24.04.2008, 04:53
Drawing board designs are one thing but the Soviets had tremendous trouble developing turboprops to produce around 10,000shp. The most powerful at the time the Bear bomber was designed was 4800shp from a turboprop, still far more powerful than any piston engine (8 were fitted in pusher-pull config to get its circa. 800km/h top speed).
Let's keep in mind the complexity of the R-3350 engines used in the Superfortress and they developed some 2200hp for take off (but had excellent high altitude outputs). Even these motors used advanced technology for their time period, hence the severe serviceability issues in reality (the Superfortress reputation and project expenditure far exceeded its genuine achievements and it is best remembered as heralding the new age of post war aircraft technologies and requirements).
Getting this aircraft from paper to prototype I'm thinking was a case of wishful thinking, ambitious wishful thinking but totally unrealistic until the widespread introduction and development of turboprops and other advanced technologies and manufacturing procedures Japan was hardly in a position to ever experience at war with the Allied powers. I think the engineers didn't really know what technologies would be required to achieve their specifications at the time.
It's bad enough we have that ridiculous Ta-183 and the He-162 subtypes to put up with. The Lerche, well that could at least fly with a few modifications to the original design.
Sorry, but I'd be one vote against frivolous new aircraft slots :evil:
Let's keep in mind the complexity of the R-3350 engines used in the Superfortress and they developed some 2200hp for take off (but had excellent high altitude outputs). Even these motors used advanced technology for their time period, hence the severe serviceability issues in reality (the Superfortress reputation and project expenditure far exceeded its genuine achievements and it is best remembered as heralding the new age of post war aircraft technologies and requirements).
Getting this aircraft from paper to prototype I'm thinking was a case of wishful thinking, ambitious wishful thinking but totally unrealistic until the widespread introduction and development of turboprops and other advanced technologies and manufacturing procedures Japan was hardly in a position to ever experience at war with the Allied powers. I think the engineers didn't really know what technologies would be required to achieve their specifications at the time.
It's bad enough we have that ridiculous Ta-183 and the He-162 subtypes to put up with. The Lerche, well that could at least fly with a few modifications to the original design.
Sorry, but I'd be one vote against frivolous new aircraft slots :evil: