WI: the Me 210 cancelled early enough

The A-10 was a very different aircraft and arguably a dead end in itself in a high intensity war against a Soviet or Western style military with sufficient supply of SAMS, fighters, MANPADs, AA guns, etc. Also the layout of the A-10 was strongly influenced by what NOT to do, learned from the HS129. Note the engine placement (the HS129's were on the wings and highly vulnerable, often seeing them downed by rifle caliber rounds when unarmored engines were hit), plus the overall larger size. Adding more powerful engines to the HS129 is not going to fix the basic flaws of the design.
What are the HS129's flaws outside of being under powered. You can't address the engine location like the A-10, but with air cooled radials and self sealing fuel tanks, you've got robust, damage-taking powerplants. IMO, put the FW-190's radials on the HS129 and address the pilot's cramped quarters and you've got a good CAS aircraft. We all know of the IL-2 Sturmovik, but is there any other non-BD, good CAS aircraft that was not a converted single-engined fighter? As a dedicated CAS, I think the HS129 has potential. It is a cool looking bird.


That said, getting back on topic, if the Me 210 is cancelled, maybe they'll make more FW-190s.
 
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The A-10 was a very different aircraft and arguably a dead end in itself in a high intensity war against a Soviet or Western style military with sufficient supply of SAMS, fighters, MANPADs, AA guns

Saddam had most of those in Desert Storm.
Didn't help.
 

Deleted member 1487

Saddam had most of those in Desert Storm.
Didn't help.
Please tell me you don't think Iraqi electronics are the same as Soviet/Western ones. Iraqi radar was badly jammed and therefore useless, that is the stuff that wasn't knocked out during the 100 day bombing campaign well before the ground invasion with CAS started.
 

Deleted member 1487

What are the HS129's flaws outside of being under powered. You can't address the engine location like the A-10, but with air cooled radials and self sealing fuel tanks, you've got robust, damage-taking powerplants. IMO, put the FW-190's radials on the HS129 and address the pilot's cramped quarters and you've got a good CAS aircraft. We all know of the IL-2 Sturmovik, but is there any other non-BD, good CAS aircraft that was not a converted single-engined fighter? As a dedicated CAS, I think the HS129 has potential.

That said, getting back on topic, if the Me 210 is cancelled, maybe they'll make more FW-190s.
Um they had that with the Gnome Rhone radial engines, but they got shot down anyway.The HS129 is way too small to take the BMW801 engines, they were twice as big and heavy as the GR engines and twice as big a target. Engine power needs to be something the air frame can handle, hence it's issues. The Sturmovik was slaughtered in huge numbers, so a dedicated CAS aircraft is actually insanely vulnerable and wasteful, might as well just go for the HS123 then or a fighter-bomber.
 
Please tell me you don't think Iraqi electronics are the same as Soviet/Western ones. Iraqi radar was badly jammed and therefore useless, that is the stuff that wasn't knocked out during the 100 day bombing campaign well before the ground invasion with CAS started.

The 'Monkey Model' excuse, right?
 

Deleted member 1487

The 'Monkey Model' excuse, right?
That is part of it, part of it is superior US electronics that degraded their ability to operate, and the US use of a 100 day bombing campaign using think like the stealth bomber to utterly degrade the Iraqi ability to use their air defense weaponry before exposing CAS aircraft to any combat.
 
considering it used up an inventory of French engines it was not a bad choice , but the plane could not be much more survivable than Stuka.
 
I know that Curtiss Commandos went from rounded nose to a stepped nose, but nobody cared. I know that the Blenheim went from a glazed faceted nose to a stepped nose for better crew function. I know that Mosquitos with guns had flat windscreens while those without had faster curved windscreens. The Ki-46 Dinah III went faster with a blended windscreen. But, sometime, function dictates form.


so the answer is no.
 
considering it used up an inventory of French engines it was not a bad choice , but the plane could not be much more survivable than Stuka.
Every non-fighter CAS aircraft needs air escort or air supremacy, including the A-1, A-10, and Su-25.
 
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The Me-210 cost the Luftwaffe 600 pilots ,put those pilots into FW-190Cs and we have a big impact on the Air War over Europe.
Allied air superiority could be delayed 2-4 months.D-Day wouldn't be launched without air superiority.
The war in Europe could last a few more months, radically altering the post war map of Europe.
 
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