aircraft that should have been built

[AdA]

Some aircraft were too good to cancel, and some of them could have had a major impact. My favourite is the MiG ye8, that should have replaced the MiG21 and made the MiG23 unnecessary.
The TSR and Arrow come to mind, as does the He100 from 1939.

[Hamurabi]

Helwan 300 should have been further developed.
It had so much potential, such a light fighter with excellent thrust to weight ratio.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helwan_HA-300

and the Folland Gnat should have further been developed to become an alternative to the F-5...

[wiking]

Fw187 single seater.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focke-Wulf_Fw_187

Forget the Bf110

[Gray Antarctica]

XB-70, FB-22, F-16XL, and Lockheed X-27 Lancer(Cheaper, faster, and carried about as much payload as the F-16, was basically an F-104 with the problems fixed. Had a much better glide ratio than the -104 too.).

[NothingNow]

Okay, besides the usual selection of the Arrow, TSR-2, P.1154, VAK 191 and VJ 101, some oddballs:
The Convair R3Y- which would have been Amazing with better engines, especially as a vehicle for Supply Ops and ASW/MPA work, basically as a Seaplane/Amphibian version of the Hercules and Orion for the Navy, but better.

The Martin P6M- If it had been intended to serve as an Anti-Shipping Weapon, carrying what amounts to a Modified Terrier, used as an AShM, Preferably configured as an ARM or with SARH guidance. The W45 Warhead might be a pragmatic solution as would be the improved engine (increasing range to 40nm) from the RIM-2F. Of course, it'd be fully capable of strategic bombing as well, to get the Taxpayer's money's worth.

The YA-10B - Intended as an Adverse conditions variant of the A-10A, would have been better as a Forward Air Controller then the A-10 and might've made a good Trainer as well.

The Convair F-106 C/D - which was to be fitted with the AN/ASG-18 radar and fire control system from the canceled XF-108, and used as an Interceptor, like the Arrow, and was supposed to carry one AIM-47 Falcon, and two AIM-26A Super Falcon/Nuclear Falcon missiles in it's weapons bay.

The Boeing YC-14 - competed with the YC-15 (later developed into the C-17) in the AMST project as a medium range STOL transport to replace/compliment the C-130. With a short takeoff it could carry 27,000lbs, on half the airfield the C-130 needed for such a load, and with a long run, could carry 81,000lbs. All in a cargo bay twice as wide as the one on a C-130. Of course, since, with a range of 3,000 miles, it wasn't long legged enough for the Air Force Chief of Staff, meaning it got shit-canned like the YC-15, (which was developed then into the longer legged, larger, and more limited C-17, which lacks the fucking STOL capabilities it was initially designed for.) The C-14 was probably the better of the two designs with the Engine placement reducing the risk of dammage from unprepared airstrips.

Additionally, we can't forget the Bell Boeing Quad Tiltrotor design concept, and the retardedly awesome concept that is Seaplane fighters, like the Convair F2Y/F-7, and the Saro SR.A/1.

[Asnys]

The Lockheed CL-1201-1.



See those little things hanging off the wings? Those are parasite fighters. It's a flying aircraft carrier. Massed 11,000,000 lbs., flight power from a 2 GW atomic reactor running on a liquid-sodium indirect-cycle, takeoff assistance from 180 chemical VTOL jets. Carried 22 fighter aircraft and was able to refuel, rearm, and repair them in flight, with endurance of 40 days.

There was another version proposed that would have been a marine assault vehicle that would also provide artillery support with nuclear IRBMs mounted under the wings. It would also have featured docking ports for 707s on the wings.

Might not have been a very good idea, but I don't think you could find a more awesome airplane.

[RogueBeaver]

Originally Posted by Asnys

The Lockheed CL-1201-1.



See those little things hanging off the wings? Those are parasite fighters. It's a flying aircraft carrier. Massed 11,000,000 lbs., flight power from a 2 GW atomic reactor running on a liquid-sodium indirect-cycle, takeoff assistance from 180 chemical VTOL jets. Carried 22 fighter aircraft and was able to refuel, rearm, and repair them in flight, with endurance of 40 days.

There was another version proposed that would have been a marine assault vehicle that would also provide artillery support with nuclear IRBMs mounted under the wings. It would also have featured docking ports for 707s on the wings.

Might not have been a very good idea, but I don't think you could find a more awesome airplane.

It must also make for some very expensive SAM or MIG fodder.

