Messerschmitt Bf.163 recon plane

 

The Messerschmitt Bf.163 (NOT to be confused with the Messerschmitt Me.163  Komet the rocket-powered interceptor) was a German STOL (acronym standing for Short Take Off and Landing) designed by Bayerische Flugzeugwerke and built by Weserflug during the late 1930s.

During Autumn 1935 the Fieseler Fi.156 Storch project was showing a lot of potential in the field of short-range reconnaissance and aerial observation that the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM - German air ministry) issued a requirement for an army cooperation and observation aircraft with an stipulated performance parameters. The required engine to work with was the Argus As.10 or the Hirth Hm.508 stressing on the STOL capabilities. Maximum possible field of view for a crew of two and a range wide of speed were requested too. A total of three designs were presented for this requirement, the Siebel Si.201, the Fieseler Fi.156 and the Messerschmitt Bf.163. 

The Messerschmitt Bf.163 resembled in some regards the Fi.156 as it was a high-wing braced monoplane with a structure made entirely out of metal. It had also automatic edge wing slots, double slotted flaps and a specially tall fixed undercarriage. Its most innovative feature was its capacity for varying the incidence of the entire wing which swiveled on its main axis, with the bracing struts attached to the main fuselage by ball joints which could change their angle with the movement of the wing. The only prototype was built by Weserflug, although, as it was designed by Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW) before 11th July 1938 when that company changed its name to Messerchmitt AG, it retained the Bf. prefix given by the RLM.

The only prototype flew for the first time on 19th February 1938. It was powered by a single Argus As.10C rated at 240 hp of power. The Bf.163 V1, when tested, had similar flight characteristics as the Fieseler Fi.156, but it was more complex and expensive, hence why, although a second prototype was underway, the whole project was cancelled in favour of the Fi.156.

In a strange decision, the RLM reissued the fuselage designation number 8-163 for the Me.163 Komet rocket-powered interceptor, after having allocated that number for the Bf.163. Therefore, both aircraft can be distinguished by their prefix, the earlier Bf.163 and the later Me.163. This was done because BFW changed its name to Messerschmitt, after Willy Messerschmitt bought the entire BFW on 11th July 1938.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_163

2. http://all-aero.com/index.php/contactus/53-planes-l-m-n-o/6681-messerschmitt-bf-163

3. http://airwar.ru/enc/other2/bf163.html (translated as best as we could)

Arado Ar.231

 

The Arado Ar.231 was a lightweight floatplane developed in Germany during World War 2 as a scout plane to be used in submarines by Arado Flugzeugwerke. The requirement to be stored inside a submarine compromised the design greatly from its inception.

The Ar.231 was a parasol light aircraft designed in 1940 at a request made by the Kriegsmarine, to be used on board the large U-Boat cruisers like the Type XI B. It was powered by a single Hirth HM 501 inline engine which delivered a total of 160 hp of power and the aircraft had a total weight of around 1.000 kg (2.200 lb) with a wingspan of 10 m (33 ft). This design allowed a compact aircraft that could be stored inside a cylinder of just 2 m (6 ft 7 in) of diameter without any mechanical aid. The wings could be detached in two parts each, by two operators in less than six minutes. One not very typical design feature was an offset wing design with the wing right root attached to the wing's tilted center section, which was elevated above the fuselage, but lower than the left wing root, to allow quick folding of the wings. 

When flying at cruise speed it could maintain airborne for four hours. This could be useful if the submarine had to perform an unexpected dive when the Ar.231 was still flying. 

During testing, it was found that when there were winds with a strength of 6 or higher, the aircraft couldn't be brought inside the submarine without colliding, so the project was cancelled after only two prototypes and four test machines were built. The Focke-Achgelis Fa.330 gyroglider was chosen instead by the Kriegsmarine to serve on board submarines.

Two Ar.231 were used on board the Auxiliary Cruiser Stier, but they also turned to be unsuitable for operating from surface raiders as the type proved to be very difficult to fly, even in calm weather, as it was too fragile and was seriously underpowered.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arado_Ar_231

2. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arado_Ar_231 (translated)

3. https://www.valka.cz/Arado-Ar-231-t12702

Further reading

1. http://www.airwar.ru/enc/sww2/ar231.html (in Russian though - use a translator- )

Messerschmitt Me.264 'Amerikabomber'

 

The Messerschmitt Me.264 was a long-range German strategic bomber developed during World War 2. It was intended to be Luftwaffe's main strategic bomber.

Its origins came from Messerschmitt's long-range reconnaissance aircraft project, named P.1061 in the late 1930s, a variant of which was the P.1062, with only two engines, against the P.1061 four engines. However, those two engines were the more powerful Daimler-Benz DB.606 'Power Systems', each comprising a pair of DB.601 inverted V-12 engines. This system was already successfully employed in the Messerschmitt Me.261 long-range reconnaissance aircraft. This engine system was also installed in a variant of the Heinkel He.177A, but it was denigrated by Hermann Göring. In early 1941 six P.1061 prototypes were ordered from Messerschmitt. This order was eventually reduced to three prototypes. 

