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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 1864.PDF
5EPTEMBER 20TH, 1945 FLIGHT 317 Germany's War Aircraft A Synoptic Survey of Enemy Designs—Past, Present and Projected FOLLOWING examination ofenemy aircraft in Germany, andthe capture of official enemy material, it is now possible to add materially to the general knowledge of German types and trends. Last week's issue of Flight con- tained an article dealing with the jet power units devised by Germany in her efforts to counter the ever-increas- ing Allied supremacy in the air. As a logical follow-up, we now give a sur- vey of Germany's military aircraft, some of them in the experimental stage. As a chronological sequence,of development in the separate aircraft categories might be somewhat confus- * ing, it is thought best to deal with the types in alphabetical sequence. Arado First on the list are the Arado types. The Ar 196 seaplane and Ar 232 trans- port being fairly familiar, the type Ar 234B is the most interesting. This avrraft, the fastest bomber in the world, was referred to in the last issue,' and its maximum speed of 546 m.p.h. at 20,000ft., coupled with good in- herent aerodynamic stability, have shown it to be an unusually • efficient aircraft. Another Arado machine is the type Ar 240, a low-wing twin-engine aircraft intended for high altitude reconnais- sance or as a heavy fighter. Early sub-types had DB601 engines, later sub-types DB 603s or 605s. It saw very limited operational service. Blohm and Voss Of the Blohm and Voss machines the most unconventional was undoub- tedly the type BV141B asymmetric aircraft which was especially produced to afford maximum visibility. Powered with a single BMW 801, only a few of these machines were ldd the type was not used operational equip^ Two prototypes flfTtbfc int INCLUDED in this further review of German aircraft are some of the jet- propelled types. The first articles, dealing authorita- tively with Germany's jet aircraft, were published in "Flight" of June 14th and ^September 13th. Rocket propelled air- craft and directed missiles will be reviewed in succeeding issues. high-wing twin-engine Bv 144 were con- structed for the Germans by the Societe Louis Breguet, of Fcance. The main feature of this aircraft is a. vari- able incidence mechanism for chang- ing the effective angle of attack during flight, a project in which we might well see further developments. The machine accommodates a crew of three together with 18 passengers and 1,000 lb. of freight, and has a range of 930 miles; all - up weight is 28,900 lb. A high altitude single seat fighter, originally designed by Messerschmitt, was entrusted to Blohm and Voss and given the title of Bv 155. Although quantity production was contemplated the aircraft never became operational. There were two versions, the Bv 155B with a DB603 engine and TKL15 turbo-supercharger, and the Bv 155c with DB603U engine and TKL 15 turbo-supercharger. Maximum speed for both types was calculated to be 428 m.p.h. at 54,000ft. for type B and at 50,000ft. for type c. The latest Blohm and Voss aircraft is the BV238, only one or two proto- types of this having been built. It bears a general resemblance to the familiar Bv 222 but is considerably larger and heavier. It was intended .that operational^jj^wrfaft should be "umo 222 engines, and at the junction of .and outer wing panels, long nacelles each with two gun tur- rets were to be fitted, one forward of the leading edge and the other aft of the trailing edge. The designed all- up weight of this aircraft is 198,000 lb. D.F.S. First in the D group comes the D.F.S. 322 glider which was devel- oped for testing full-scale wing sections at high speed. It is a twin fuselage design of 49ft. 2in. span, the wing section to be tested being mounted be- tween the fuselages, and the angle of attack of the test section made variable in flight by an electric motor. The pilot's cockpit is in the starboard fuse- lage and there is accommodation for the observer in the port fuselage. Dormer Of the Dornier designs the one re- vealing the greatest technical interest is the D0335A tandem-engined fighter, night fighter and fighter-bomber. Although available in small numbers ARADO 234B : This very clean bomber-reconnaissance machine with periscope gun and bomb sight above cockpit is Jumo 004 jet propelled, with a speed of 470 m.p.h. at 19,700ft. BLOHM AND VOSS 144 : This in- teresting transport design has as its main feature a variable incidence wing. Extensive use is made of electrics and the cockpit is neat and modern. towards the end of the war, this air- craft was not encountered on opera- tions. The cockpit is above the lead- ing edge of the wing between the nose and tail engines. In the two-seater version a second seat is in a separate cockpit behind and above the pilot, a separate enclosure giving forward vision. A further unusual feature is the cruciform tail. Two DB603 engines power the machine, the nose engine driving a tractor airscrew and the rear engine a pusher. On some versions the nose airscrew is of revers- ible pitch type. Maker's performance figures are: maximum (emergency)
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