Frustated Projects

[gekho]

Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster

In 1943 the Douglas XB-42 project was designed to create a twin-engined bomber having a maximum speed in excess of 400 mph and capable of carrying a bombload of 2000 pounds to targets within a 2000-mile radius. This aircraft was envisaged to be an attack aircraft, but the USAAF changed its designation from XA-42 to XB-42 with the view that this bomber would be a potential substitute for the Boeing B-29 (if the Boeing project became hung up in development). The XB-42 bomber was unique in that both of its engines were located inside of the fuselage (turning a pair of contra-rotating propellers in the tail), which allowed the wing to have a clean unfettered design. The aircraft had a crew of three, and was armed with a turret contained two .50 caliber machine guns in the trailing edge of each wing. The first prototype flew in May 1944, and proved to have outstanding performance. Its top speed was over 400 mph, which was comparable to the fast British Mosquito, but the XB-42 carried twice the maximum bombload, and was better armed. Development continued until December 1945, at which time it was decided not to produce the B-42, due to the fact that jet-powered bombers were already on the drawing boards. The second prototype was modified to have turbojets under the wings for testing purposes, and was re-designated XB-42A. The project was finally canceled in 1948, with the sole-remaining example being turned over to the National Air and Space Museum in 1949. The final legacy of this project was a redesigned version with the jet engines placed inside of the fuselage, designated the XB-43.

 

[gekho]

The development of this aircraft has already started in 1942 at the Messerschmitt and his original destination was to be airborne fighter for aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin, was based on the best Me 109 (hence the original designation sounded Bf 109ST - Spezial Trägerflugzeug). At the same time the RLM project required altitude fighter / reconnaissance aircraft. Because of these requirements and project Bf 109ST quite fit, they were adapted and original direction to an airborne fighter was gradually abandoned. This also corresponded to the new official name of the project, 155th Me
Project Bf 109ST Ausf. A (DB engine 605) has become airborne fighter Me 155A, Bf 109ST Ausf. B (DB 628 engine and two-stage compressor) altitude fighter Me 155B . Was used as the basis hull Bf 109G, which for ease of manufacture should also be taken as many other components, should be a new wing and undercarriage, kinking of the fuselage instead of the wing.
During 1943 he was stopped work on the ship the Graf Zeppelin, Me 155A project was then canceled. Because the Messerschmitt was heavily utilized by other projects, the project was ultimately Me 155, Bf 109 now compared with a significantly prolonged the long fuselage and a new wing, the designer sent Dr. Richard Vogt of Blohm und Voss company. Here at last the work moved forward as the new engine has been selected already available DB 603U were tested variants cannon armament. The result was a project BV 155A, still slightly reminiscent of the original stodevítku, but later replaced by a version of the BV 155B, based fully on the work of dr. Vogt. Finally, was the version C, with different engine and radiator location (under the fuselage, the B version in nacelles on the wings of some kind). Should be commenced at seven prototypes of the three versions of the B-0 and four C-0, before the war but they were built just unfinished prototypes V1 to V3 version of the B-0, and perhaps a mock-up version C.

 

[gekho]

In early 1939, the Australian Government ordered large numbers of Bristol Beaufort bombers, to be built in railway workshops, and in doing so, by-passed the local aircraft company, Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation. CAC, under Sir Lawrence Wackett, began work on its own design, hoping to out-perform the Beaufort by building a machine that could serve as both a torpedo bomber and dive bomber. To keep down weight, Wackett dispensed with traditional self sealing fuel tanks and opted to make the wing cavities liquid-tight, and thus serve as fuel storage. The Australian Government was initially uninterested in the CAC design. However, in mid-1940, cut off from the supply of British-made components for the Beaufort program (thanks to a British embargo on the export of aviation products, due to the need to maximise British production during the Battle of Britain), the Australian Government ordered a prototype of the CAC design, even before the Royal Australian Air Force had expressed a view about the machine. This prototype CA-4 took to the air on 19 September 1941. The CA-4 was a low wing, twin-engined, multi-role bomber with a crew of three. It was armed with four nose-mounted .303 calibre machine guns and two remote-controlled twin machine-gun barbettes mounted at the rear of the engine nacelles. It could carry either 500 lb (230 kg) bombs, 250 lb (110 kg) bombs or two torpedoes. It was originally powered by two Pratt Whitney Twin Wasp R-1830-S3C3-G radials. Unfortunately, the novel fuel tanks never proved reliable, and in January 1943 the CA-4 prototype was completely destroyed in a mid-air explosion, probably due to a fuel leak. With a re-designed tail and rudder, and an improved nose armament of two 20 mm cannon and two .303 calibre machine guns, the CA-4 became the CA-11 Woomera.