The progress of the project was initially slow, but when Germany declared war on the United States, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM - Reich's Aviation Ministry) endorsed the Amerikabomber programme in the spring of 1942 for a very long range bomber capable of reaching the United States' east coast from bases in France or Azores Islands. Proposals were put forward for the Junkers Ju.390, the Focke-Wulf Ta.400, a redesign of the incomplete and never-built Heinkel He.277 and a design study for an extended-wingspan six-engine Messerschmitt Me.264B. The need for six engines was prompted by the inability of German aircraft engine manufacturers to create a 1.5 kW (2.011 Hp) combat-reliable powerplants. As the Junkers Ju.390 was itself a redesign of the Junkers Ju.290 already in use, that design was chosen. This did not mean the abandonment of the Me.264, as the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) separately demanded a long-range maritime patrol aircraft with attack capabilities to replace the Focke-Wulf Fw.200. This was endorsed by an opinion given by Generalmajor von Gablenz in May 1942 about the viability of the Amerikabomber. As a result the two pending prototypes were ordered to be completed as an ultra long-range reconnaissance aircraft.

The Me.264 was an all-metal high-wing four-engine heavy bomber of traditional design. The fuselage was round in cross section and had a cabin in a glazed nose, making for a stepless cockpit with no separate windscreen section for the pilots. This design, common in many German bombers, like the Heinkel He.111, resembled the cockpit of the Boeing B-29, of slightly earlier design. The wing had a slightly swept leading edge and a straight trailing edge. The tail section had double tail fins and undercarriage was a retractable tricycle gear with large diameter wheels on the wing mounted main gear.

Planned defensive armament consisted on four 13 mm (0.51 in) MG 131 and two 20 mm (0.78 in) MG 151/20 cannons distributed as follows:

• Two MG 131 in dorsal turrets, one located just aft the cockpit and another one on the middle section plus two more in waist positions.
• One MG 151/20 remotely operated placed in the tail plus another ventral one, remotely operated too.

Overall, it carried very little armour and relatively few guns, in order to increase fuel capacity and achieve the intended range of 15.000 km (9.321 milles) with an endurance of 45 hours. 

The first prototype, called Me.264 V1 was initially fitted with four Junkers Jumo 211 engines with an engine setting made standard by the Junkers Ju.88A. However, inadequate power from the Jumo engines, forced their replacement on the Me.264 V1 with four similarly unitized 1.676 hp (1.250 kW) BMW 801G engines. In order to provide comfort for the long-range missions, it also featured bunk-beds and a small galley complete with hot plates.

The first prototype, registered as RE+EN, flew for the first time on 23rd December 1942. Trials showed numerous minor faults and handling was found to be difficult. The design had to cope with very high wind loading rates, when fully loaded. Comparable aircraft, such as the B-29, the Heinkel He.277 or the Ju.390 had lower loading. This setback caused poor climbing performance, loss of manoeuvrability, stability and high take-off and landing speeds. The first prototype had no armour on the engines nor defensive armament, but the following prototype, Me.264 V2 had armour on the engines while the third prototype, Me.264 V3, was going to have defensive armament as well.

In 1943 the Kriegsmarine withdrew their interest on the Me.264 in favour of the Ju.290 and the planned Ju.390, while the Luftwaffe showed interest on the design of the Focke-Wulf Ta.400 and the Heinkel He.277 as Amerikabomber candidates in May 1943, based on performance estimations, so further payments to Messerschmitt for work on the project were cut out so Erhard Milch, ordered further development of the Me.264 to stop, in order to concentrate on the jet-powered Messerschmitt Me.262 fighter.

Late in 1943, the Me.264 V2 was destroyed during a bombardment. On 18th July 1944, the first prototype, which was assigned to Transportstaffel 5 (Transport Squadron 5) as a transport airplane, was damaged during an Allied bombing raid and was not repaired. That same raid destroyed the third unfinished prototype. 

After the cancellation of the competing He.277 in April 1944, on 23rd September 1944, work on the Me.264 was officially cancelled. Messerschmitt proposed a six-engine version, the Me.264/6m (or, unofficially, the Me.364) but it didn't go beyond the project stage.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Me_264

2. https://www.valka.cz/Messerschmitt-Me-264-t14202

3. Osprey Publishing - X-Planes 2 - Messerschmitt Me 264 Amerikabomber

Arado Ar.296 and Ar.396

 

As the Arado Ar.96 was becoming obsolete, the Reich's Aviation Ministry started to look for a replacement. That's where both Arado Ar.296 and the Ar.396 came in. 

The Arado Ar.296 was a project for a development of the original Arado Ar.96 trainer aircraft powered by a more powerful Argus As.411 engine. However, as the war progressed on, the project was abandoned in favour of the Ar.396 which employed less strategic material which were so much needed in times of war. As there are just indications of how the project would look like if completed, the drawing should be considered as hypothetical.

The Ar.396 was a trainer aircraft developed from the Ar.96B, but employing as little metal as possible in its construction. In spite of its name it was developed both in France and Czechoslovakia and, apparently, it never entered operational use with the Luftwaffe, though the prototypes were painted in Luftwaffe's colours and markings. 

Considering that, by 1944, Germany was running short on strategic materials like light alloys this new design was intended to use as little metal and wood as possible. The Ar.396 was designed  by the French Société Industrielle pour l’Aéronautique (SIPA) during the occupation. As France was liberated, work on this new aircraft was continued at Avia and Letov, in Czechoslovakia. The Ar.396V3 made its maiden flight on 29th December 1944 in the liberated Paris, with Free France's colours and was, in fact, the prototype for the SIPA S.10 (another aircraft which we'll post about later). 

As a simplified version of the Ar.96, the Ar.396 featured hand operated flaps, and a semi-retractable undercarriage. It had two seats, one for the pilot and another one for the student both of which sat in tandem in enclosed glazed cockpit and there were plans for it to be produced in two versions, the Ar.396 A-1 which was a fighter trainer with a single machine-gun, bomb racks and a gun-sight and the Ar.396 A-2 which was designed for blind flying training. 

