Frustated Projects

I will have to look for that on in the movie Roman Holiday.


Wheels

The Polikarpov I-180 was designed in an attempt to improve on the I-16, but all three prototypes were lost in crashes, and the type was abandoned after ten pre-production aircraft had been built. The I-180 is variously described as a expanded 'super I-16' or a lightened version of the Polikarpov Ivanov reconnaissance aircraft of 1936-38. Although the Ivanov was a similar looking aircraft to the I-180 (a low wing monoplane with a basically circular fuselage) it was an all-metal aircraft, while the I-180 retained the largely wooden structure of the I-16. The first design for the I-180 used the M-87A air-cooled radial engine, but this wasn't powerful enough to provide the expected increase in performance. Unfortunately the only real alternative, the M-88, was still at an early stage in its development, and the early prototypes barely offered any increase in power. Later versions of the engine were more powerful, but by then the I-180 project was effectively over. The first prototype I-180, the I-180-1, was powered by a prototype M-88 engine constructed using parts from the M-87A engine. The new larger engine forced a major redesign of the aircraft, which needed a longer stronger fuselage and a modified wing, with a straight leading edge and swept-forward trailing edge.

The I-180-1 made its maiden flight on 15 December 1938 with the famous test pilot Valery Chkalov at the controls. He made several circuits of the test airfield, but as he was preparing to land the engine seized and the aircraft crashed into some storage facilities. Chkalov suffered fatal injuries in the crash. Almost inevitable in the paranoid atmosphere of the time the crash was blamed on sabotage. A number of people involved in the project were arrested, amongst them Polikarpov's deputy. Polikarpov probably only escaped arrest himself because he hadn't approved the test flight. The second prototype used a standard M-87A engine. Its maiden flight was more successful, although the lower power meant that its performance wasn't as good as hoped, and it had a top speed of 335mph. This aircraft made more than 50 test flights before it two was destroyed in an accident. This time the cause was more obvious - the oil cooler was destroyed during a high altitude test and the aircraft dived into the ground from 10,000ft. Once again the test pilot was killed.

The third prototype was powered by a 1,000hp M-88R engine (M-88P in some sources). This prototype was armed with two ShKAS and two 12.7mm UBS machine guns, had a modified undercarriage and a new oil cooler. Flight tests ran from February to May 1940. Top speed rose to 357mph at 22,600ft and the service ceiling and rate of climb also improved. The third prototype survived its factory trials and was sent for its State Acceptance Tests, but on 5 July the aircraft's control froze while it was upside down. The test pilot was able to escape safely but the aircraft was lost. Despite these three failures the I-180 was ordered into production at zavod 21 in Gor'kiy. Three of these aircraft took part in the Red Square May Day parade on 1 May 1940, but later in the same month the second production aircraft was written off after a minor crash. In July Polikarpov was present at a meeting in which alterations to the production aircraft were planned, but in October 1940 zavod 21 was ordered to concentrate on the I-16 and the new LaGG-3, and work on the I-180 was abandoned. Polikarpov, now in total command of a smaller design team, moved on to work on the I-185.

The Polikarpov I-185 was a high performance fighter that almost entered production, before problems with its engine caused the project to be cancelled. The entire project was dogged by engine problems. After the cancellation of the I-180 Polikarpov decided to develop a new fighter using the most powerful experiment engine he could find, in this case the Nazarov M-90. This was a radial engine that was hoped to produce 2,000hp, but in practise it failed to reach this level of power. The I-185 was a low-wing monoplane, similar in appearance to the I-180, but with a small thin all-metal two-spar wing covered with a duralumin stressed skin.

The first prototype was developed during 1940. It was originally powered by the developmental M-90 engine, and was to be armed with two 7.62mm and two 12.7mm machine guns. It was expected to reach 444mph at 24,000ft, but taxiing trials reveals that the engine didn't even have enough power to get the aircraft off the ground. Another new engine, the Shvetsov M-81, was installed instead, but this too was under-powered, and after a single flight on 11 January 1941 this aircraft was grounded. In May of the same year development of the M-81 engine itself was also cancelled.

