Larry Bell and a fellow Consolidated Aircraft employee, aircraft
engineer Bob xxx formed Bell Aircraft. Their first indigenous design was the
FM-1 (Fighter, Multiplace). The prototype flew in 1936, and looked a lot like
something out of Buck Rogers -
streamlined and gleamy.
First aircraft to use the Allison V-1710 engine.
2x 37mm cannon as its main armament.
an advanced firing system that encorporated an electronic ballistics
computer (love those vacuume tubes!) to enable long range fire.
a compressed air flap system that retracked if you went too fast to
deploy the flaps (too much air intake pressure and the compressor ran
backwards).
It was designed to stand off behind enemy B-17 class heavy bombers and
knock them out. Unfortunately, while an interesting display of technology, the
USAAC had no real defined mission for the FM-1, because it did not expect any
enemy to develop a heavy transcontinental bomber any time soon, and maneuvered
like a medium bomber (which was its size). The next idea was this could fly
with B-17s as an escort, and pick off interceptors at long range. A dozen
service models were built.
Seversky 2PA Guardsman: a two-man escort fighter cousin of the
P-35. It was ordered by Sweden, but seized by the US and used as the AT-12
trainer. A few were sold to the Japanese, who used it as a patrol fighter over
China.
Douglas B-18A Bolo: A medium bomber built with the technology
of the DC-2. It was selected as a trust-worthy balance against the "gamble" of
the Boeing B-17's advanced technology. It was a stable, plodding machine - and
the most numerous bomber in the US inventory in December 1941.. Those not
destroyed on the ground at Pearl harbor and the Philippines were put into
service as coastal patrol duty.
Douglas B-32 Dragon: An improved B-18A medium bomber that was
simply not as good the B-25 and B-26, which were coming on line, so it stayed
in the US for patrol and test duties.
Before all those gleaming monoplanes took off from US
carriers, this series of biplanes adorned the decks of the Langley, Saratoga,
Lexington, Ranger,
Yorktown, Enterprise and
Hornet. Many of these were also sold fopr export in
Asia and South America. This set of 5 ADCs
includes:
Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver: US Navy divebomber
Grummann F3F-3: carrier-borne fighter
Vought O3U-1: Seaplane scout.
Vought V-65C/SU-2 Corsair: Scout bomber deriveedd from
O3U
Vought SBU-1 Corsair: Scout bomber usedd by the Marines
Before the P-38J or L models, there were the E, F, and G models. The
P-38 was concieved as a long-range, high-speed, high altitude fighter, designed
to reach peak performance at about 25,000 ft. Lockheed chose the Lightning's
twin-boom fuselageless body to reduce drag; they also gave it a very
distinctive look. (Note: the P-38 was not the first production twin-boom
fighter; see the Fokker G.I).
While it did early on meet these performance goals, the P-38 went
through a few teething models before meeting its technologic promise. Its oil
system had trouble operating properly (never warmed up sufficiently at
altitude) and it tended to eat its engines. Its turbo-superchargers were
another issue - they were finicky and pilots were not properly trained in their
use. This indirectly showed another good side of the P-38 - it could fly on one
engine in the event it lost the other.
The early P-38s showed great promise in the Pacific, where its long
range was quite useful. While it could not out dogfight a Zero, the Lightning
could out-climb and out-accellerate anything it ran into. The Lightning's range
was also used in Europe, as well as its behavior at altitude. F-4, F-4A, and
F-5 recon models (P-38s armed with only cameras) were used everywhere, usually
unescorted, to make 400 mph, high altitude photo-recon runs everywhere in the
world.
Both Vought and Goodyear produced advanced models of the Corsair at or
after WW2. Since they were requested, this set of 3
ADCs (50 kb) is available:
Vought F4U-2: US Navy and Marine Corps's first night fighter
used in the Pacific starting in Nov-43.
Goodyear F2G-2: designed as a low-level interceptor with a
monster engine, of the 428 ordered in 1944, 10 had been delivered by the end of
the war and further deliveries were cancelled.
