Shortround6
Lieutenant General
Carrying a torpedo 50-100miles off shore from a rather long runway is different than operating off a carrier, even with wind over the deck.
WW2 Fantasy Aircraft
- Thread starter Howard Gibson
- Start date
Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules
- Thread starter
- #82
Howard Gibson
Senior Airman
I have been reading up on the Martin B26 Marauder. The USAAF requested a high speed bomber, and they were willing to accept high wing loading and its attendant high take-off and landing speeds to achieve this. Martin quite correctly (IMHO) used the biggest, most powerful engine available, the Pratt and Whitney R2800, and they installed the conventional for the time defensive armament. The prototype did over 300mph, so it was fast. As the conventions for American defensive armament because heavier and heavier and less aerodynamic, the B26s became heavier, less aerodynamic, and slower.
In an alternate universe, Martin holds the same conversation that de Havilland held, in 1939/1940, and they propose an unarmed bomber. The bomber is smaller and cleaner and still powered by R2800s. Like the Mosquito, the Marauder was an optimal streamlined shape. I show my aircraft superimposed over the colour picture in the Profile publication. I have shortened the wings and fuselage a bit. I have lowered the wings so that I can cut down the rear fuselage and give a pilot a view to the rear. In the absence of a tail gunner, this is necessary. If I were to do this again, I would shorten the nose more, and the tail less. The B26 Maraudosquito probably would have a three-man crew, including a pilot, bombardier, and a third guy who would be some combination of co-pilot, navigator and radio operator. Maybe there is a flexible gun at the rear of the cockpit. Some Beafighters had one. I wonder if any of them shot anything down? The Mosquito's bomb load was limited by the size of its bomb bay. The Maraudosquito would have similar issues compared to the real Marauder. In the USA, mourning the death of Knute Rockne, there is no possibility of wood construction.
de Havilland estimated that a turret would take 60mph off the top speed of a real Mosquito. An aircraft slightly bigger, powered by R2800s, would have similar or perhaps better performance, especially at low altitude, and a heavier bomb load. Like the Mosquito, it could be converted into a heavy fighter and used for night fighting. Without two-stage supercharging, it would not do the high-altitude reconnaissance that the Mosquitos did. Mosquitos did lots of stuff at low altitude, where the enemy would shoot holes into the radial engines.
In an alternate universe, Martin holds the same conversation that de Havilland held, in 1939/1940, and they propose an unarmed bomber. The bomber is smaller and cleaner and still powered by R2800s. Like the Mosquito, the Marauder was an optimal streamlined shape. I show my aircraft superimposed over the colour picture in the Profile publication. I have shortened the wings and fuselage a bit. I have lowered the wings so that I can cut down the rear fuselage and give a pilot a view to the rear. In the absence of a tail gunner, this is necessary. If I were to do this again, I would shorten the nose more, and the tail less. The B26 Maraudosquito probably would have a three-man crew, including a pilot, bombardier, and a third guy who would be some combination of co-pilot, navigator and radio operator. Maybe there is a flexible gun at the rear of the cockpit. Some Beafighters had one. I wonder if any of them shot anything down? The Mosquito's bomb load was limited by the size of its bomb bay. The Maraudosquito would have similar issues compared to the real Marauder. In the USA, mourning the death of Knute Rockne, there is no possibility of wood construction.
de Havilland estimated that a turret would take 60mph off the top speed of a real Mosquito. An aircraft slightly bigger, powered by R2800s, would have similar or perhaps better performance, especially at low altitude, and a heavier bomb load. Like the Mosquito, it could be converted into a heavy fighter and used for night fighting. Without two-stage supercharging, it would not do the high-altitude reconnaissance that the Mosquitos did. Mosquitos did lots of stuff at low altitude, where the enemy would shoot holes into the radial engines.
