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Develop the He 111.
Or replace with a step forward and not try for the triple axial somersault back flip long jump that was the He 177
The B-17E sure didn't look like a B-17D and the B-23 didn't look like the B-18 so there was some wiggle room
They do need a powerplant though.
The Germans didn't even much in the way of Wellington.A 'simple' 4-engined bomber, obviously with separate engines, would've certainly been much less of a headache than the He 177 was.
The Germans didn't even much in the way of Wellington.
The Do 217 may have come close but a little more emphasis on the "bomb truck" aspect might have helped.
How about a 111 that can carry a pair of 1000kg bombs inside instead of flapping around in the breeze?
You need a bomber that can carry 4000-4400lbs inside and carry more than 650imp gallons of fuel at the same time.
Heck, you could put over 600imp gallons in an A-20, it just didn't carry much in the way of bombs
You can put 750imp gallons in a Wellington?
Well, starting from the tail we could copy the B-23 a bit?
instead of
Use a real top turret instead of that ersatz thing they got in 1942.
Even the Blenheim had power elevation and traverse in 1938.
Find some 1600-1750hp engines???
The B-23s were being delivered between Feb and Sept of 1940
Maybe you don't keep any of the He 111 but something about that size with a pair of 1600-1750hp engines , 4400lbs inside, 800 or more Imp gallons in the wings
A tail gun of some sort a few other guns (it doesn't have to be a B-17 but the Germans had crap for defensive guns for far too long)
forget the last 20mph of top speed, you weren't going to outrun the fighters anyway.
Bigger wing might make it easier to take-off and land.
The He100 was a novel idea, but I think Heinkel put too much effort into it, when the earlier He112 was a better, all around fighter, to be honest.
You know how I feel about the He280 and a missed opportunity for the Luftwaffe, so we'll just leave that alone for now.
As far as a fast, light bomber, what are your thoughts about the He119?
Personally, I'm not a fan of "coupled" engines. But what if Heinkel placed the engines on the wings, similar to the He219 layout?
However, seems like the DB 606 worked well in the He 119...
Skip the heavy bombers. You'll never make enough to matter and if the war's still on by the time Heinkel has three dozen in service, you've already lost. Focus on winning Barbarossa before autumn 1942.As far as heavy bombers go, either drop the He177 and stay focused on current models being manufactured or produce the He177 as originally designed.
What do you do with it????
Pilot and co-pilot/navigator? sit with the drive shaft between them.
Radio man sat just behind/at the wing trailing edge. They claimed this man could use a single MG 15 in a dorsal "position" (window?)
How much would you have to change to get something useful out of it?
Go with something similar to the He 219 as a fast bomber?
And again, what is left after you get done modifying it?
The entire fuselage from the rear of the cockpit to behind the wing trailing edge, about where the Schrage Musik was, is fuel tanks.
The wing roots from fuselage to engine nacelles is where the cannon ammo goes. So you could pull the guns out out the tray in the bottom. make or two of the fuselage tanks smaller, stick fuel tanks where the cannon ammo was. for what kind of range/bomb load?
...The He 219 had about 580 imp gallons of fuel in the fuselage. How much left after you cram in the Bomb bay?
I would start by attaching a new cooling system.I'd start with attaching a bomb rack aft the cooling system.
Problem is you need a bigger, fatter fuselage.The "alternative He 219" should be designed as a bomber 1st (rather than just adopting the historical He 219 into a bomber) - meaning, among other things, that fuel tanks are in the wings and wing/fuselage joint, and the bomb bay is in fuselage.
Good call on cooling system. Rack and bomb (1000-1400-1800 kg) behind the radiator might not be that draggy?I would start by attaching a new cooling system.
The radiator in the photos is like some of the photos of radiators on the He 100.
A supplement to the surface cooling used when climbing.
And once you go to external bomb racks you might kiss 20-30mph of the impressive top speed goodbye.
You might also kiss the airplane goodbye as the exhausts for the middle 12 cylinders exited the aircraft out the belly of the aircraft right behind the radiator.
There was an internal bay for camera/s and a small bomb load behind the main spar.
Now, are you truly fast enough to dodge the enemy interceptors or do you need more help than that gun firing out the flush window in the top of the fuselage, think radio operators gun in the B-17 as your only defense
Problem is you need a bigger, fatter fuselage.
It can be done, but it throws the Performance estimates way off.
If it it is going to be a proper bomber and not a nuisance raider you need a bombsight and room for the bomb aimer to operate.