Vought F4U-5: This improved version featured a good speed and
better range than the available naval jets, and was used from 1947 to 1951 to
fill the range gape from carriers and to fill out Marine ground support
units.
Though they saw little use, the USAAF and USN both fielded
nightfighters. Nightfighters took a while for the US to develop, and by the
time they were ready for operations, much of their potential targets had either
dried up (in the Pacific) or was covered by veteran British nightfighter units.
This set contains 5 ADCs (137 Kb):
Lockheed P-38M Lightning: P-38L with a small cockpit for the
radar operator squeezed in behind.
Northrop P-61 Black Widow: The most famous US night fighter.
Large and powerful, it arrived late in the war and found only a little
night-fighting business. Its night capabilities were also used as an intruder
in both the Pacific and over Europe.
Douglas P-70A: A-20 with a radar and guns. Used mostly for
training.
North Amercian P-82 Twin Mustang: Developed as an escort
fighter atthe end of WW2, it saw service as an effective nightfighter over
Korea.
Grumman F7F-3N Tigercat: Navy's late 40s carrier-borne
nightfighter. Served with US Marine air units over Korea.
The United States invested R&D funds in radical aircraft shapes to
see if any of these brought any great advantages. The results were interesting
ideeas that took physical form and flew - but not as impressively as the ideas.
I have been waiting for the time to turn some of these into ADCs for a long
time: set of 4 ADCs.
Vought P-54 Swoose Goose: A good high altitude design
compromised by changing design requirements and a lot of added weight. Looks
wicked, though.
Curtiss P-55 Ascender: This near-flying wing fighter was
developed with a canard.
McDonnell P-67 Bat: A high altituded interceptor that looked
waaaaay-cool.
Bell P-77: A light wooden fighter developed to use
fewstrategic resources.
This PDF file (96 Kb) contains other US
straight-wing fighters (pre-TSOH) that you may fly if you dare:
Bell P-59A Airacomet: Never intended to be flown in combat,
this was the US's first jet. Fly it at your own risk.
North American FJ-1 Fury: One of two early naval jet developed
with an eye toward use against Japan in mid-1946. It was not needed, and was
shortly replaced by more capable aircraft. North American built a more robust,
slant-wing version called the Sabre.
MacDonnell FH-1 Phantom: Ever wonder why the F4 was called the
Phantom II? This was the first pure jet to fly from a carrier.
American DB-7s: A-20 Havoc Variants
While researching French aircraft, I learned of sveral US imports into
the Armee de l'Air. One of these was the Douglas DB-7 light bomber. It struck
me as odd that so well-received an aircraft should have disappeared. On further
research, I found that it had not disappeared, but had spawned a variety of
names, and served with many allied air forces in significant numbers, including
in the USAAF, the RAF, RCAF, RAAF and the Red Air Force. In fact, half the fun
of the research was trying to figure out which names and designations mapped
across to what capabilities.
The US versions were all A-20s. JD published the A-20C. Here is a
set of 5 ADCs (123 kb) of the other major
variants:
DouglasA-20A: First used in the Pacific at the
outbreak of the war. Used same airframe DB-7A (RAF Boston III).
DouglasA-20B: First used in North Africa. Based on
DB-7 airframe, with stronger but weakly supercharged engines (the USAAF
determined that high altitude light bombers were not needed.)
DouglasA-20G: The 1943 major production model with a
solid nose. Incorporated a lot of improvements, including field improvements.
Notes include A-20J (Boston IV for RAF), a glass-nose bomber leader
version.
DouglasA-20H: Upgraded engines on a A-20G. Final
production version. Notes include A-20K (Boston V for RAF), a glass-nose bomber
leader version.
Douglas P-70A: A-20 with a radar and guns. Used mostly for
training.
The first very-active aircraft of US manufacture to fight in Europe was
neither a zippy fighter nor a gigantic bomber. It was a lowly (but very
welcome) maritime patrol light bomber - the Hudson. Based on the Lockheed 14
Super Electra small airliner, this maneuverable bomber was an instant success.
