Piston to jet conversions

Were the Tudor/Ashton and Shackleton capable of being fitted with Clyde turboprops?

I honestly don't know. I'd suspect it'd be possible - the Clyde appears to have the same diameter as the Merlin 85 and the Griffon but without measurements, I'd be unable to guess further.
 
The Shackleton was to have gone over to the Napier Nomad so that would be a swap for places a Merlin would fit. Not a jet or turbo prop even if it did produce some thrust.
 
Speaking of turboprop conversions there's the basler BT-67 turboprop conversions of the DC3/C-47 which have proven very succesful. Some of them have been making regrular flights to Antartica.

Then there is the Super Guppy which is an extremely modified conversion of the C-97 Stratofreighter which had an interesting history as far as modifications and conversions is concerned. The KC-97 tanker version had a set of jet pods added on to bring it's airspeed up to a level barely sufficient to keep jet fighters from stalling while refueling. It is a pity that the YC-97J turboprop conversion was not followed up on.
 
The Shackleton was to have gone over to the Napier Nomad so that would be a swap for places a Merlin would fit. Not a jet or turbo prop even if it did produce some thrust.
I've just remembered that the Shackleton MR Mk 3 was fitted with 2 Vipers as boost engines.

Both the Tudor/Ashton and Shackleton were developed from the Lincoln and used the Lincoln's wing. Therefore I thought that if the Tudor could be fitted with the Nene the Shackleton could have been fitted with the Clyde, which although a turboprop was from the same family of RR engines as the Derwent and Nene.
 
Piston to Gas Turbine engine? No problem. Perhaps Britain could have done this to the Spitfire in the 40's swapping the Griffon for the RR Trent.

upload_2018-6-24_15-42-21.jpeg
 

perfectgeneral

Donor
Monthly Donor
If I had a time machine I would go back and burn down the Supermarine factory because they failed to produce a single jet powered aircraft worth the time, effort or money it took to churn them out. Eliminating Supermarine as an aircraft company would be one of the greatest things that could be done for the post war British aircraft industry.
Didn't the LW already do that? Didn't stop them. I'm a de Havilland fan. The Dragon Rapide, if you want a Dr. Who connection.

I really wish the Swallow had a swept T-tail.
 
Last edited:
Piston to Gas Turbine engine? No problem. Perhaps Britain could have done this to the Spitfire in the 40's swapping the Griffon for the RR Trent.

View attachment 393775
————————————————————————————

Hah!
Hah!
Piper’s Enforcer was by far the most extensive re-design when converted to turbo-prop. Hardly any P-51 parts remained. It would be amusing to hear the back-story.

Seriously, by the 1960s WW2-surplus radial engines were wearing out, so dozens of: Beech 18s, DC-3s, etc. were re-engined with turbo-props. We covered all those conversions on secret projects.co.uk.
 
I'm imagining a P-38 Lightning, with the center nacelle replaced by a housing for two jet engines, the pilot and co-pilot in a cockpit located in the left tail boom where the piston engine formerly lived - and an .60 T45 Vulcan gun in the right.
If 'Crimson Skies' would have been launched 40 years earlier, this is what would come out of it.
 
Curtis's XP_55 converted to a jet with the same engine as the P_80. Ive seen what ifbdrawings. Bell converts the P-63 plus uses the swept wings used on the L-39 test aircraft. Not saying they would be the gearest thing since sliced bread but at least the engines are in the right place to start with :openedeyewink:
 
Conversely, I wanted to build an Attacker as a prop, with a mid mounted Centaurus driving a contraprop on the nose via an extension shaft. The air intakes would be for the radiators and oil coolers with the exhuast collected and dumped out of the rear "jetpipe".

IIRC, I did start it but didn't get much further than grouting out the cockpit and wheelwell bays out of ye olde Frog/Novo kit.
 
tThis thread so lacks imagination. If you wankers had any gumption you'd be seriously discussing jet to piston/prop conversions. I really don't understand why that was never done, lots of opportunities and advantages.
 
OK North American Aviation takes the F-86 and procduces the F-86P featuring a 56 and later 70 cylinder versions of the Wright Tornado driving two five bladed counter-rotating swpt props. Republic builds a motor jet version of the Rainbow featuring The worst of both worlds. In the ultimate regression Nash builds it's proposed flying boat featuring 60 Jeffery Quad engines. Of course in the ultimate prop to jet conversion the Wright Flyer gets a J-37 in each wing Game Set Match ️
 
tThis thread so lacks imagination. If you wankers had any gumption you'd be seriously discussing jet to piston/prop conversions. I really don't understand why that was never done, lots of opportunities and advantages.
"Possibly the most unique aircraft flown by the nascent Israeli armed forces was the AF-4 Phoenix, popularly known as "FrankenSasso", a dig at it's unorthodox German and Italian roots. Quite possibly the most ill-conceived aircraft of the post-war era, the Phoenix mated the airframe of Germany's advanced Arado 234 jet attack bomber to a pair of Fiat R.A. 1050 Tifone piston engines salvaged from Italy's Fiat G.55 fighters - complete with their original 20mm Mauser autocannons firing through the propeller hub... The Arado airframes were bought from scrapping yards in Germany, their Jumo turbojet engines completely worn out with no replacement engines available. The Fiat fighters were clandestinely purchased by Israeli agents in Italy with the intention of using them in their intended role - but when the disassembled aircraft were uncrated, all of their wings were missing.... Flight performance was unexpectedly acceptable at low altitudes, though trimming and balance issues would plague the design. Four were built, and a fifth was completed with unserviceable components to create a static ground trainer. All four flying aircraft were eventually lost during the 1948 War, but the static trainer remains on display in the main terminal at Ben Gurion Airport...
 
Top