Faced with the crisis caused by the Japanese entry into the war in December 1941, the RAAF accepted the design even before testing was complete, and ordered 105 examples of the CAC bomber on 8 March 1942. However, after the loss of the first CA4 prototype, the redesigned CA-11 did not fly until June 1944. By the time production was due to commence, the dive-bombing concept had fallen into disrepute, the RAAF was filling the light bomber/reconnaissance/strike role with British-designed Bristol Beaufighters (which were being made in Australia by the Department of Aircraft Production); US-made B-24 Liberator heavy bombers had also become available. Consequently, the original Woomera order was reduced from 105 to 20. After the first CA11 flew, the whole program was cancelled and the production capacity set aside for Woomeras at CAC was switched to P-51 Mustang fighters.

On 15 January 1943, the prototype CA-4, A23-1001, crashed on a test flight to assess powerplant performance and evaluate aerodynamic effects of a new fixed leading edge slat. During the return to the CAC airfield at Fisherman's Bend, the pilot, Squadron Leader Jim Harper, had detected a fuel leak in the port Pratt Whitney R-1830 engine. As the problem worsened he attempted to shut-down the engine, feathering the propeller; however, the actuation of the feathering switch caused an explosion and uncontrollable fire. The three man crew subsequently attempted evacuation at 1,000 feet (300 m), yet only Harper succeeded in parachuting free, while the CAC test pilot Jim Carter and power plant group engineer Lionel Dudgeon were both killed. The airframe subsequently impacted 3 miles (4.8 km) south-west of Kilmore, Victoria. The wreckage was recovered and used for components.

 

[gekho]

One of Italy's oldest flying schools, the Scuola di Aviazione Caproni was located at Vizzola Ticino near Varese. In the mid 1930's, the school was modernized and expanded to a point that they could undertake production of components for other elements of the Caproni aircraft empire as well as continuing as a flying school. In 1937 this expansion program reached the stage that a design department was established under Ing. Fabrizi. The organization's first design was extremely ambitious – a modern interceptor fighter that was schemed in both inline and radial engine forms as the F.4 and F.5 respectively. The airframe was common to both except for the forward fuselage sections where changes were required for the different engines, and was of mixed wood and metal construction.

The core of the structure was the fuselage that was of oval section and based on welded steel tube primary structure covered with Dural skin. The flying surface consisted of a Dural constructed tail unit with metal skinned fixed surfaces and fabric covered moving surfaces and a cantilever low set wing. The wing was of wooden construction with stressed plywood skinning and a slightly unusual planform with a curved leading edge and straight trailing edge. The two wing halves were attached at a slight dihedral angle to the stub roots built integral with the central fuselage section. The wings were tapered in thickness and chord and carried the standard trailing edge combination of outboard ailerons and inboard flaps. The airframe was completed with a high-set fully enclosed cockpit and the tailwheel landing gear with wide track main units.

The F.4 was to be powered by a 960 hp Isotta-Fraschini Asso 121 RC.40 Vee engine, but late in construction it was decided to replace that with a 1,175 hp Daimler Benz DB601A. This change delayed the F.4's completion into 1940, but flight trials revealed the F.4 to possess good performance, excellent maneuverability and first class handling characteristics. No production followed however, for it was determined to terminate development of the F.4 for the F.6, essentially an F.4 powered by a 1,475 hp Fiat RA.1050 RC.58 Tifone, the license built Daimler Benz DB 605A. The delay meant that the F.5 was the first of Fabrizi's related fighter designs to fly, an event that took place in early 1939. The F.5 was powered by a Fiat A.74 RC.38 radial engine in a trim circular cowling that fitted so closely around the cylinder heads that bulged fairings were necessary to accommodate the rocker arms. By Italian standards of the period, the F.5 was an advanced fighter. The prototype was followed by 14 production aircraft. The production aircraft were changed using a revised and enlarged vertical tail surface to provide better directional stability, provision for an auxiliary fuel tank in the rear fuselage, an altered cockpit canopy and a non-retractable tailwheel. No further production followed. The fighters were assigned to the 51st Stormo and the 8th Brigata Caccia Terrestre for the defense of Rome, first as night fighters and then as day fighters.