In March, 1939, the RAF's purchasing arm ordered 200 - and would pay for as
many as could be produced by December 1939 up to 250. This was Lockheed's
largest order ever and exceedeed their capacity, but they quickly purchased
more factory space and completed the order by October, 1939. The Hudson served
everywhere for maritime and anti-sub patrols - and anything else as needed in a
pinch. Lockheed was also working to re-gin its larger airliner/transport the
Lockheed 18 Lodestar into a medium bomber. Small wingspan gave them good speed;
Fowler Flap maded them maneuverable at low speed.
This set of 7 PDFs represents the
fruits of Lockheed's bomber efforts:
Lockheed 14 Super Electra: Lockheed's follow-on to the
Lockheed 12. It was not successful against the DC-2, which carried more.
Lockheed Hudson I: Original version of the Hudson bomber, a
militarized version of the Lockheed 14.
Lockheed Hudson III: up-engined version of the Hudson.
Lockheed 18 Lodestar: Up-sized Super Electra, a competitor to
the DC-3.
Lockheed Ventura I: Lockheed's medium bomber version of the
Lodestar.
Lockheed Ventura Nightfighter: Ventura rigged out as a
nightfighter used by the USMC in the Solomons in late 1943.
Lockheed PV-1 Vemtura (G.R. V): Improved version of Ventura
medium bomber used by USN starting in late 1943.
I found developed this set of 4 ADCs
because the A-36A was asking for it, I stumbled over the Grizzly, and the
Vengeance... well, I needeed something to round out the set. And it IS better
than the Skua.
Vultee Vengeance (A-31 and A-35B) - Large divebomber given
away through Lendlease.
North American A-36A Apache- dive bomber version of the P-51A
Mustang
Beech XA-38 Grizzly - Who can resist a nose-mounted 75mm
cannon?
Boeing's B-17 did not magically appear from nowhere in 1943 with its "F"
model. The original prototype was developed into the USAAC's YB-17Bs, available
in June, 1939, that looked real nice. About two dozen were produced and flown
around the US to show how neat they looked, how quickly they flew, and so on.
And as heavy bombers, YB-17B did stack up well against other bombers available
in 1939. The C & D models of 40-41 included some modifications to "toughen"
the B-17 and was flown in Europe by the British and in the Pacific in 1941 and
1942. (The main target of the Japanese strike at Clark Air Field was the 3
squadrons of B-17Ds). The E model was the first to show the lessons learned
from combat experience, armed with the familiar top, belly, and tail turrets.
This set of 3 ADCs is available in a small
PDF file (14 Kb). (Sorry; no pictures.)
After the B-17 and the B-24 came further developments toward a true
strategic bomber. Here in this set of 6 ADCs (300
kb):
Consolidated B-24D Liberator: The first version fo the B-24 to
see wide-spread use over the Atlantic (vs. German submarines), Europe, the Med,
and the Pacific.
Boeing B-29A Superfortress: The big one, designed to cross the
Pacific to attack Japan.
Boeing B-50A Superfortress: An improved B-29 that served with
SAC in the late '40s/early 50s.
Consolidated B-32 Dominator: A distance second-place long
range super-heavy bomber.
Northrop B-35 Flying Wing: Northrop's dream machine that could
not quite work. What he really needed was fly-by-wire technology that was not
available for another forty years...
Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer: Another long-range pacific
bird, a variant of the B-24 used for low level patrolling and attacks.
This set of 4 ADCs (79 Kb) covers 3 US air
transports.
Douglas C-32: The military version of the DC-2. This aircraft
began to show the utilitarian promise fully revealed in the C-47. It also
served around the world with various air forces as a transport or a scratch
bomber.
Douglas C-47A Dakota: The ubiquitous military version of the
DC-3. Used for everything from target tug to aerial ambulance, from the Sahara
to Siberia.
Curtiss C-46A Commando: The heavy carrier used mostly
acrossthe Pacific and the CBI Theatre.
Lockheed 10E Electra: the mount of Amelia Earhart on her
famous final flight.
This set of 3 ADC (80 Kb) contains the
gliders used by the allies for air assaults in Europe (and Burma).