Late in 1940 Polikarpov began work on a second prototype, this time powered by the 1,700hp Shvetsov M-82A, which had a smaller diameter than either of the earlier engines. This reduced drag, and this improved the aircrafts speed. This second prototype was armed with three 20mm ShVAK cannon, all mounted in the nose. Flight tests began in May 1941. Although this aircraft never entered production, it did provide valuable data for the development of the La-5 and a version of the Yak-7 powered by the same engine. A third prototype soon followed, this time powered by the Shvetsov M-71 engine, a 2,000hp 18-cylinder radial engine. The tests on this version were interrupted by the German invasion in the summer of 1941, which forced Polikarpov and zavod 51 to move east, but they were successful enough to justify further work, and to see the first prototype re-engined with the M-71. This model performed very well in tests, with a top speed at 20,250ft of 391mph, and was judged to be equal or better than every current production fighter.

In the spring of 1942 it was decided to place the I-185 M-71 into production. A production standard prototype was produced, and went to state trials on 18 November. This coincided with the start of service trials with the 728th IAP of the 3rd Air Army. The I-185 was very popular with this unit's pilots, but once again the engine would prove to be its weakest point. The trials had to be halted between mid December 1942 and mid-January 1943 until a new engine arrived, and this failed after only 24 hours of running. A few days, on 27 January 1943, a test pilot was killed while attempting to land after yet another engine failure, and the first prototype was destroyed in a crash on 5 April. It was clear that the M-71 engine was not yet ready for front line service, while the only valid alternative, the M-82, was needed for the La-5. As a result production of the I-185 was cancelled.

I-190 - last fighter - biplane repeating I-153, but with engine M-88 and with some design improvements. The airplane was intended for air fight, at a high manoeuvrability in a combination to high-speed fighters. Design I-190 began only in the spring of 1939. The airplane was under construction in duplicate and structurally represented the further development of an airplane "Seagull" with use of its many units and aggregates. Changes in a forward part have been called by application of a new perspective two-row radial engine of the greater length. The fabric covering of wings has been replaced plywood. The form{shape} of wings and the stabilizer has changed.

Armament: four synchronous machine guns ShKAS with possible replacement on large-caliber BS, bombing loading of 200 kg. The airplane has shown speed of 450 km/h at the altitude 7050 m and a ceiling of 12400 m. I-190 last fighter - biplane with possible perfection, but already hopelessly out-of-date and not capable to compete to a fighter - monoplane.

Source: I-190, Last fighter - biplane of Polikarpov

What's with the stamp on the photos? Did you sneak into the Kremlin to get these pictures?

The Piaggio P.50 was an Italian prototype heavy bomber designed and built by Piaggio for the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force). The P.50 was the first design by Giovanni Casiraghi -- following an outline for the project laid out by Piaggio designer Ing Giovanni Pegna -- for the Piaggio company. The first model, the P.50-I, was a four-engine shoulder-wing monoplane with a single large tail fin and rudder. It was powered by four 544-kilowatt (730-horsepower) Isotta-Fraschini Asso XI.RC V12 engines mounted in tandem pairs on the wings, with each engine driving one three-bladed propeller; two of the propellers were mounted in a pusher and two in a tractor configuration. For defense, the P.50-I had three machine gun positions, including a nose turret. Piaggio built two P.50-I prototypes, the first of which -- MM369 -- flew in 1937. The second -- MM370 -- was damaged in accident while landing at Malpensa airfield in 1938. No production order for the P.50-I materialized.

A new model of the P.50, the P.50-II, appeared in 1938. It was re-engined with four 746-kilowatt (1,001-horsepower) Piaggio P.XI RC.40 radial engines, each driving a three-bladed propeller, and dispensed with the tandem-engine, pusher-puller configuration of the P.50-I, instead mounting the engines separately with all four propellers as tractors. Its defensive armament was upgraded to five 12.7-millimeter (0.5-inch) machine guns. Piaggio produced a single P.50-II prototype designated MM371. No production ordered resulted for the P.50-II, but Piaggio later applied the experience it gained from the design and construction of the three P.50 prototypes to the development of the Piaggio P.108 heavy bomber of World War II.
Variants

That first one looks a bit odd with the prop arrangement...

actually a pretty standard arrangement in the 20s and early 30s. Claims of Dornier patents and German superiority aside.

