Secret Luftwaffe Projects of the Nazi Era: From Arado to Zeppelin with Contemporary Drawings by Walter Meyer

Author:Walter Meyer [Meyer, Walter]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2014-06-20T16:00:00+00:00

Focke-Wulf Ta 183 single-jet fighter

Focke-Wulf Ta 183 general views

Focke-Wulf Ta 183 side view

Focke-Wulf Ta 183 ‘Project II’

This single-seat fighter was submitted for the single-jet fighter competition as Focke-Wulf Project I and was about to go into production when the war in Europe ended. It was designed for the He 011 jet unit but in the first production series the Jumo 004 would have been employed as supplies of the more powerful Heinkel-Hirth units would not have been available.

Of mid-wing design the main plane is swept back 40 degrees at quarter-chord. The fuselage is rather deep to accommodate the turbo-jet unit which is mounted in the lower rear portion with a straight intake extruding to the nose. The pilot’s cockpit is above the intake and well forward. A very sharply swept-back fin also fulfils the function of a tail boom and the swept-back tail-plane is mounted at its extremity.

The armament, comprising 2 x MK 108 with the optional addition of 2 x MK 108 or 2 x MK 103, is mounted in the nose at the sides of the intake. The main wheels retract forwards and upwards into the fuselage and the nose wheel retracts rearwards and is stowed nearly flat in a space beneath the intake. Throughout the design considerable attention has been paid to ease of construction. For example, the wing is of wood construction with a steel box spar and a single sheet of plywood forms the covering for all that portion of the wing in front of the spar. Fuel tanks are incorporated in the wings as part of the structure.

Wing area: 242sq ft. Span: 32.8ft. Aspect ratio: 4.45. Max flying weight (with 525 gal of fuel): 11,200lb. Wing loading at max flying weight: 46.4lb per sq ft. Max speed (with 011) at sea level: 543mph. Max speed at 39,500ft: 574mph. Rate of climb at sea level: 4770ft/min. Rate of climb at 20,000ft: 3200ft/min. Service ceiling: 47,200ft. Range at 23,000ft (with 315 gal of fuel) at full thrust: 615 miles. Range at 23,000ft (with 315 gal of fuel) at 55% thrust: 810 miles. Range at 23,000ft (with 525 gal of fuel) at 55% thrust: 1335 miles. Endurance at 23,000ft (with 315 gal of fuel) at full thrust: 1 hour 6 minutes, at 55% thrust: 2 hours, at 40% thrust: 2 hours 33 minutes. Endurance at 23,000ft (with 525 gal of fuel) at 55% thrust: 3 hours 18 minutes, at 40% thrust: 4 hours 15 minutes. Bomb load 1 x 500kg or 1 x bomb/torpedo.

There is provision for the installation of a bi-fuel rocket motor to give improved climb performance when the aircraft is to be employed for interceptor duties.

An alternative design submitted in the competition as Focke-Wulf Project II has the cockpit further back permitting improved streamlining of the nose. The wing is very similar to that of the Ta 183 but has 35 degree instead of 40 degree sweep-back, span of 31.2ft and a wing area of 215sq ft. The empennage, however, is more conventional, the swept-back tail-plane being below the fin and rudder.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.