Waco C-G4A Hadrian: Standard US assault glider.
Airspeed AS.51 Horsa I: Standard British platoon-sized assault
glider.
General Air Hamilcar I: Heavy-lift assault glider capable of
carrying a 7-ton light tank.
The United States sold China and other Asian nations aircraft long
before there was lendlease. Some of these turn up fighting the Japanese in 1937
and 1938. The following PDF set (165 kb) includes
six aircraft that fought - or almost fought - in Asia:
Boeing P-26 Peashooter: Okay, 'fess up. You expect this to
crop up on Uncle Ted's eventually. this first USAAC metal monoplane fighter
also turns up in China in 1937 - and in the Phillipines in 1941 flying for the
PAAC.
Curtiss F11C-2 Goshawk/Hawk II: Early 30s USN fighter-bomber
used by both China and Thailand.
Curtiss F11C-3 Goshawk/Hawk III: Early 30s USN fighter-bomber
used by both China and Thailand.
Curtiss A-12 Shrike light bomber: First USAAC monoplane
bomber. Some exported to China in 1936.
North American NA-50/68/P-64: single seat fighter versions of
the AT-6 Harvard/Texas that almost fought for Thailand.
NorthAmerican NA-69/A-27: two seat light bomber version of the
AT-6 Harvard/Texas that almost fought for Thailand, but was pressed into
(short) service in the Philippines.
Additional US aircraft in China service 1937-1940. The following
PDF set (265 kb) includes 4 aircraft that fought in Asia:
Northrop Gamma 2E: Northrop's first military version of the Gamma
design. Usedd in China.
Northrop A-17A: Also called the Northrop Gamma 2F. Exported widely
as Douglas DB-8.
Vultee V-11-GB: Vultee attack bomber design, used by China and Turkey.
Basis of A-19, but dropped by US in favor of twin engine attack aircraftt
designs (like the A-20).
Vultee V-12C: Improved Vultee design used by China
The United States built some less well-known (and admittedly less
useful) aircraft. In later war years, less promising projects were simply
cancelled - and by 1943, there were enough combat-experienced evaluators to
tell gems form junk. But in the beginning, especially before December, 1941,
almost anything that looked like a fighter could get a contract.
Some of the less aircraft the US produced were sent to less volatile
areas, especially if the aircraft were already produced and rejected by the
original recipient. The following PDF (78
Kb) has two such aircraft that were given to China through Lendlease:
Republic P-43 Lancer: A pre-cursor to the Thunderbolt, the
Lancer had speed - but poor maneuverability. The USAAC kept a few for photo
recon and passed the rest to China.
Vultee P-66 Vanguard: Spritely but not robust, these were
ordered by Sweden, embargoed, pressed into USAAC service in 1941, and
eventually sent to China.
Seversky P-35A: OK, so this doesn't really belong here, but it
is the Lancer's older sibling and was exported to Sweden (as the
EP-106, serving as the J-9 1940-44) as the Vanguard was supposed to. This is
the "advanced" version of the P-36A's 1936 competitor. Obsolete by 1939, two
squadrons of these were rushed to the Philippines (which is near China) and
were decimated in the first 48 hours of war.
There is also the Chinese Hawk 75M (and Thai Hawk 75N)
that faced the Japanese before Lendlease started in another PDF file(52kb).
I have always had a softspot for zeppelins. My desire to mix zeppelins
and Fighting Wings was stirred by a trivia question on the Air Power
mailing list about the highest an aircraft carrier had been lifted. Elevon has
a nice discussion about the
F9C2
Sparrowhawk. Download the Zeppelin PDF file (130
Kb) containing:
USS Akron-class zeppelin ADC
Curtiss F9C2 Sparrowhawk fighter (carried by the
Akron and Macon)
my set of FW rule additions for operating and attacking zeppelins.
JD Webster has produceed the following (official,since they arefrom JD) American
aircraft to FW2.0 (Whistling Death) format that he has made available to all
players through the web:
US
Aircraft
Before Lendlease