Development of the Hs 130 began with two Hs 128 prototypes, which first flew on 11 April 1939, with the second prototype flying on 20 February 1940. Both prototypes were research aircraft, used for testing pressurized cabins, engine superchargers, and cantilever wings. Different engines powered the two prototypes; the V1 by Daimler-Benz DB 601s and the V2 by Junkers Jumo 210s. Both had fixed landing gear. While trials of the two prototypes were not successful, the potential of a high altitude aircraft caught the attention of Theodor Rowehl, commander of the Luftwaffe's special reconnaissance unit. Rowehl's interest in the Hs 128's potential for high-altitude reconnaissance missions led Reich Air Ministry to instruct Henschel to continue development of the Hs 128 as a reconnaissance aircraft under the designation Hs 130A.
Three prototype aircraft Hs 130 As were built, the first flying on 23 May 1940. Five pre-production Hs 130A-0's followed, being delivered in early 1941, and featured DB 601R engines, a single-stage supercharger, retractable landing gear, and a bay in the rear to house two Rb75/30 cameras for reconnaissance. The five Hs 130A-0s subsequently underwent trials and testing, which revealed significant problems with the aircraft performance, and reliability problems which prevented operational use.

Two further modified Hs 130A-0s was produced under the designation Hs 130A-0/U6 and featured a greater wingspan, DB 605B engines, Hirth superchargers, GM-1 nitrous oxide power boosting, and under-wing drop tanks, and being ready for flight testing in November 1943,[4] demonstrating an absolute ceiling of 15,500 m (50,570 ft). The Hs 130A-0/U6 variant as well as the other Hs 130A-0s proved unsatisfactory and were never flown operationally. Further development of the Hs 130 led to bomber variants. The planned Hs 130B was almost the same as the Hs 130A, but with a bomb bay in place of the camera bay, but was never built. The Hs 130C was built as a competitor for the "Bomber B" project, and was very different from the Hs 130A, featuring a shorter wing span, remotely-controlled defensive armament, a more extensively glazed (but still pressurized) cabin and up to 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) of bombs. Three prototypes, V1, V2, and V3 were built, with V1 and V2 were powered by BMW 801 radials, and V3, featuring full armament by DB 603A engines. Further development of the Hs 130 as a reconnaissance aircraft continued with the Hs 130D, which was planned to have DB 605 engines and a complex two-stage supercharger, but was again unbuilt.

The Hs 130E was a re-working of the Hs 130A with the Höhen Zentrale (HZ)-Anlage system in place of conventional superchargers. HZ-Anlage installed a third engine in the fuselage, a DB 605, the only purpose of which was to power a large supercharger to supply air to the wing-mounted DB 603B engines. Such a system had first been tried some twenty-five years previously, on the R.30/16 example of the Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI bomber. Another difference from the Hs 130A was the nose, which was extended forward to offset the weight of the HZ-Anlage engine in the fuselage. Also underwing fuel tanks could be fitted to provide fuel for three engines, and air scoops were fitted under the fuselage to supply the fuselage engine. Three prototype Hs 130Es were built; Hs 130E V1 first flew in September 1942, and could reach 12,500 m (41,010 ft) when HZ-Anlage was employed. Hs 130E V2, first flown in November 1942, was lost on its seventh flight due to an engine fire; V3 was built to replace it.[8] An order for seven pre-production Hs 130E-0s followed, first flying in May 1943, together with a production order was placed for 100 Hs 130E-1s which were to have a remotely controlled defensive armament and provisions for underwing bombs. The order was cancelled due to continuing problems suffered by the Hs 130E-0's HZ-Anlange system. An Hs 130F was planned, which was hoped to solve the problems with HZ-Anlage, by using four supercharged BMW 801 engines, but was never built.

Good stuff!

Awesome job Gekho..

The remains of a Hs 130 were found at Brandis after the war. There are at least two pictures showing the rear fuselage and tail in the Stephen Ransom books about the Me 163. Do a Google search. Interesting...

The attempts of aeronautical developments in postwar Spain were some kind of an utopian dream, more loaded with good intentions and enthusiasm of their creators, that economic and industrial real potential of the country. But if something does available Spain, however, was of great national and international designers, like the German Willy Messerschmitt, and the Frenchman Emile Dewoitine. Both worked with the Hispano Aviacion in Seville.

