Brühwarm vom letzten Wochenende! Das kleine Ding ist binnen einer Woche entstanden, war ein rel. simpler Umbau und basiert auf einer Idee eines Bastlers auf whatifmodelers.com, der 1977(!) eine He 162 (offensichtlich der gruselige Frog/Revell-Bausatz) umgebaut hat:
Gefunden auf:
http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,6469.0.htmlIch fand das Bild durch Zufall, und befand, dass das Ding Potenzial hat... Daraus geworden ist nun die Heinkel He 273 A-2 "Geissel" als moderne Interpretation!
<b>Some background:</b>
When the U.S. 8th Air Force re-opened its bombing campaign on Germany in early 1944 with the Big Week offensive, the bombers returned to the skies with the long-range P-51 Mustang in escort, and now performing air supremacy offensive "fighter sweeps" well ahead of the 8th Air Force's combat box massed bomber formations, intended to clear the skies well ahead of the bombers of any Luftwaffe opposition.
This changed the nature of the war in the air. Earlier in the war, German fighter units could freely attack Allied bombers, and over the previous year, the Luftwaffe had been modifying their fleet to improve their capabilities against them. The addition of heavy cannons on their Zerstörer heavy fighters through to the time of their obsolescence, and the adoption of unguided rockets, gave the German single and twin-engined defensive fighters a degree of firepower never seen previously by Allied fliers.
By the end of April, as the P-51 escorts that formerly performed "close escort" of the USAAF's bomber combat boxes were now flying far ahead of the B-17 and B-24 formations in an air supremacy mode in aggressively seeking combat with the backbone of the Jagdwaffe (fighter force) to "clear the skies" of them, this change in USAAF tactics resulted in the German fighter forces being broken, with many of the Luftwaffe's leading aces killed in combat. Replacements were slow to arrive, leaving the Luftwaffe unable to put up much of a fight through the summer of 1944.
With few planes coming up to fight, the U.S. fighters were let loose on the German airbases, railways and truck traffic. Logistics soon became a serious problem (nor only) for the Luftwaffe, maintaining aircraft in fighting condition almost impossible, and having enough fuel for a complete mission profile was even more difficult, partly from the devastating effects of the Oil Campaign of World War II against Nazi petroleum industry targets.
This lack of fighter numbers posed a considerable problem for the Luftwaffe, and eventually led to the "Volksjäger" initiative. This called for a light and cheap air superiority fighter that could be built in large numbers and in a short time.
The official RLM Volksjäger design competition parameters specified a single-seat fighter, powered by a single BMW 003, a slightly lower-thrust engine not in demand for the Me 262A or the Ar 234B front-line aircraft already in service. The main structure of the Volksjäger competing airframe designs would use cheap and unsophisticated parts made of wood and other non-strategic materials and, more importantly, could be assembled by semi- and non-skilled labor, including slave labor.
Specifications included a weight of no more than 2,000 kg (4,410 lb), when most fighters of the era were twice of that. Maximum speed was specified as 750 km/h (470 mph) at sea level, operational endurance at least half an hour, and the take-off run had to be no more than 500 m (1,640 ft). Armament was specified as either two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons with 100 rpg or two 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 cannons with 50 rpg. The Volksjäger needed to be easy to fly. Some suggested that even glider or student pilots should be able to fly the jet effectively in combat.
Heinkel won the competition with the He 162, which entered service in early 1945. The company had designed a relatively small, 'sporty'-looking aircraft, with a sleek, streamlined fuselage. Overall, the look of the plane was extremely modernistic for its time, appearing quite contemporary in terms of layout and angular arrangement even to today's eyes.
The BMW 003 axial-flow turbojet was mounted in a pod nacelle uniquely situated atop the fuselage, just aft of the cockpit and centered directly over the wing's center section. Twin roughly rectangular vertical tailfins were perpendicularly mounted at the ends of highly dihedralled horizontal tailplanes to clear the jet exhaust, a high-mounted straight wing with a forward-swept trailing edge and a noticeably marked degree of dihedral, with an ejection seat was provided for the pilot — which the Heinkel firm had pioneered in a front-line combat aircraft, with the earlier He 219 night fighter in 1942. The He 162 airframe design featured an uncomplicated tricycle landing gear that retracted into the fuselage, performed simply with extension springs, mechanical locks, cables and counterweights.
