000 mi (4,800 km). In September 1942, a decision was made to convert the aircraft for a role as a low-altitude tank-killer, which introduced complications as the Beechcraft XA-38 Grizzly was being developed for this role. As a result, the second XP-58 was canceled and the role of the design reverted to that of a high-altitude fighter, but one using large-bore cannon firing high-explosive shells to break up bomber formations.
The 37 mm (1.46 in) M4 autocannon was originally selected for a quadruple mount in the nose, but its drooping trajectory limited its effective range. An hydraulically-articulated nose that could be bent up to correct this problem was tried, but was dismissed as too complex. Then, a 75 mm (2.95 in) M5 autocannon paired with twin .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns was tried and proved much more successful.
Testing
In February 1943, use of another engine, the Allison V-3420, was necessary due to poor progress with the Tornado engine development. With this change, the second XP-58 was resurrected. The XP-58 finally flew on 6 June 1944, but flight test work on the XP-58 took second place to other higher priority developments. Eventually, 25 test flights were completed. The XP-58 was then flown to Wright Field for USAAF acceptance tests, even though the turbo-superchargers were experiencing torching and a number of systems were not installed including provision for cockpit pressurization and armament with its fire-control equipment. Although the prototype arrived at Wright Field on 22 October 1944 the aircraft was a maintenance headache and no further trials were conducted. The construction of the second prototype was abandoned.
Specifications (XP-58)
General characteristics
• Crew: two, pilot and gunner
• Length: 49 ft 4 in (15.0 m)
• Wingspan: 70 ft (21.3 m)
• Height: 16 ft (4.9 m)
• Wing area: 600 ft² (56 m²)
• Empty weight: 21,624 lb (9,808 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 39,192 lb (17,777 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Allison V-3420 24 cylinder liquid-cooled engines, 3,000 hp (2,200 kW) each
Performance
• Maximum speed: 436 mi/h at 25,000 ft (702 km/h)
• Service ceiling: 38,400 ft (11,700 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,660 ft/min (13.5 m/min)
• Power/mass: 0.15 hp/lb (0.12 kW/kg)
Armament
• 4 × 37 mm (1.46 in) cannon in an articulated nose; 4 × .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns in two remotely controlled flexible turrets in the rear.
• 1 × 75 mm (2.95 in) cannon and 2 × .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns in the nose; 4 × .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns in two remotely controlled flexible turrets in the rear.




Bristol Beaufighter


The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design. The name Beaufighter is a portmanteau of "Beaufort" and "fighter".
Unlike the Beaufort, the Beaufighter had a long career and served in almost all theatres of war in the Second World War, first as a night fighter, then as a fighter bomber and eventually replacing the Beaufort as a torpedo bomber. A unique variant was built in Australia by the Department of Aircraft Production (DAP) and was known in Australia as the DAP Beaufighter.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... r_ExCC.jpg



The idea of a fighter development of the Beaufort was suggested to the Air Ministry by Bristol. The suggestion coincided with the delays in the development and production of the Westland Whirlwind cannon-armed twin-engine fighter. By converting an existing design, the "Beaufort Cannon Fighter" could be expected to be developed and produced far more quickly than starting a completely fresh design. Accordingly, the Air Ministry produced Specification F.11/37 written around Bristol's suggestion for an "interim" aircraft pending proper introduction of the Whirlwind. Bristol started building a prototype by taking a part-built Beaufort out of the production line. The prototype first flew on 17 July 1939, a little more than eight months after the design had started and possible due to the use of much of the Beaufort's design and parts. A production contract for 300 machines had already been placed two weeks before the prototype flew, as F.17/39.
In general, the differences between the Beaufort and Beaufighter were minor. The wings, control surfaces, retractable landing gear and aft section of the fuselage were identical to those of the Beaufort, while the wing centre section was similar apart from certain fittings. The bomb-bay was omitted, and four forward-firing 20 mm Hispano Mk III cannons were mounted in the lower fuselage area. These were initially fed from 60-round drums, requiring the radar operator to change the ammunition drums manually — an arduous and unpopular task, especially at night and while chasing a bomber. As a result, they were soon replaced by a belt-feed system. The cannons were supplemented by six .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning guns in the wings; four in the starboard wing and two to port. The areas for the rear gunner and bomb-aimer were removed, leaving only the pilot in a fighter-type cockpit. The navigator / radar operator sat to the rear under a small perspex bubble where the Beaufort's dorsal turret had been located.
The Bristol Taurus engines of the Beaufort were not powerful enough for a fighter and were replaced by the more powerful Bristol Hercules. The extra power presented problems with vibration; in the final design they were mounted on longer, more flexible struts, which stuck out from the front of the wings. This moved the centre of gravity (CoG) forward, a bad thing for an aircraft design. It was moved back by shortening the nose, as no space was needed for a bomb aimer in a fighter. This put most of the fuselage behind the wing, and moved the CoG back where it should be. With the engine cowlings and propellers now further forward than the tip of the nose, the Beaufighter had a characteristically stubby appearance.
Production of the Beaufort in Australia, and the highly successful use of British-made Beaufighters by the Royal Australian Air Force, led to Beaufighters being built by the Australian Department of Aircraft Production (DAP), from 1944 onwards. The DAP's variant was an attack/torpedo bomber, known as the Mark 21: design changes included Hercules CVII engines, dihedral to the tailplane and enhanced armament.
By the time British production lines shut down in September 1945, 5,564 Beaufighters had been built in England, by Bristol and also by Fairey Aviation Company, (498) Ministry of Aircraft Production (3336) and Rootes (260).
When Australian production ceased in 1946, 365 Mk 21s had been built.