Although it never reached operational status, the fourth prototype was tested at Rechlin in late 1944, where it suffered carbon-monoxide problems in the crew compartment. The Ar.396 present at Letov's facilities in Prague, became famous as it was captured by the Czech resistance and used during Prague in early May 1945.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arado_Ar_96

2. http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_arado_ar_396.html

3. https://www.valka.cz/Arado-Ar-396-A-t6485

Arado Ar.195

The Arado Ar.195 was a German carrier-borne torpedo-bomber which was built by Arado Flugzeugwerke for service with the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin.
It was designed and developed during 1937 and intended to serve on the Graf Zeppelin aircraft carrier, which in that year was still under construction. It was directly based on the Arado Ar.95L.
It was a single-strut braced biplane with foldable wings, arrestor hook and catapult equipment.
In order to get good cockpit visibility during carrier landings, the cockpit was pushed forward as much as possible. It was powered by a single BMW 132 K radial engine which yielded 830 hp of power for take off.
It was armed with one fixed forward-firing 7.9 mm (0.311 in) MG 17 machine gun, located at starboard side of the engine, plus another 7.9 mm (0.311 in) MG 15 machine gun mounted at the back of the cockpit in a defensive position. It had a crew of two, a pilot and a radio-operator/rear-gunner.
Its main armament, however, was the 700 kg (1.543 lb) torpedo placed under the fuselage plus the bomb load which, could be partially placed underwings.
Although three prototypes were completed in 1937 at Arado's factory in Warnemünde, close to the city of Rostock, the Fieseler Fi.167 proved to be superior and the Ar.195 was considered outdated so the project was discarded.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arado_Ar_195
2. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arado_Ar_195 (translated)
3. https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=534
4. https://www.valka.cz/Arado-Ar-195-t57834

Fieseler Fi.167

During early 1937 the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (Reich's Air Ministry - RLM) issued a specification for a torpedo bomber capable of operating from Germany's first aircraft carrier, the Graf Zeppelin, whose construction started back in December 1936. The specification was issued to two German aircraft manufacturers, Fieseler and Arado. The specification required an all-metal biplane with a maximum speed of at least 300 km/h (186 mph) with a range of at least 1.000 km (631 milles) and with both torpedo and dive bombing capabilities. In the summer of 1938 Fieseler's design proved to be superior to the Arado Ar.195 (Arado's proposal).
The aircraft exceded by far all requirements as it had excellent handling capabilities and could carry about the twice required weapons payload. Just like Fieseler's most famous aircraft, the Fi.156 Storch, the Fi.167 had very good handling when flying at low speeds and, under the right conditions, it was said that the airplane was capable of landing almost vertically on a moving aircraft carrier. However, as the Graf Zeppelin was never completed, that affirmation seems to be propagandist. Apparently, during a test flight, Gerhard Fieseler himself managed to drop the airplane from 10.000 ft (3.048 m) to just 100 ft (30.48 m) while staying above the same ground point.
It seems too that, for emergency landings, the Fi.167 could jettison its landing gear and airtight compartments located in the lower wing would help the aircraft to remain afloat long enough for its two-man crew to evacuate.
Two prototypes were built in 1937, with the first one, making its maiden flight on 12th November 1937 and was followed by 12 pre-production machines (Fi.167A-0) manufactured from 1938 to 1940 which differed only in small details from the prototype. All of them were built at Fieseler's factory in Kassel, Germany. The Fi.167 was powered by a single Daimler-Benz DB-601B V-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston engine which yielded 1.100 hp of power. It was armed with a single 7.92 mm forward-firing MG-17 machine gun plus another 7,92 mm MG-15 mounted in the rear cockpit. It could carry a single LT F5b torpedo under the fuselage, or up to 1.000 kg (2.200 lb) of bombs and, additionally, four small SC-50 bombs mounted in underwing racks.
As the Graf Zeppelin wasn't expected to be completed before the end of 1940, the Fi.167 was given low priority. Later, in 1940, when the construction of the Graf Zeppelin was halted, the completion of further aircraft was stopped and the completed aircraft was sent into Luftwaffe service in Erprobungsgruppe 167, which was an evaluation and testing unit created ad-hoc for the Fi.167. This unit had nine Fi.167 and was based in the Netherlands where they conducted coastal trials.
The construction of the Graf Zeppelin was resumed in 1942, but by that time the Junkers Ju.87C (a carrier-borne variant of the Ju.87) took over the role as a reconnaissance bomber with torpedo bombing capabilities, rendering torpedo bombers unnecessary. The nine Fi.167s returned to Germany in the summer of 1943 only to be shortly later sold to the Independent State of Croatia.
The remaining aircraft were used in the Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt (German Aircraft Experimental Institute), located in Budweis (nowadays Ceske Budejovice) in Czechoslovakia, for testing different landing gear configurations. The two test aircraft had their lower wings removed just outboard of the landing gear to increase the sink rate for some of the tests.
Those sent to Croatia, took advantage of the aircraft's short-field landing and high load-carrying abilities to transport ammunition and other supplies to besieged Croatian Army garrisons between their arrival in September 1944 and the end of the war. At least one of them was captured by Yugoslav Partisans and was used briefly by them.
It was during one of those resupply missions when, near the city of Sisak, Croatia, on 10th October 1944 an Fi.167 belonging to the Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia and piloted by the Croatian ace Bozidar Bartulovic, was attacked by a formation of five North American Mustang Mk.III of the No.213 Squadron Royal Air Force. Three of those Mustang claimed one biplane shot down over the village of Martinska Ves, close to Zagreb. Bartulovic was wounded in the head and the aircraft caught fire, but Bartulovic's gunner, Mate Jurkovic before bailing out, claimed one of the Mustang. British records state that one of the fighter was hit and crash landed, making it, probably, the last biplane kill of the World War 2.
Apparently not a single Fi.167 survived.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fieseler_Fi_167
2. https://www.valka.cz/Fieseler-Fi-167-A-0-t6494
3. Hikoki Books - Luftwaffe Aerial Torpedo Aircraft and Operations in World War II
4. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fieseler_Fi_167 (translated)
5. http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/fi167.html
6. http://www.fliegerweb.com/de/lexicon/Geschichte/Fieseler+Fi+167-162 (translated)