 

[gekho]

At the end of March 1933, criticism of the gulled wing of the D 560 led Emile Dewoitine to replace this with a wing of classic parasol form and of marginally reduced span and area. Re-designated D 570, the modified prototype entered flight test on 27 November 1933, transferring from Francazal to the Centre d'Essais at Villacoublay early in December. It flew back to Francazal for minor modifications, and, on 21 December, while returning to Villacoublay, suffered an aileron failure and was destroyed.

 

[Gnomey]

Good stuff!

 

[T Bolt]

The Mix-master is one of my favorite 'What If?' aircraft. I wish someone would come out with a kit of it. There are plenty of Luftwaffe 46' kits out there. Why not a USAAF 46' kit

 

[vikingBerserker]

Outstanding as always!

I think there is a B-42 in 1/72 scale, but it's a resin kit.

 

[gekho]

In its original form this was the first of two Westland P.8 Lysander prototypes, and later it was brought to Mk.I standard. Thereafter it was fitted with two 20 mm (0.787 in) cannons, one mounted above each wheel fairing. In this form it was used in trials intended to attack German invasion barges.

As shown in the picture K6127 was extensively modified to another intended form of strafing power against ships or ground troops. The fuselage was shortened 1.45 m (4 ft 9 in) to 7.85 m (25 ft 9 in) and a tail turret mock-up (to carry four guns) was fitted. A second wing (de Lanne type) with full-span elevators and twin endplate fins and rudders, was fitted beneath the fuselage, just in front of the turret. This increased the wing area from 24.15 sq.m (260 sq.ft) to 36.46 sq.m (392 sq.ft). Flown by the company's test pilot Harold Penrose it handled well, however none were ordered. The aircraft is also known as "Wendover" and "Tandem Wing".

 

[gekho]

The X-5 was the world's first airplane to vary the sweepback of its wings in flight. It was built to prove the theory that by increasing the sweepback of an airplane's wings after takeoff, a higher maximum speed could be obtained while still retaining low takeoff and landing speed and higher rate of climb with the wings swept forward. The X-5 was based upon the design of a Messerschmitt P. 1101 airplane discovered in Germany at the end of World War II, although the P. 1101 could vary its sweep only on the ground.

The first X-5 flight was made on June 20, 1951. On the airplane's ninth flight, its wings were operated through the full sweep range of 20-60 degrees. Two X-5s were built and flown. One crashed and was destroyed on Oct. 13, 1953, when it failed to recover from a spin at 60 degrees sweepback. The other was delivered to the National Museum of the United States Air Force in March 1958.

 

[gekho]

Experimental two-seat reconnaissance aircraft. The He 119 had a DB 606 or DB 610 'double' engine, buried in the fuselage, driving a propeller in front of the transparent, unstepped nose. To streamline the aircraft even more, it used surface radiator cooling instead of conventional radiators. It set a speed record before WWII; attempts to create a bomber from it were abandoned early in WWII. Eight were completed.

 

[gekho]

The IMAM Ro.51 was an Italian fighter aircraft that first flew in 1937. It was designed for the 1936 new fighter contest for the Regia Aeronautica, with practically all the Italian aircraft builders involved. The aircraft, designed by the engineer Galasso, was a single-seat, monoplane fighter, of mixed construction (the wings were made of wood), and initially with a fixed undercarriage. The engine was standard for this generation of fighters, a 840 hp Fiat A.74 RC 38 radial powering a three-blade propeller. The fixed undercarriage, meant that the maximum speed was only 467 km/h. It was armed with two Breda-SAFAT 12.7 mm machine guns.

