WI: 1930s-1940s alternate military aircraft

tomo pauk · Jun 10, 2016

The Beaubomber.
Seen as not needed as a heavy fighter with success of Merlin Whirliwind (per OP) and new arrival of Mosquito, Bristol's management decided to save as much as possible from the design. They ordered removal of the cannons and their ammo, and modified thus acquired space to serve as a bomb bay. In front of the pilot the space was provided for the bomb aimer. Wing guns were also deleted, since the aircraft will be used as a night bomber, plus as a weight saving. The bomber proved as a tough prey for the LW night fighter force, being faster and far smaller than Lancasters and other heavies.
Still, Mosquito was regarded as a better tool for the job.

Some Bloke · Jun 10, 2016

Another idea I'm toying with in the Mers El Kebir Resolution reboot.

Although the invasion scare had mostly passed by 1941, it did have an impact on procurement,
with most of the resources which could have saved the Rolls Royce Vulture being allocated to the
Griffon. This killed both the AVRO Manchester and the Hawker Tornado.

The Napier Sabre used on the successor type, the Typhoon also had development issues, but there
was now time and resources set aside to fix these issues. However, the Griffon was also beginning to
mature as a design and was used on the second prototype of the Typhoon in May 1941. The engine
was underpowered for such a large airframe compared to the Sabre, although this did encourage
investigations for a lighter airframe.

As well as being smaller and lighter than the Typhoon, the Hawker Tempest included other innovations
in design including laminar wings and revised fuel arrangements for better range. Several factors, such
as the use of the Centaurus in the third prototype of the failed Tornado, the performance of the Warmaster,
and the capture of a near intact FW 190 prompted another prototype using the Centaurus engine.

While the Fleet Air Arm expressed an interest in a Griffon engined fighter as both the Barracuda and Firefly
were equipped with the same engine, the RAF had secured most of the development and production of the Griffon
for themselves. The Griffon engined Tempest entered service in January 1944 as a long range, high altitude figher,
while its Centaurus engined sister, the Torrent, was assigned to the Fleet Air Arm at the same time.

M79 · Jun 10, 2016

wietze · Jun 10, 2016

A fokker D.XXIIIS with both engines removed, and instead a jet engine in the rear ( same idea as the saab 21R)

merlin · Jun 19, 2016

When I saw the design I thought - WOW - looked so different from other aircraft of the time. So, I wonder how quickly could the Boulton-Paul P.100 have been in service?

http://www.xplanes3d.com/Projects/BP_P100/webpages/BP_P100_thumbs.html

tomo pauk · Jun 19, 2016

Great stuff there, merlin.

Reminds me a bit about the XB-42 Mixmaster. So here is the idea - Douglas starts the ball rolling several years earlier. Layout reamins the same, but size is a bit smaller, wing being of 400 sq ft area. Laminar wing, Fowler flaps. Powerplant consists of two 1-stage V-1710s, instead of 2-stage V-1710s. The 1st engines give 1150 HP for take off (late 1941/early 1942), from mid 1942 uses improved engines with 1325 HP for take off. Bomb load 1st 2000 lbs, later 4000. Four .50s aside the front U/C well. With 370-380 mph, a tough catch for LW, let alone for the Japanese.

A night fighter is also produced, but with engines of better altitude capabilities.

Peg Leg Pom · Jun 20, 2016

Cierva misses the flight that killed him and the Cierva W9 & W11 helicopters are developed early enough to enter service.

Driftless · Jun 20, 2016

Peg Leg Pom said:
Cierva misses the flight that killed him and the Cierva W9 & W11 helicopters are developed early enough to enter service.

Might you see ASW gyrodynes off escort carriers, then full helicopters later?

Or, with the Cierva gyrodynes, could they have pinch-hit for Lysanders on some clandestine inserts/extracts? Helicopters were/are very noisy, and back then, not quick enough to overcome that giveaway of their presence.

M79 · Jun 21, 2016

Looks like the inspiration for something out of Crimson Skies...