Messerschmitt Me.208 / Nord 1100 Noralpha

During the occupation of France, the production of the Messerschmitt Bf.108 was transferred to the Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Nord (commonly known just as "Nord"), at the French city of Les Mureaux, West of Paris in 1942. The company built two prototypes of the Me.208, an expected successor to the Messerschmitt Bf.108 during 1943. It was basically an enlarged version of the Bf.108 with a tricycle landing gear powered by an Argus As 10P which delivered 237 hp of power during take-off and drove a two-bladed propeller. The prototype flew for the first time in January 1944. Apparently there was a second prototype.
It was expected Nord to take the bulk of the manufacturing process in order to replace the existing, and ageing, Bf.108 that were already in service with the Luftwaffe. However, the course of the war prevented its mass production and only one prototype survived the War, which was renamed as Nord 1100.
After the War, Nord produced a re-engined version of the Me.208/Nord 1100 powered by a Renault 6Q-10 engine which delivered 233 hp of power and was designated as Nord 1101 Noralpha by the company and Ramier I (Woodpigeon I in English) by the French Armée de l'Air.
A single Nord 1101 was refitted with a Potez 6D-0 engine, yielding 240 hp of power for engine trials and was designated as Nord 1104. Two more Nord 1101 were converted with a Turbomeca Astazou II turboshaft engine in 1959 and were known as S.F.E.R.M.A. Nord 1100 Noralpha, being SFERMA a filial of SNCASO.
Both Noralpha and Me.208 were low-wing cantilever monoplane with a braced horizontal tail surface and single rudder. They had a retractable tricycle landing gear. In both cases the engine was mounted on the nose and they had an enclosed cabin with side-by-side seating for two and room behind for two passengers more.
Two-hundred exemplars of the Nord 1101 were manufactured and they served as communications aircraft with the Armée de l'Air and the Aéronavale. Later, many of them were civilianized with the final Air Force Noralphas being replaced in service with the Centre d'essais en Vol (CEV) at Bretigny-sur-Orge during 1974-1975 with some few ones serving with the Navy for a further brief period.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nord_Noralpha
2. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Me_208 (translated)
3. https://www.net-maquettes.com/pictures/messerschmitt-me208-walkaround/
4. https://www.valka.cz/Messerschmitt-Me-208-t57830
5. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nord_1100_Noralpha (translated)

Blohm & Voss Bv.155

In September 1943 the Reich's Air Ministry placed an order for five prototypes which was accepted by Blohm & Voss under the condition of having complete design freedom and not being bound by Messerschmitt's work to date. The redesign received the name of Bv.155 and received a new laminar flow, wing and tail unit, lading gear from the Junkers Ju.87 and many other parts of the plane. This first early redesign was known as the Bv.155A and it vaguely resembled the Bf.109K. It never went beyond the wind testing tunnel model as it was shown that overwing radiators (one of the features of the new redesign) created some serious problems at high angles of attack as the wing "blanked" them from the airflow and cooling would suffer so the model was abandoned with just one testing model having been built.
The revised B model went much further ahead and its first prototype, named V1 took off on 1st September 1944. When testing the V1 it was shown that the outboard radiators provided inadequate cooling, specially at high attack angles, just like with the wind tunnel model of the A variant so the intakes in the second prototype, V2, were enlarged and underslung beneath the wing instead of placing them over the wing. This changement, however, changed the aircraft's centre of gravity requiring the pressurized cockpit to be moved forward. The Blohm & Voss team took advantage of this problem to replace Messerschmitt's original cockpit with another aft-sliding all-round vision of their own and to cut down the rear fuselage decking. This required a larger rudder to be fitted as well as a new ventral enlarged radiator bath.
After all these changes, the Bv.155 V2 flew for the first time on 8th February 1945, but Blohm & Voss was still not satisfied with the design and, before the trials begun, they had proposed to switch the engine to the DB 603U having the larger mechanically driven supercharger of the DB 603E. The DB 603U promised a power of 1660 hp for taking off and 1430 hp at 14935 m (49000 ft) high. The ventral turbosupercharger was retained. The Technisches Amt accepted this new proposal and abandoned all work on the Bv.155B in favour of the revised design which was called Bv.155C.
The Bv.155V2 was damaged beyond repair due to a bad landing and was to be replaced by a third prototype, the Bv.155V3, which was fitted with the DB 603U intended for the Bv.155C, however, both the engine cowling and turbosupercharger were unchanged.
Various armament proposals were made for the Bv.155B. The first one had an engine-mounted 30mm Mk.108 cannon and two 20mm MG 151/20 cannons mounted on the engine cowling.
The second one had a 30 mm Mk.103 cannon mounted in the engine and two wing-mounted 20 mm MG 151 cannons. The third had three 30 mm Mk.108, one of them engine-mounted and the other two in the cowling and the fourth one was identical to the third one but with two Mk.108 mounted in the wing instead of the cowling.
Estimated maximum speed was 650 km/h (400 mph) at 12.000 m (52490 ft) with a service ceiling of 16950 m (55610 ft) high. According to some sources, both V1 and V2 were provided to the Royal Air Force after the war, which tested them until they were written off and V3 lies in storage at the US Air and Space's museum storage.
In parallel with the prototype development, Blohm & Voss had been working on additional changes under the name of Project 205. Project 205 (P.205) replaced the underwing radiators with an annular one around the front of the engine, a very common design feature found in many German designs of the time. With the wings free of clutter, they were considerably simpler and reduced in span. This also had the side effect of reducing the track , which turned to be a welcome change. The new design was going to be simpler, lighter and faster and it was planned to be the standard version of the aircraft. During October's re-evaluation, it was agreed that V1 to V3 were going to be completed to B standards, while a new series of five were going to be completed to the new standard as the Bv.155C. However, as with many other projects, the initial design (which we drawn) suffered many changes.
The Bv.155C was to be different from the Bv.155B. The wing mounted radiators were eliminated, and the main landing gear leg attachments were moved inboard to retract inwards. Cooling was provided by an anular frontal radiator just like the Focke-Wulf Ta.152. Large circular intakes were attached to the fuselage sides above the wing roots.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blohm_%26_Voss_BV_155
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
3. Monogram Close up 20 - Blohm & Voss BV155