On June 1938 the first prototype, initially fitted with a very small tail, was tested and found inferior to the Macchi C.200 and Fiat G.50. It was overall a poor aircraft. The trials to re-engineer the wing came too late and no orders were made. The second prototype Ro.51/1, was converted into a fighter floatplane. Like the Ro.44 it had a large central float and two smaller ones under the wings. The maximum speed dropped to 430 km/h, but endurance was increased to 1,200 km. Unfortunately during a trial one of the wings suddenly sank in the water. The rest of the aircraft swiftly followed, and the loss of this prototype meant the end of the program. Although performance was apparently fairly good, the project was overall a failure, especially in the early aspects, even if it was not too different from the Fokker D.XXI. But with so many other superior machines also involved, waiting for the problems the Ro.51 had to be fixed was not an option.

 

[gekho]

During 1934, the Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire amalgamated with the Societe Nieuport-Astra to result in the Groupement Aviation Loire-Nieuport. The two concerns maintained separate design offices which, at times, were to find themselves in competition, a case in point being the LN 161. This, like the Loire 250, was intended to meet the requirements of the 1934 Service Technique specification for a new single-seat fighter. Designed by engineers Mary and Dieudonne, it was of advanced structural concept with an all-metal monocoque fuselage and a metal stressed-skin wing. Armament comprised a 20mm engine-mounted cannon and two wing-mounted 7.5mm machine guns. Although designed for the 860hp Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs engine, the non-availability of this power plant dictated installation of a 690hp HS 12Xcrs engine driving a twobladed fixed-pitch propeller. The prototype flew as the Nieuport 160 on 5 October 1935. In the following November, it was returned to the factory for various modifications and installation of the definitive engine, resuming flight test at the end of March 1936 as the Nieuport 161 fitted with a three-bladed two-pitch propeller. The prototype showed considerable promise and was the favoured contender for Armee de l'Air orders, three additional prototypes being contracted. The first prototype crashed on 22 September 1936, and the second prototype, temporarily designated SNCAO 161 (Loire-Nieuport having meanwhile been absorbed by the Societe Nationale de Constructions Aeronautiques de l'Ouest), did not enter flight test until 15 October 1937. The third prototype, bearing the definitive designation of Loire-Nieuport 161, followed in March 1938. During the next month, the second prototype was written off in a landing accident, but the results of testing were by then of purely academic interest as the Morane-Saulnier contender had been ordered into production. Consequently, the fourth prototype was not completed.

 

[Wayne Little]

Some weird and wonderful birds among that lot...

 

[vikingBerserker]

Awesome info!

 

[gekho]

The SNCASE SE-400 was a prototype French twin-engined coastal patrol floatplane of the Second World War. A single example was flown, but development was abandoned in May 1940 owing to the German invasion of France. In 1937 the French Air Ministry issued specification A46 for a three-seat coastal reconnaissance seaplane to replace the obsolete CAMS 37 biplane flying boats of the French Navy. To meet this requirement, the 'Société Nationale des Constructions Aéronautiques du Sud-Est (SNCASE) designed a twin engined monoplane floatplane, the SE-400, work beginning on construction of two prototypes in March 1938. The SE.400 was of mixed construction, with a steel tube fuselage and wooden wings. It had a twin tail and was powered by two 655 hp (489 kW) Gnome-Rhône 14M radial engines. The aircraft's undercarriage consisted of two light alloy floats mounted beneath the engines.

The first prototype, the SE.400-01 made its maiden flight from Marignane on 31 December 1939. Flight testing showed that the SE-400 suffered from stability problems, and the aircraft had a new, larger, tail assembly fitted and its nose lengthened. These modifications resolved the aircraft's handling problems, but by this time the competing Breguet Nautilus had been ordered into production. The war situation and the continuing delays in the program resulted in the development of the SE-400 being abandoned on 24 May 1940, with the second prototype, a landplane powered by two 500 hp (373 kW) Lorraine 9N Algol engines, left incomplete.