Early service experience showed that the aircraft's performance was not enough, and that handling was tricky due to stability problems. Several design updates were proposed, including versions with a butterfly tail or positively or even negatively swept wings. Another radical re-design was the P.1073d, which was almost a complete re-design of the He 162 – it featured a canard layout, strongly swept wings, end plate stabilizers on the wing tips and a shortened rear fuselage. The engine pod nacelle on top of the fuselage was retained, though, as well as many structural parts.
Air tunnel tests had shown that this configuration would amend the stability problems, and success reports from Japan where the Kyushu J/W 'Shinden' high performance aircraft had been successfully flown in August 1945 ensured a quick go-ahead from the RLM.
Many components from the He 162, which was kept in production, could be utilized for the updated type, which received the official designation He 273 and was quickly christened "Geissel" (= Scourge). The type was literally pushed through flight tests and instantaneously adopted for service in February 1946, when the first Allied jet fighters appeared over the dwindling Reich.
Compared to the He 162, handling and rate of climb were much improved, thanks to a much bigger wing area. Overall performance became also slightly better, since the He 273 was lighter than the conventional He 162. MTOW could even be increased, so that the canard fighter was even able to carry an external ordnance under its fuselage.
General characteristics:Crew: 1, pilot
Length (incl. pitot): 7,98 m (26 ft 4¼ in)
Wingspan: 7.63 m (25 ft)
Height: 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 16.4 m² (177 ft²)
Empty weight: 1.570 kg (3.458 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 3.000 kg (6.607 lb)
Powerplant:1× BMW 003E-1 axial flow turbojet, rated at 7.85 kN (1,760 lbf)
Fuel capacity of 695 litres (183 US gallons)
Performance:Maximum speed: 790 km/h (491 mph) at normal thrust at sea level; 840 km/h (522 mph) at 6000 m; using short burst extra thrust 890 km/h (553 mph) at sea level and 905 km/h (562 mph) at 6000 m. (562 mph)
Range: 1.050 km (652 mi)
Service ceiling: 12.500 m (10.900 400 ft)
Rate of climb: 1.650 m/min (5.400 ft/min)
Armament:2× 20 mm MG 151/20 autocannons with 120 rpg (He 273 A-1) or 2× 30 mm MK 108 cannons with 50 rpg (He 273 A-2); provision for a 500kg (1.101 lb) hardpoint under the fuselage for a drop tank, bombs, a rack with 24 R4M unguided missiles or a gun pod.
Zum Modell:Die He 273 gab es nie, aber von der He 162 wurden zahlreiche Verbesserunsgentwürfe gemacht, u.a. mit V-Leitwerk oder positiv wie negativ gepfeilten Flügeln. Insofern fand ich die Canard-Idee gar nicht mal so abwegig... Basis ist die simple und massive He 162 von Hobby Boss. Die Oberfläche ist ziemlich gut, auch das Fahrwerk, aber es gibt kein nennenswertes Interieur und der Rumpf is massiv aus Plastik - für das Absägen des Hecks war das aber gar nicht verkehrt...
Die Flügel stammen von einer Revell G.91, deren Fahrwerksschächte verfüllt wurden. Die Canards sind Höhenruder einer Fw 190 - ich hatte mit gepfeilten Alternativen experimentiert, das sah aber seltsam aus, und so nahm ich die J7W Shinden als Benchmark und es blieb bei der simplen, geraden Lösung.
Neu sind der implanierte Pilot und ein paar Cockpitdetails, das Gitter vorm Lufteinlauf besteht aus einem Plastikgeflecht - ein Detail, das ich realen He 162 abgeguckt habe.
Die Lackierung sollte simpel und realistisch sein, und ich habe mich an späten Me 163 orientiert, von denen ich Farben (RLM 81/82/76, alles Emaille-Farben von ModelMaster) und Schema (vor allem die fetten, scharf gezeichneten Flecken am Rumpf) übernommen habe.
Hoheitsabzeichen stammen von mehreren Decval-Bögen, u.a. von einer Revell Me 262 und einem TL Modellbau-Bogen. Von derselben Me 262 stammt auch die weiße 19; das Emblem der IV./JG1 stammt wiederum von einem Staffelabzeichen-Sheet von TL Modellbau.
U.a. gab es ein leichtes Tusche-Washing sowie nachgemalte Panels mit helleren Tönen - aber alles eher einfach und dezent. Zum Schluss kam alles unter matten Revell-Acrlyllack.
Ein kleines, simples Projekt, das aber überraschend plausibel wirkt? Wer weiß...?
Thema: What if? Heinkel He 273 A-2; "19 Weiss" der IV./JG1, Rheinsehlen 1946 (Gelesen 4707 mal)