Messerschmitt Bf.162

The Messerschmitt Bf.162 was a German light bomber prototype.
It was designed as a response to an specification issued by the Reichluftministerium (RLM - Reich's Aviation Ministry) made in 1935 for an schnellbomber (fast bomber) able of tactical bombing.
Messerschmitt presented their design, a modified Bf.110 with a glazed nose to accomodate a third crew member, the bombardier.
A pre-order of 65 aircraft was placed. However, after three prototypes were made (plus another two which were never completed and their parts were used for the Bf.110C production), and tested against its most direct competitors, the Junkers Ju.88 (which won the specification) and the Henschel Hs.127, the pre-order was cancelled. The Bf.162 was the only one that wasn't a completely new aircraft.
The specification was won by the Junkers Ju.88, which was selected for mass production, and therefore the development of the Bf.162 ended. However, in order to promote disinformation tactics, photos of the Messerschmitt Bf.162 circulated widely across the German press of the time, captioned as the "Messerschmitt Jaguar", a name that was never used in any other German aircraft.
The RLM's official airframe designation, 8-162, was later re-used for the Heinkel He.162 jet fighter, most probably for disinformation purposes.
The Bf.162 was powered by two Daimler-Benz DB600Aa liquid-cooled inverted V12 piston engines which delivered 986hp of power each. Initially it was going to be armed (as the prototype never got any kind of weaponry installed on) with one defensive 7,92mm MG 15 machine gun placed in dorsal position behind the pilot, however, most likely, another one would've been installed in the nose for the bombardier to operate. Expected payload was 500kg (1102lb) internally and two 250kg bombs externally, under wings, in an overload configuration which, most probably would've required the replacement of the engines.
The first prototype was scrapped after trials in 1937, the second one was also used for towing the Messerschmitt Me.162 at Messerschmitt's Augsburg factory and the third one was delivered to Rechlin, the test grounds of the RLM, where its fate is unknown, however it was most likely destroyed, either in fire testing trials or enemy bombings.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_162
2. http://www.histaviation.com/Messerschmitt__Bf_162.html

Messerschmitt Bf.161

The Messerschmitt Bf.161 was a German reconnaissance aircraft prototype.
It was a specialized reconnaissance aircraft heavily based on the Messerschmitt Bf.110 and similar to the Bf.162 light bomber.
Two prototypes were made at Bayerische Flugzeugwerke, in Augsburg. The first one, V-1, was powered by two Junkers Jumo 210 inline engines and flew for the first time on 9th March 1938 piloted by Dr. Würster.
It was shortly followed by a second prototype, labelled V-2, which was powered by two Daimler Benz DB600A engines, which flew for the first time on 30th August 1938.
It didn't enter production because shortly later the RLM (German Air Ministry) decided that a new aircraft type dedicated exclusively to reconnaissance role wasn't needed, as variants of the Messerschmitt Bf.110 could perfectly perform that role.
The two prototypes were used for aerodynamical research and development. The second prototype, V2, was used in Augsburg for towing the first prototype of the Messerschmitt Me.163 to Messerschmitt's proving airfield, and later to Peenemünde to perform official RLM trials and keep towing it.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_161
2. http://www.histaviation.com/Messerschmitt__Bf_161.html