By fighter standards, the Beaufighter Mk.I was rather heavy and slow. It had an all-up weight of 16,000 lb (7,000 kg) and a maximum speed of only 335 mph (540 km/h) at 16,800 ft (5,000 m). Nevertheless this was all that was available at the time, as the otherwise excellent Westland Whirlwind had already been cancelled due to production problems with its Rolls-Royce Peregrine engines.
The Beaufighter found itself coming off the production line at almost exactly the same time as the first British Airborne Intercept (AI) radar sets. With the four 20 mm cannon mounted in the lower fuselage, the nose could accommodate the radar antennas, and the general roominess of the fuselage enabled the AI equipment to be fitted easily. Even loaded to 20,000 lb (9,100 kg) the plane was fast enough to catch German bombers. By early 1941, it was an effective counter to Luftwaffe night raids. The various early models of the Beaufighter soon commenced service overseas, where its ruggedness and reliability soon made the aircraft popular with crews.
A night-fighter Mk VIF was supplied to squadrons in March 1942, equipped with AI Mark VIII radar. As the faster de Havilland Mosquito took over in the night fighter role in mid to late 1942, the heavier Beaufighters made valuable contributions in other areas such as anti-shipping, ground attack and long-range interdiction in every major theatre of operations.
In the Mediterranean, the USAAF's 414th, 415th, 416th and 417th Night Fighter Squadrons received 100 Beaufighters in the summer of 1943, achieving their first victory in July 1943. Through the summer the squadrons conducted both daytime convoy escort and ground-attack operations, but primarily flew defensive interception missions at night. Although the Northrop P-61 Black Widow fighter began to arrive in December 1944, USAAF Beaufighters continued to fly night operations in Italy and France until late in the war.
By the autumn of 1943, the Mosquito was available in enough numbers to replace the Beaufighter as the primary night fighter of the RAF. By the end of the war some 70 pilots serving with RAF units had become aces while flying Beaufighters.
Coastal Command
1941 saw the development of the Beaufighter Mk.IC long-range heavy fighter. This new variant entered service in May 1941 with a detachment from No. 252 Squadron operating from Malta. The aircraft proved so effective in the Mediterranean against shipping, aircraft and ground targets that Coastal Command became the major user of the Beaufighter, replacing the now obsolete Beaufort and Blenheim.
Coastal Command began to take delivery of the up-rated Mk.VIC in mid 1942. By the end of 1942 Mk VICs were being equipped with torpedo-carrying gear, enabling them to carry the British 18 in (457 mm) or the US 22.5 in (572 mm) torpedo externally. The first successful torpedo attacks by Beaufighters came in April 1943, with No. 254 Squadron sinking two merchant ships off Norway.
The Hercules Mk XVII, developing 1,735 hp (1,294 kW) at 500 ft (150 m), was installed in the Mk VIC airframe to produce the TF Mk.X (Torpedo Fighter), commonly known as the "Torbeau." The Mk X became the main production mark of the Beaufighter. The strike variant of the "Torbeau" was designated the Mk.XIC. Beaufighter TF Xs would make precision attacks on shipping at wave-top height with torpedoes or RP-3 rockets. Early models of the Mk Xs carried metric-wavelength ASV (air-to-surface vessel) radar with "herringbone" antennae carried on the nose and outer wings, but this was replaced in late 1943 by the centimetric AI Mark VIII radar housed in a "thimble-nose" radome, enabling all-weather and night attacks.
The North Coates Strike Wing (Coastal Command), based at RAF North Coates on the Lincolnshire coast, developed attack tactics combining large formations of Beaufighters on anti-flak suppression with cannon and rockets while the Torbeaus attacked on low level. These tactics were put into practice in mid 1943, and in a 10-month period, 29,762 tons (27,000 tonnes) of shipping were sunk. Tactics were further adapted when shipping was moved from port during the night. North Coates Strike Wing operated as the largest anti-shipping force of the Second World War, and accounted for over 150,000 tons (136,100 tonnes) of shipping and 117 vessels for a loss of 120 Beaufighters and 241 aircrew killed or missing. This was half the total tonnage sunk by all strike wings between 1942-45.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... ighter.jpg

