Who would you want to design your fighter - 1943

[NevadaK]

Greetings All,

Let's say its June, 1943 and you are planning the development of a new single engine fighter. For the sake of valuing skill and talent assume that the designer of your choice will not be limited by shortages created by the war or a nation's inability to develop an engine. For instance, imagine what someone like Tomio Kubo could have done if designing in America instead of Japan. You have six months to first flight.

Who you gonna call?

 

[tomo pauk]

Who you gonna call?

North American Aviation, Inglewood, USA.

 

[pbehn]

North American Aviation, Inglewood, USA.

Yeh forget all that "Mustang" nonsense and build us a proper plane.

 

[nuuumannn]

Sorry to complicate things, but do you want to place an order for an entirely new fighter in 1943, expecting it to enter service subsequently or do you want your fighter to enter service in 1943? Yup, I'm complicating things, but the two questions can have very different answers. The former means you can look at jet designs, which in 1943 the options were limited but technology and knowledge within a year were expanding, so choose your framer for example and then your powerplant manufacturer.

The latter extends the search for a designer a little more of course...

This was flying in prototype form in 1943.

Me 262

So was this.

El Aeroparque 14

 

[NevadaK]

Sorry to complicate things, but do you want to place an order for an entirely new fighter in 1943, expecting it to enter service subsequently or do you want your fighter to enter service in 1943? Yup, I'm complicating things, but the two questions can have very different answers. The former means you can look at jet designs, which in 1943 the options were limited but technology and knowledge within a year were expanding, so choose your framer for example and then your powerplant manufacturer.

The latter extends the search for a designer a little more of course...

You are ordering a new fighter in 1943 to enter service subsequently.

 

[nuuumannn]

"Paging Mr Messerschmitt and Mr Johnson..."

 

[SaparotRob]

Paging Mr. Johnson
Paging Mr Whittle

 

[pbehn]

Single engined? Try de Havilland

 

[nuuumannn]

Paging Mr. Johnson
Paging Mr Whittle

"Whittle Here, I'll pass you on to Lord Hives at Rolls-Royce..."

"Johnson here, you wanna speak to Mr Halford at De Havilland..."

 

[Admiral Beez]

Greetings All,

Let's say its June, 1943 and you are planning the development of a new single engine fighter. For the sake of valuing skill and talent assume that the designer of your choice will not be limited by shortages created by the war or a nation's inability to develop an engine. For instance, imagine what someone like Tomio Kubo could have done if designing in America instead of Japan. You have six months to first flight.

Who you gonna call?

By June 1943 initiation and first flight early 1944 I'm focused on postwar. I want the Horten brothers or the likes of the Kyushu J7W Shinden's Massaoki Tsuruno.

 

[SaparotRob]

Shall we try to get a hold of Mr. Northrop?

 

[WARSPITER]

Shall we try to get a hold of Mr. Northrop?

No. He was too busy dating a widow at night. He liked her cause she had a big turret bustle.

 

[SaparotRob]

Who doesn't?

 

[NevadaK]

North American Aviation, Inglewood, USA.

This response is why I created the question. If the P-51 Mustang didn't get the merlin would we think of Edgar Schmued in the same way? Probably not.

 

[pbehn]

This response is why I created the question. If the P-51 Mustang didn't get the merlin would we think of Edgar Schmued in the same way? Probably not.

It would then have been a "what if". The British used their Allisson engined Mustangs until they ran out of them, no other plane could do what it did.

 

[tomo pauk]

This response is why I created the question. If the P-51 Mustang didn't get the merlin would we think of Edgar Schmued in the same way? Probably not.

Edgar Schmued is basically unknown, apart by the aircraft history aficionados. They can note him as a person behind the Sabre and F-5, apart from Mustang. Looks like a successful career to me.

 

[TheAircraftBuilder]

Ahem - Sydney Camm of Hawker would like a word.

A few credits include the Hurricane, Typhoon (with caveats), Tempest, Sea Fury, Hunter and the Kestrel/Harrier family. Not too many duff fighters in the family line (don't mention the Tornado) and the company handled the jump from props to jets quite capably. Many other companies were killed off in that process.

If I were wanting either an ultimate superprop (which is what a 1943 design is going to end up as) or an early subsonic jet I'd probably put my money on Hawker being able to deliver.

DH come a close second but until the Vampire single-seat fighters were not really their thing. Would you know this in 1943 based on their main party piece of the time (Mossie)?

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Ed Heinemann, anyone? Who doesn't love a Scooter?

 

[ayemoon]

By June 1943 initiation and first flight early 1944 I'm focused on postwar. I want the Horten brothers or the likes of the Kyushu J7W Shinden's Massaoki Tsuruno.

Are you sure you want to fly a dangerous monster?

 

[Admiral Beez]

Ahem - Sydney Camm of Hawker would like a word. A few credits include the Hurricane, Typhoon (with caveats), Tempest, Sea Fury, Hunter and the Kestrel/Harrier family.

Interestingly, nothing from Hawker ever broke the sound barrier…..unless we count the Avro Arrow, produced by an offshore unit of Hawker-Siddeley. Hawker's postwar fighters were slugs (and often very late to the party, taking many years from ideation to service entry) compared to what the Soviets and Americans were able to accomplish with their British-derived jet engines. Even the postwar French were fielding better aircraft than Hawker.

As for WW2, not designing the Typhoon with sufficient tail structure seems a mistake not worthy of top rated firm.