Junkers Ju.89

Since the German Luftwaffe was founded, its leader, General Walther Wever, realized the importance of Strategic Bombing, so a Langstrecken-Grossbomber (Long-range big bomber) was needed to fullfil that role.
The Ural-Bomber programme was issued with secret talks with the main German aircraft manufacturers, as back in 1933, the Treaty of Versailles was still in force, requesting them some designs for a long range bomber. The submitted designs were the Dornier Do.19 and Junkers Ju.89 respectively and prototypes for both aircrafts were ordered by the RLM (Reich's Aviation Ministry) in 1935.
Both aircraft proved to be promising, but when Wever died in a plane crash in 1936, his successors, Ernst Udet and Hans Jeschonnek, favoured smaller aircraft as they didn't require so much matherial and manpower, so the big bomber programme fell into disfavour. Udet and Jesschonnek were also the proponents of the close air support doctrine which advocated for attacking opposing forces on the battlefield rather than destroying enemy's industrial power. They convinced Hermann Göring about the need of Tactical Bombers acting in the army support role. Göring's beliefs proved to be right at the Battle of France, but it was the lack of Luftwaffe's Strategic Bombing capabilities the factor that hampered Germany in the Battle of Britain.
Back to the Ju.89, the first prototype was flown on 11th April 1937 by Hesselbach, it was powered by 4 Daimler-Benz DB600A engines rated at 560Kw (750hp) each and was going to be armed with 2 20mm MGFF cannons placed in a dorsal turret and another pair placed in a gondola above the fuselage. It was expected that additional defensive 7.92mm MG15 machine guns would be placed in the rear, front and even in the back of the cockpit making four the number of defensive light machine guns. However, just two weeks later of the first flight, on 29th April, the strategic bomber programme was cancelled by the RLM due to the high fuel consumption of heavy bombers and because bombers could only be manufactured in large numbers if they were medium ones, like the Junkers Ju.88.
However, a second prototype was manufactured in July 1937 and both of them were used by Junkers to learn about the stability and flight controls on large aircrafts. A third prototype was being manufactured but it was cancelled when the programme was cancelled.
On 4th June 1938, the Ju.89 achieved a new payload/altittude world record with 5000kg (11000lb) at 9312m (30500ft) outnumbering its most likely British counterpart in those pre-war years, the Short Stirling. Later, on 8th June 1938 the second prototype achieved an altittude of 7242m (23750ft) with a payload of 10000kg (22000lb). In late 1938 both aircraft were transferred to the Luftwaffe which used them as heavy transports.
Apparently both prototypes were scrapped in late 1939, however, some sources claim that they were still in active service in Norway during 1940. When it was being tested, Lufthansa expressed their interest in an airliner variant of the type and that leaded to the third prototype to be completed as the Junkers Ju.90.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junkers_Ju_89
2. Luftwaffe Secret Projects - Strategic Bombers 1935-1945

Arado Ar.E340

Because it's been quite some time without posting something from Lufwaffe 46, here it comes, a new one.
The Arado Ar.E.340 was a project for a twin-engined dive and tactical bomber designed by Arado at the request of the Reich Air Ministry back in 1939 to compete in the bomber B programme.
As the Reich Air Ministry (RLM) wanted to replace both Junkers Ju.88 and Dornier Do.217 by 1943, four manufacturers submitted plans for new bombers.
It was an atypical design with the engines positioned in a twin-boom arrangement connected only through wing assembly, in order to give the crew a nice visibility. The four crew members would be in the central fuselage in a fully glazed and pressurized cockpit. The expected engines were either two Jumo 222, two Daimler-Benz DB 604 or two BMW 802 large piston engines. Both the engines and the landing gear were mounted to the load-bearing wing centre section. The tail was really unique where the tailplane didn't connect both booms but it was cantilevered outwards in order to give the rear gunner an excellent field of view.
It was going to be equipped with two rear firing MG.151 that were fired remotely from the central cockpit and two more turrets situated behind the cockpit aimed through periscopes with one MG.131 machine guns.
It was expected to carry a payload of 5900kg (13000lb) so the troublesome but powerful Junkers Jumo 222 engine were the preferred ones, however as the engines proved to be too problematic and were cancelled, the whole bomber B programme was cancelled and this one remained only in paper.

Sources:
1. http://www.luft46.com/arado/are340.html
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arado_E.340

Arado TEW 16/43-19

Because it's been quite some time without posting something from Luft '46.
When the Arado Ar.234 was being developed, Arado firm turned its attention to develop the concept of a multi-role jet aircraft. It would've been produced in five different versions, a Schnellbomber (fast bomber) one, a Zerstörer (destroyer or heavy fighter, just like the Bf.110) one, a Nachtjäger (night fighter) one, a Schlechwetterjäger (bad weather fighter) and an Aufklärer (reconnaissance) one. As promising as it could be, at least on paper, both the arrival of the Me.262 and the development of the Ar.234 meant that there wasn't need for a multi-role airplane, that's why it was never materialized.
The design was highly typical for Arado as it even borrowed some elements from the successful Ar.234. The cockpit was fully pressurized and was placed at the front of the fuselage and the expected crew was of two, seated back-to-back. The wings were mid-mounted and sweeped back at greater angles along the leading edges. Trailing edges were also sweeped back but to a lesser degree. Each wing would've had a a 3000lb thrust engine placed in a nacelle, which most probably it would've been the Heinkel HeS 011, as it was the only one capable of achieving such thrust power. The wings would've have some hardpoints in order to carry some smaller bombs.
Undercarriage was going to be of the tricycle type with two large wheels at the back and a smaller one at the front.
Armament would've depend on the type. The Schnellbomber one would've been equipped with two rear-firing Mk.213 cannons and it would've had provision for a load of 2500kg of bombs carried externally as well as the series of Fritz-X missiles. The Zerstörer version would've had a battery of three 30mm Mk.103 cannons plus two Mk.213, another two Mk.213 mounted at the sides of the fuselage and the usual rear-firing pair of Mk.213 guns. The Nachtjäger version would've featured a crew of three, as a radar operator would've been required. He would've sat in a small compartment situated at the back, just behind the wing axis between the internal fuel tanks. It would've also been equipped with a ventral gun pack with two 30mm Mk.108 cannons and three Mk.213, two Mk.213 mounted in the fuselage and the defensive pair of Mk.213. It would've been equipped also with an internal radar, placed at the nose inside a radome.

