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Aviation History
1943
1943 - 2213.PDF
SEPTEMBER CJTH, 1943 FLIGHT 289 German Aircraft Structures Universal Use of hsection Wing Spars : Fuselage Construction Characterised by Few Formers and Numerous Stringers STRUCTURAL features of theDo 217, Me 210 and Fw 190 aredescribed in detail in the following report, and features of interest in most other types of German air- craft which have been in service over this country are also men- tioned. Eight main types of aircraft in service with the Luftwaffe have been examined in dtrtail. These types are as follows: — FROM time to time we have dealt in this journal with the design a d con- structional features of captured enemy aircraft. The Ministry of Aircraft Production has had an examination made of eight German aircraft types, and in the following article a comparison is made which reveals the main trends in German aircraft design. Firm Type Duty ^Heinkel He HI Bomber Junkers JU87 Dive Bomber Ju 88 Bomber and dive bomber Dornier Do 217 Bomber and dive bomber Messerschmitt Me 109 Fighter bomber Me 110 Fighter bomber Me 210 Fighter, dive bomber and ground attacker Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Fighter bomber Of these types, the Do 217, Me 210 and Fw 190 are the most recent designs, and the He 111, Ju 87 and Me 109 the oldest. The structural features of the three latest types are described in detail in the following notes, only features of particular interest in the other types Being mentioned. In the last four of the types listed the design is notable from the point of view of ease of production, maintenance and interchangeability of major components. Weight sum- maries are given in an appendix at the end of this report, for the Fw190, Me 109F and Do 217. (See next week's issue.—Ed.) Wings Fw 190 :—The wings of all these types are of stressed- skin construction, but only in the Fw 190 does the skin take more than torque and drag loads. /? Fig. 1 shows a bottom plan view of the Fw 190 wing and indicates the positions of the various large doors and cut- outs in the top and bottom surfaces. The main spar passes right through the fuselage and in the centre section is very strong, consisting of a built-up I beam with a solid plate web and each flange formed by a pair of angles formed from strip placed back to back and riveted together through the web. To the outside of each pair of flange angles is riveted a doubling plate lin. thick at the centre and taper- CUT-OUT FOR UNDERCARRIAGE ACCESS DOORTO CANNON (TOP SURFACE) ACCESS DOORTO CANNON FIG. I Fw 190. Bottom plan view of wing. ing to fin. at 5ft. from the centre line, after which it tapers rapidly to nothing. The angle sections alone form the flanges from this point onwards, and these also are machined to taper towards the tip. The web remains the same thickness through- out the length of the spar. The spar is connected to the fuselage by two vertical bolts passing through lugs attached to the top flange. The rear spar is of similar construction but is pin-jointed to the fuselage. The flange angles are of lighter section and the doubling plates near the root are only |-in. thick at their thickest point, about 2ft. from the pin-joint, tapering off to nothing in both directions. » The manner in which the wing torsion is taken in this machine is interesting. Referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that in the outer part of the wing (Section A) torsion is taken by the box formed by the front and rear spar webs and the top and bottom skin, the D-nose being of small proportions. In Section B of the wing, torsion is carried past the access door in the lower surface mainly by the spars, assisted by the small D-nose. In Section C the tor- sion is again taken by the box formed by the spars and skin. In this part of the wing the spar flanges rapidly begin to thicken up, as indicated by the hatching in Fig. 1, and all the bending is transferred to the main spar due to the pin joint in the rear spar. The manner in which torsion is taken in the most inboard section of the wing, where theie is a large door in the top surface, is indicated in Fig. 2 and the reason for the doubling plates near the root of the rear spar will be seen. As in many of the German designs, the ribs are few in number. In the Fw 190 they consist of plate webs- with their edges turned over to foi<m flanges to which the skin is riveted. The rib flanges are cut away to clear the span wise stringers, and the webs are pierced with lightening holes with the edges turned over for stiffening. No chordwise stiffeners are used, but there are a num- ber of span wise stringers on the top and bottom skins, spaced at 3|in. apart. The stringers are Z-section ijin deep by ifin. wide by 16 s.w.g. and are continuous, passing through flanged cut-outs in the ribs. Do 2iJ :—The Do217 wings are built in three .suctions, comprising the two outer wings, each 16ft. long, and the centre section, 30ft. long, which is integral with the fuse- lage centre section and carries the two engine and under carriage nacelles and the main fuel tanks The wing and fuselage centre sec- tion is entirely -:l metal construction and is built around two N-girder spars. The spar booms are basically thick I section light alloy extrusions, but with the addition <.A thinner extensions at each edge of the horizontal flange to enable the skin to be riveted on flush M1 FIG. 2 Fw 190. Torsion at wing root cut-out
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