 

[gekho]

Envisaged originally as a high-altitude version of the B-25 Mitchell, the North American NA-63 (XB-28) emerged finally as an almost entirely different aircraft. With single vertical tail surfaces and a circular-section fuselage with a pressure cabin for the five-man crew, the XB-28 was powered by two 1491kW Pratt Whitney R-2800 radials and bomb bay capacity was 1814kg. Dorsal, ventral and tail turrets, each containing two 12.7mm machine-guns, were remotely controlled from the cockpit; three similar forward-firing weapons were also fitted. Of three prototypes ordered in February 1940, the first flew in April 1942, the second was cancelled and the third, with a reconnaissance camera installation, crashed during the test programme. Although the XB-28 achieved a maximum speed of 599km/h at 7620m and could carry a 272kg bomb load for 3283km, production orders were not placed.

 

[gekho]

The design by Mitsubishi of a carrier-based fighter to supersede the A6M Zero-Sen had been planned by the Japanese navy as early as 1940, but was frustrated, by the company's involvement in urgent development and- production programmes. It was not until 1942 that design of the M-50 Reppu (hurricane) began, but the continuing pressure on Mitsubishi for developments of the ABM meant that it was not until 6 May 1944 that the first prototype, which by then had the company designation Mitsubishi A7M1, was flown for the first time. A cantilever low-wing monoplane with retractable tailwheel landing gear, the A7M1 soon revealed excellent flight characteristics, but as predicted by Mitsubishi the type's maximum speed on the power of the installed Nakajima NK9K Homare 22 engine was below specification. Further testing was abandoned until availability of the 1641kW Mitsubishi MK9A radial engine made it possible to build seven A7M2 prototype and service trials aircraft, the first prototype being flown on 13 October 1944. Clearly a potent fighter that could meet Allied opposition on equal terms, the Reppu had a maximum speed of 630km/h at optimum altitude and was ordered into production as the Navy Carrier Fighter Reppu Model 22. Unfortunately, by then it was too late for the Japanese navy, Allied air attacks and an earthquake limiting production to only one aircraft. Development of similar land-based fighters was planned under the designations A7M3 and A7M3-J, but neither was built before the war ended.

 

[gekho]

The Reggiane Re.2003 was a development from the Reggiane Re.2002 fighter bomber that first flew on 29 June 1941. It was designed to replace the outdated IMAM Ro.37 used at the time. Unlike the Reggaine Re.2002, it had room for a second crewman who sat behind the pilot. It was equipped with onboard camera equipment. The Fiat A.74 RC.38 engine was intended to be used originally, but the Piaggio P. XI RC 40 Bis was chosen instead. Only one was ever produced, and production for a second started, but never finished. The Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force) made an order of 200, but cancelled the order as Allied bombing raids made the Air Force's focus switch to fighter aircraft.

 

[gekho]

The Focke-wulf Aircraft Design Firm conceptualized The Ta 154 Moskito ("Mosquito") and delivered its prototypes to the German Air Ministry around August 1942. Because of some production issues, the Focke-Wulf Ta 154 Moskito got derailed. Only 10 aircrafts were produced and proved to have less impressive performance than the prototypes. Its design was amongst the first aircrafts which were classified as the night fighters. The reason Ta154 was developed was the invulnerability of the Night Bombers and their terror which had reigned for a long time.

The airframe was made of plywood bonded with special glue called Tego-Film, a quite unusual feature for a German frontline aircraft. This kind of glue usually caused some damage to nearby wood. Metal was used mainly in the pressurized cockpit only. The twin-engine fielded with Junkers Jumo 211F 12-cylinder inverted-Vee liquid-cooled engines were mounted in nacelles on the wing leading edges. They drove three-blade constant-speed propellers. The fuselage consists of a single rudder element in the tail section. The landing gear assembly used retractable tricycle landing gear. A pilot and a radio-operator to his rear were the only crew; the aircraft was capable of carrying. With twin 30mm MK108 cannons and twin 20mm MG151 cannons mounted on either side of the fuselage, made the armament not only impressive but the addition of a single 30mm cannon in the upper part of the fuselage of the MK108 variety made it tough to beat.

There was just one production plant for suitable glue, which was destroyed by a bombing raid. This was the main reason which hindered further production. The production was cancelled after 8 prototypes and 7 pre-serial planes. The bow-wheel landing gear, which caused crashes which was another reason. At least two German air groups operated this aircraft albeit in a severely limited capacity. Mosquito could have been historic had Germany been victorious which didn't prove to be.