General characteristics
• Crew: 2: pilot, observer
• Length: 41 ft 4 in (12.6 m)
• Wingspan: 57 ft 10 in (17.65 m)
• Height: 15 ft 10 in (4.84 m)
• Wing area: 503 ft²[5] (46,73 m²)
• Empty weight: 15,592 lb (7,072 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 25,400 lb (11,521 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Bristol Hercules 14-cylinder radial engines, 1,600 hp (1,200 kW) each
Performance
• Maximum speed: 320 mph (280 kn, 515 km/h) at 10,000 ft (3,050 m)
• Range: 1,750 mi (1,520 nmi, 2,816 km)
• Service ceiling: 19,000 ft (5,795 m) without torpedo
• Rate of climb: 1,600 ft/min (8.2 m/s) without torpedo
Armament
• 4 × 20 mm Hispano Mk III cannon (60 rpg) in nose
• Fighter Command
• 4 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns (outer starboard wing)
• 2 × .303 in (7.7 mm) machine gun (outer port wing)
• 8 × RP-3 "60 lb" (27 kg) rockets or 2× 1,000 lb (450 kg) bombs
• Coastal Command
• 1 × manually-operated Vickers GO or .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning for observer
• 1 × 18 in (457 mm) torpedo







As for WW2 planes It's nice to see them. I've always personally enjoyed them over even jets. I've always loved the sound of a WW2 fighter engine revving up. And it flying over at an airshow.

NICE!!!!!!!
let your YES be YES and your NO be NO but plz no maybe
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Aramanthus
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by Aramanthus »

Nice write up of my all time favorite aircraft! Thank you for rendering it so nicely!
"Your Grace," she said, "I have only one question. Do you wish this man crippled or dead?"

"My Lady," the protector of Grayson told his Champion, "I do not wish him to leave this chamber alive."

"As you will it, your Grace."

HH....FIE
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abtex
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by abtex »

ZINO wrote:
Ah I see a double post
where ?

The first block of aircraft is double posted.
Yakovlev Yak-9 to Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1
Is the only ones that I have found.
I hate it when my mind wonders,
Because I have no idea what it will bring back with it.

taalismn says -- Librarians assume the role of scholar-priest-kings in an increasinly illiterate society...

taalismn says -- Abtex...Unofficial archival mole for the fictional arms industry again with the sites that make you blink... :shock: :-D
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by ZINO »

Aramanthus wrote:Nice write up of my all time favorite aircraft! Thank you for rendering it so nicely!

i didn't do all by my self had major help in the web
let your YES be YES and your NO be NO but plz no maybe
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Arnie100
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by Arnie100 »

:D Awesome stuff!
They can't see me...Right!?
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Aramanthus
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by Aramanthus »

I believe I've heard about that. And Charles Linberg actually helped the pilots in the pacific to get the most out of their plans. They could get far better range after he helped out.
"Your Grace," she said, "I have only one question. Do you wish this man crippled or dead?"

"My Lady," the protector of Grayson told his Champion, "I do not wish him to leave this chamber alive."

"As you will it, your Grace."

HH....FIE
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by Library Ogre »

Sir Arkady wrote:Don't forget the P-38's ability to use a "corkscrew; maneuver, where the pilot reduces power to one engine while increasing it to the other, resulting in a much faster and tighter turn than an aircraft of its size should be capable of. Of course, you do need an expert pilot to pull it off, but it was used successfully against the Zero.


And they can loop-the-loop and fill the screen with lightning! :)
-overproduced by Martin Hannett

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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by Aramanthus »

I know that most people like the other planes. I've always liked that one.
"Your Grace," she said, "I have only one question. Do you wish this man crippled or dead?"

"My Lady," the protector of Grayson told his Champion, "I do not wish him to leave this chamber alive."

"As you will it, your Grace."

HH....FIE
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Re: RIFTS WAR BIRDS

Unread post by Lt Gargoyle »

Zino this is great work here. Thumbs up here buddy!
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