In this sense, to provide the fledgling Air Force of a modern fighter aircraft (what was in the 40 did not stop being the remains of the Civil War, whose outdated aircraft would be the only valid model Bf109) seems to be presented two possibilities. Or build under license the Messerschmitt 109, but Hispano Suiza engine equipped with the inability to produce or import your original Daimler Benz 600 series, or opt for a new model, coded as HS-50 or Dewoitine D 600, which would be an evolution of the great French designer D.520. Is this aircraft which we are concerned.

After the German occupation of France, Emile Dewoitine exiles in Spain and comes into contact with the leading fighter aircraft of the time, which is none other than the Hispano. The idea here is to develop the D.600: the Hispano agrees and starts working on it for the 40-41, under the local name of HS-50. Sketches are outlined and established the basic features of the project: Single-engine monoplane fighter, low-wing, retractable landing gear and closed cockpit. Equipped with four 7.5 mm machine guns in the wings and a 20mm cannon mounted on the engine, which shoot through the propeller hub. The engine would be the Hispano Suiza 12-Z, although locally manufactured French design in the company's facilities in Barcelona.

During this period, work performed on a mock-up, which is completely finished and can appreciate the sleek lines of the model. However, the project would be canceled in 1943. The reasons for such cancellation are obvious:

1.- it was an untested prototype, which probably would require considerable development and tuning to be fully operational. 2.- Conditions of economic hardship and industrial discouraged when embarking on adventures of this magnitude
3.- Finally the German license to manufacture the highly proven and excellent Bf109 model was achieved, which also served as many different units in the Air Force squadrons.

Therefore, especially getting to manufacture under license the Messerschmitt fighter, the beautiful HS-50 did not go beyond that single model manufactured in San Jacinto. Motors Hispano Suiza 12-Z were finally used in constructed cells Bf109G-2, resulting in the Hispano Aviacion 1112K1L, but the unreliability of the power plant that would have to be replaced by the magnificent Rolls Royce Merlin 500, with that would be born Buchón, a classic of our skies.

Sources: AERONET GCE / IBERONET: Dewoitine 600 - Hispano Suiza
el jagdtiger: Caza Hispano Aviación HS-50
Años 40 (I): Renace una industria | Fundación Hélice
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=5975.0
Hispano Aviación HS 50

....that has been easily one of most interesting threads I've read in years. What is it about the interwar French, they have to be ugliest aircraft ever. But I think its the 'Folland Frightful' that takes the cake for a name. Maybe second is the Ryan "Fireball"....I'm imagining the test pilot climbing into the cockpit of the "fireball"
All fascinating...thanks.

Nice stuff!

where did you get all this info?

planb said:

where did you get all this info?

Click to expand...

Sailing in internet

That is alot of sailing,thanks for sharing

I totally agree, another outstanding thread!

On 8 September 1943, instructions were issued to redesign the Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate all-metal single-seat fighter (which see) for wooden construction because of the increasingly critical light alloy supply situation. The task of redesigning the airframe was assigned to the Tachikawa Hikoki which was to collaborate with the Army Aerotechnical Research Institute at Tachikawa. Assigned the designation Ki-106, the wooden fighter was intended to utilise a high proportion of semi-skilled labour in its construction and to be broken down into components to be built by small wood-working shops grouped around designated assembly points. Prototype construction was sub-contracted to Ohjo Koku, but the first of three prototypes was not flown until July 1945. The external characteristics of the Ki-84 were faithfully retained by the Ki-106, apart from some minor revision of the vertical tail, the first prototype being powered by the 2,000 hp Nakajima Ha-45-21 engine and carrying an armament of four 20-mm cannon. Appreciably heavier than the standard Ki-84, the Ki-106 was subjected to various weight saving measures, one of these being a reduction in the armament to two 20-mm cannon, and the second prototype flew with this armament during the last week of the war. Max speed, 385mph (620km/h) at 21,325ft (6 500m). Time to 16,405ft (5 000m), 7.85min. Normal range, 497mis (800 km)plus 1.5 hrs. Empty weight, 6,499 lb (2 948 kg). Loaded weight, 8,5981b (3 900 kg). Dimensions as for Ki-84 apart from height of 11 ft 9VA in (3,59 m).