Sources:
1. http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=676
2. http://www.luft46.com/arado/artew19.html

Arado Ar.196 - German users, part two

As the change between versions mis-numbered the A-3 variant, which was a more advanced version with a reinforced airframe that replaced the A-4.
The final variant was the A-5 version that replaced radios and cockpit instruments with more modern ones, and replaced the MG.15 of the observer with a more modern MG81Z one.
In total 541 Ar.196 were manufactured until August 1944 when the production ended. Among those, around 100 of them were made in the French SNCA and the Dutch Fokker plants.
There was an Ar.196C variant planned that would've been more aerodynamically refined, with MG.151 in the wings instead of the MG FF ones, however we couldn't find any blueprints or profile drawings whatsoever.
Apparently there was a study carried out in 1942 by Arado in order to increase the armour of the airplane, apply even more advanced weaponry (we guess it would've been the same as the Ar.196C) and replace the engine by an Argus As.411, just like the late versions of the Arado Ar.96. It was dubbed as the Arado E.380 and it was expected to achieved a minimum speed of 383km/h. However it wasn't completed because of Allied bombings.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arado_Ar_196
2. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arado_Ar_196 (translated)

Arado Ar.198

Welcome to the last aircraft of this 2016.
The Arado Ar.198 was a reconnaissance airplane that never went beyond the prototype stage made by the Arado Flugzeugwerke for the Luftwaffe. Initially it was the preferred one, over the Blohm & Voss BV.141 and the Focke-Wulf Fw.189 "Uhu" but after some flight tests, it didn't live up to the expectations and therefore only one prototype was made.

It all started when in 1936 the RLM (German Aviation Ministry) issued an specification for a short-range reconnaissance airplane that would have a nice ground vision. Three companies, Arado, Blohm & Voss, Focke-Wulf and Henschel presented their candidates, and eventually the Focke-Wulf Fw.189 "Uhu" won.

The Arado Ar.198 had a crew of three, a pilot, a gunner/radio operator and an observer. The first two ones were placed above the wing while the third one was placed underneath it having good communications with his partners thanks to a well laid-out fuselage.
Thanks to the wing shoulder configuration, the pilot had an unrestricted forward visibility and the fuselage was made of steel tube with an all-metal monocoque of the tail boom.
Initially it was going to be powered by an air cooled BMW 132 engine, but due to it's limited availability the Bramo 323A-1 was chosen for the prototype although it was slightly lower powered.
It was armed with a forward firing 7.92mm MG 17 machine gun and two defensive MG 15 machine guns placed in the radio and observer's post. It could carry up to four SC50 bombs underwings.

It flew for the first time in March 1938 at the factory airfield in Warnemünde and the tests proved it to be satisfactory except for the stability in low speed flights. In order to fix that problem, automatic slats were installed which improved the stability but it was still hard to handle. Anyway due to it's below the expectations results, Arado's technical office decided to cancel any related development in the late months of 1938.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arado_Ar_198
2. http://www.airwar.ru/enc/spyww2/ar198.html (translated)

Arado E.555-1

Previous note: As our draughtsman found this airplane irrestible to draw, even being a bomber, we decided to publish it. Does it mean that we're going to post bombers from now on? Not exclusively. Fighters are going to be our main focus, however, from time to time we'll post any type of airplane that we find interesting.

The Arado E.555-1 was first conceived in 1943 to meet the requirement of the RLM for a high speed jet bomber capable of carrying 4000kg of bombs and with a range of 5000km, which is commonly known as the "Amerika-Bomber". Arado studied the project assigning a construction team for the project and, by early 1944 the results were available. They concluded that a flying wing would be the best option in order to achieve high speed and long range.

The study showed up to fifteen designs, labelled E.555-1 up to E.555-15 being the main differences among them the engines and the configuration of those.

The E.555-1 would've been made entirely out of metal being a flying delta wing with a short protruding section of the fusalge to host the cockpit where the crew of three would operate from.
It was planned to have two remote controlled defensive turrets, a dorsal one and a rear one.
The engines would've been six BMW 003A placed in a cluster on the rear upper surface of the wing.

In spite of this very advanced design, the project was suddenly stopped on 28th December 1944 by the EHK (Entwicklungs HauptKommision - Main developtment commission) of the RLM due to the deteriorating war situation as this bomber was going to be very expensive.

Sources:
1. http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2001/09/caisander_ar555.htm
2. http://www.luft46.com/arado/are555s.html
3. http://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php?topic=46084.0

Arado E.500

This is a special post, as we discovered thanks to the comments, that we had forgotten this airplane, so we are amending that error.

The Arado E.500 was a concept for a heavy Zerstörer airplane dating back from 1936. It would've been manned by a crew of four, a pilot, a co-pilot a dorsal turret gunner and a ventral gun station gunner.
It would've featured a twin-boom configuration with high-mounted wings and running through each engine nacelle and spanning across the top of the gondola type fuselage.
Apparently it had an excellent field of view for every member of the crew except for the ventral gunner who would've laid in prone position and would've controlled using remote controls and a periscope for aiming and firing. It was going to be powered by a pair of Daimler-Benz DB.603 engines placed at the extreme aft of the booms and the tail booms weren't joined but were indepents. The ventral turret had two 20mm guns and same goes for the dorsal one.
Only a 1:1 scale model was made and it seems that it was intended to serve as a flying anti-aircraft battery, just like the American Bell YFM-1 Airacuda.