[Gray Antarctica]

Originally Posted by RogueBeaver

It must also make for some very expensive SAM or MIG fodder.

I don't think it's going to be easy to shoot down without atleast a nuclear weapon.

[kingclumsy]

Originally Posted by Gray Antarctica

I don't think it's going to be easy to shoot down without atleast a nuclear weapon.

So perhaps Fodder for a very expensive SAM :P

but yeah, they should've built it, its a big lump of awesome.

[modelcitizen]

the Nixon-era American SST, which almost --almost-- would have made up for the end of the Apollo program

the Boeing Pelican, because Ekranoplan eggs can't just be in one (Russian) basket


and, for sheer morbid curiousity, the Israeli Lavi fighter, which got canceled when American officials got a bit tetchy about the allegedly super-advanced (and expensive) Israeli-designed fighter plane


fwiw, a link on the LC 1201, which I hadn't heard of until today. Awesome.

pic of sketches from "up-ship.com"

[modelcitizen]

not quite on the same scale as the LC 1012, but...

from a consumer's perspective, astonishing:

The Ford "Flying Flivver" of the late 1920s, an airplane designed to fit inside Henry Ford's office, would have sold for $500, flew at a top speed of 85 miles per hour, and weighed 350 pounds.

Apparently, when test-pilot Harry Brooks died when the Flivver he was test-flying crashed, Henry Ford discontinued the project. (I guess a plane available to every person shouldn't be dangerous enough to kill a test-pilot.)

If an ASB could blow a puff of air to keep Brooks from crashing, that machine could have made America look potentially quite different. Imagine an airplane as widely available as the Ford Model T was. Granted, driveways in the suburbs would have been somewhat longer as a result, but, still.....

[modelcitizen]

and in color, fwiw,

[Matt Wiser]

I'd agree with the A-10B: having a second pair of eyes in back can be very useful, and not just from a FAC standpoint.

The A/FX: what the USN wanted to ultimately replace the A-6 after the A-12 debacle. Another victim of the 1990s drawdown, unfortunately.

F-108 Rapier. Not just as an interceptor, but LeMay felt it could be used as a SAC escort fighter.

TBY Seawolf: better than the TBF, according to the Navy. Originally designed by Vought as the TBU, but sent off to Consolidated as Vought was busy with F4U work. Hanky-panky among Consolidated execs (two of 'em got sent to Federal Prison), and delays in getting the factory built meant that only 180 were ever built before VJ-Day, and the two squadrons equipped with the aircraft (VT-153 and VT-154) never deployed.

A-6F: what the Navy should've gotten instead of the A-12. Why SECDEF Cheney didn't restart the program after the A-12 got the ax is something to wonder about.

[TheMann]

Originally Posted by Matt Wiser

A-6F: what the Navy should've gotten instead of the A-12. Why SECDEF Cheney didn't restart the program after the A-12 got the ax is something to wonder about.

Yeah, that was a stupid decision. The Navy tried to use the F-14 for attack roles instead, and Cheney shitcanned that idea as VP, which meant the Navy relies entirely on the Hornet for every role, even EW now. Not smart, if you ask me.

[The Oncoming Storm]

Hawker P.1121 and P.1081, Saunders Roe SR.177 and the Vickers V.1000/VC-7

[Asnys]

Originally Posted by RogueBeaver

It must also make for some very expensive SAM or MIG fodder.

I think the idea was that it would kill you before you killed it. And, not sure if it'll do any good, but it's big enough to mount CIWS anti-missile defenses.

[archaeogeek]

Originally Posted by Asnys

I think the idea was that it would kill you before you killed it. And, not sure if it'll do any good, but it's big enough to mount CIWS anti-missile defenses.

5000 tons is just about half the size of Bonaventure, except with a crappier airwing. Also it was closer to 1000.

[Dan Reilly The Great]

ohhh boy, this thread is giving me ideas for more batshit insane stuff to throw into my TL.

[Winston Smith]

The AV-16. A better Harrier, and would have provided the QE class with aircraft from the start.

[P-26]

Inspired by Calbear's and truth is life's comments on the other thread:

The F-16 as the lightweight day fighter it was originally meant to be.

No BVR missiles and perhaps even no radar (yikes!). Just an honest-to-goodness dogfighter armed with nothing but a cannon and two Sidewinders. Cheap enough to flood the skies with and simple enough to ensure that its pilots get to train, train and train some more.