LetLetLet ~ Warplanes
Let Let Let - Warplanes => Combat Warplanes => Topic started by: No.1 on April 04, 2008, 01:03:43 PM
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUoFKOsKTp4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VncDV6DNGo&feature=related
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The Arado Ar 234 Blitz (Lightning) was the world's first operational jet powered bomber. However, it was used almost entirely in the reconnaissance role. At first the Ar 234A series was designed without landing gear, it took-off my means of a large trolley which it would jettison, then on landing, skids would extend beneath the fuselage and under each engine.
The Ar 234A made its first flight in June 1943 and had an estimated maximum speed of 485 mph at 19,700 ft, an operating altitude of 6,100 ft and a range of 1,240 miles. The main A-series production was cancelled, even after the production had been stopped, seven prototypes flow, with V7 becoming the first jet aircraft to fly a reconnaissance mission.
Work started on the Ar 234B series and the first prototype was flown in March 1944, the first production version, the Ar 234B-0 followed in June of that year. Twenty B-0s were produced, next the B-1 was a limited production run of a reconnaissance only version. The B-2 quickly followed, this could be configured to fly either reconnaissance and bombing missions. The recce version could be equipped with two Rb 50/30 or Rb 75/30 cameras (mounted in the rear fuselage, with the aircraft configured to carry two extra fuels tanks under each engine if required. It was reported that the Ar 234B were flying reconnaissance missions over England and Europe in late 1944.
The prototype C-series flow in late 1944, with the Ar 234C-1 being the reconnaissance version. However, the main production plant was destroyed in 1945 before being captured by the advancing Russian forces. The total number of reconnaissance versions delivered to the Luftwaffe was 210 Ar 234Bs and 14 Ar 234Cs.
In April 1945 the Luftwaffe list only 24 reconnaissance versions left in service.
Source - Airrecce (pages not yet posted)
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I just wait for that page on AirRecce :-clap
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I just wait for that page on AirRecce :-clap
Hopefully soon, very soon :-/
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:-wise
Is my mind failing me (again) or did I read somewhere that Arado(or perhaps someone else) was working on a swept wing version of the Blitz. What a great night fighter it could have been!
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Its wing was later used in construction of HP Victor wing.
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:-wise
Is my mind failing me (again) or did I read somewhere that Arado(or perhaps someone else) was working on a swept wing version of the Blitz. What a great night fighter it could have been!
Leo,
You could be thinkin of the Junkers Ju 287.
The first prototype was put together with the fuselage of a Heinkel He 177, the tail of a Junkers Ju 388, main undercarriage from a Junkers Ju 352 and nosewheels taken from crashed B-24 Liberators. Two of the Jumo 004 engines were hung under the wings, with the other two mounted in nacelles added to the sides of the forward fuselage.
A total of 17 flights were undertaken with the prototype, this lead to the production of a second prototype a Ju-287-V2, this one had retractable landing gear, the nose gear retracting backwards and the main gear into the wings towards the fuselage and was to be powered by six BMW 003A turbojets, arranged in clusters of three under each wing.