Sources:
1. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arado_E.500 (translated)
2. http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=664

Arado TEW 16/43-15

This design was proposed simultaneously with the other TEW ones, which were a rocket fighter (TEW 16/43-13), a pure jet fighter powered by two engines (TEW 16/43-23) and a mixed rocket/jet fighter one, (TEW 16/43-15).
As it happened with another Focke-Wulf design, the similarities with the Heinkel He.162 "Salamander" are evident.

This design would've been almost impossible to materialize given the hard problems that the intended powerplant would have given at the time.

This project, dating from 20th March 1943 was to be for an all-metal fuselage aircraft with a fuselage identical to that of the TEW 16/43-13, except that it was lengthened in order to fit an extra fuel tank and the extra engine. Most probably it would've been powered by the Heinkel HeS 011A delivering a thrust of 1300Kg mounted atop of the fuselage behind the cockpit. In order to improve the climb rate above the 10000m high a Walter HWK 509A bi-fuel rocket engine was fitted at the rear of the fuselage together with the T-Stoff and C-Stoff tanks, just like an afterburner. Wings were swept back at 25 degrees and were low on the fuselage.
Due to the particular placement of the engine, a twin fin and rudder configuration was chosen and, in order to save more space within the fuselage, a new type of landing gear was proposed. Main wheels were replaced with small ones placed in tandem, so the space needed when retracted was minimal. Those placed at the nose and the main ones retracted forwards.
The cockpit was going to be placed at the front and would've offered and excellent field of view, but, on the other hand, the rear vision would've been really poor due to the engine and air intake position.
It was going to be armed with a pair of 15mm MG151 or two 20mm MG151 cannons and one or two 30mm MK103 or MK 108 cannons, all of them located at the forward fuselage sides.

It's worth to mention that after the war, the Allies built many "combination fighters" albeit most of them in prototype form in order to perform the interceptor role, those are, among other, the American Republic XF-91 Thunderceptor, the French Dassault MD.550 Mirage I and SNCASE SE.212 Durandal and the British Saunders-Roe SR.53, amont others, even if all of them were abandoned during the development stage in favour of the fast climbing fighters having more powerful afterburners.

Sources:
1. http://www.luft46.com/arado/artew15.html
2. Midland Publishing - Luftwaffe Secret Projects - Fighters 1939-1945

Arado Ar. Projekt I

This airplane was a consequence of the studies for a tail-less airplane conducted for the eventual design of the E.555 bomber and the E.581 proposal.

This design and the E.555 they both share some characteristics like the wing mounted fin and rudder assemblies which also served as boundary layer fences.
Coping with the 27th January 1945 specification, the initial idea was to design a twin-jet night and all-weather fighter that had almost a complete delta wing shape. However, in March of that same year, the requirements changed and, in order to follow them, the design was modified to make it broader just to accommodate a third crew member and to have bigger fuel capacity. From that moment on, it featured a swept wing and was submitted to the EHK in Berlin.
However, on 20/21st March the specialist from the RLM criticised the large, drag-inducing surface area of the aircraft and the unfavourable placement of the engines. Inmediately after that report, another design was proposed featuring a smaller and sharper swept wing, however only written reports of this last one proposal have survived.

It was going to be powered by two Heinkel HeS 011A turbojet engines, delivering 1300Kn thrust each of them, weaponry would consist of two forward firing 30mm MK213 cannons, two oblique upward firing 30mm MK108 cannons placed near the centre of gravity of the airplane and another two rearward-firing 30mm MK213 cannons in a defensive guns arrangement. It could have also carried up to 500Kg of bombs.

It's obvious that this design influenced some airplanes, like the American Vought F7U Cutlass carrier based fighter, which was a more orthodoxal design heavily based on this design.

Sources:
1. http://www.luft46.com/arado/arpi.html
2. Midland Publishing - Luftwaffe Secret Projects - Fighters 1939-1945

Arado Ar E.580

This airplane must have beaten some kind of record because the RLM gave Arado only two days to complete this design. The requirements given by the Technische Amt in September 1944 were that it had to be a lightweight fighter powered by a single BMW 003 turbojet engine and the deadline was just a matter of days. Apparently the RLM specifications were very precise regarding the design lines and technical specifications.

Once designed it had certain similarities with the Heinkel He.162 even if it featured a low-mounted wing. Another risky characteristic was the position of the cockpit canopy inmediately ahead of the engine air intake which could made the even smallest airflow vortices to loose a considerable amount of performance, up to a 10% as a Rechlin test pilot told once. That was a problem that could have been easily fixed using a wind tunnel test model, however as the time was lacking when designing this airplane, there wasn't any time left to perform wind-tunnel testing. The fuselage was made out of steel and the wings, as specified in the RLM requirement, were made out of wood.

The tail had twin fins and rudders it was going to be powered by a single BMW 003A-1 delivering 800Kp of thrust and it was going to be armed with two 20mm MG 151/20 cannons or two 30mm MK108 cannons mounted in the nose. As it's evident, the RLM chose the He.162 Salamander design and this, the E.580 never went beyond the drawing board.

Sources:
1. http://www.luft46.com/arado/are580.html
2. Midland Publishing - Luftwaffe Secret Projects - Fighters 1939-1945