Blohm & Voss P 208

Last updated
P 208
ModellPhoto BvP208 zens.png
Model of the BV P 208.02
Role Fighter
Manufacturer Blohm & Voss
Designer Richard Vogt
StatusDesign project
Developed into Blohm & Voss P 209

The Blohm & Voss P.208 was a design project for a tailless swept-wing propeller-powered interceptor designed by the German company Blohm & Voss towards the end of the Second World War.

Contents

It was the first of several such "arrow-wing" designs, the later ones all being jet powered.

History

Around 1943-44 it became apparent to German designers that for high-speed flight the swept wing offered many advantages. The chief designer at Blohm & Voss, Richard Vogt, realised that if the tail could be moved out of the way then the engine and propeller could be moved aft in a pusher arrangement, without the need for a long propeller shaft. This left the nose free for an excellent pilot's field of view and the installation of heavy armament. Vogt came up with the idea of placing the tail surfaces at the ends of the swept-back wings. In order to obtain enough control authority for the tail, without sweeping the wing back too far, Vogt devised short tailbooms on the wing tips, to which vertical fins and outboard horizontal stabilisers were fitted. [1]

The Škoda-Kauba SK V-6 design was modified to create the SK SL6, being given a split tail on twin booms, in order to carry out flight testing for the new wing and tail control system. [2]

The P208.01 was developed in 1944, when in Germany there were already jet aircraft in production. The decision to fit a conventional engine to the aircraft was made because the existing jet engines had not yet reached the desired performance. Thus the project went ahead in such a way that the design could be re-fitted with a jet engine when the technical difficulties were solved, eventually leading to the Blohm & Voss P 212 jet aircraft project. [3]

The engine was fitted at the back of the cockpit with the propeller pushing the plane forward. The tail unit was incorporated into the swept wings, which provided an improved performance. In order to withstand the added stress the wings had steel reinforcements. [4]

Three different variants of the plane were designed. All had a retractable tricycle landing gear.

P 208.01

A variant fitted with a Junkers Jumo 222 E, F or N engine.

P 208.02

A variant powered by an Argus As 413 unit giving a maximum of 4.000 PS (made of two Junkers Jumo 213 engines). The plane had a larger radiator and the wingtip booms had small vertical fins at the trailing edge.

P 208.03

Three proposals were made for this variant: P 208.03.01 and P 208.03.02 would be fitted with a Daimler-Benz DB 603L engine, while P 208.03.03 would have a Daimler-Benz DB 603N. The dimensions were similar and there was also almost no difference in weight between the three projected aircraft.

Specification (P 208.03)

Data from Pohlmann (1982)

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Related Research Articles

Blohm & Voss BV 155 German fighter prototype

The Blohm & Voss BV 155 was a German high-altitude interceptor aircraft intended to be used by the Luftwaffe against raids by USAAF Boeing B-29 Superfortresses. Work started on the design as the Messerschmitt Me 155 in 1942, but the project went through a protracted development period and change of ownership, and prototypes were still under test and development when World War II ended.

Hamburger Flugzeugbau (HFB) was an aircraft manufacturer, located primarily in the Finkenwerder quarter of Hamburg, Germany. Established in 1933 as an offshoot of Blohm & Voss shipbuilders, it later became an operating division within its parent company and was known as Abteilung Flugzeugbau der Schiffswerft Blohm & Voss from 1937 until it ceased operation at the end of World War II. In the postwar period it was revived as an independent company under its original name and subsequently joined several consortia before being merged to form Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB). It participates in the present day Airbus and European aerospace programs.

Blohm & Voss BV 238 1944 military flying boat by Blohm & Voss

The Blohm & Voss BV 238 was a German flying boat, built during World War II. It was the heaviest aircraft ever built when it first flew in 1944, and was the largest aircraft produced by any of the Axis powers during World War II.

Messerschmitt Me 209 (1943) German fighter prototype

The Me 209 of 1943 was an attempt to create an enhanced version of the Bf 109, which served as the Luftwaffe's primary fighter aircraft throughout World War II. The Me 209, despite its designation, bore no relationship to the earlier Me 209.

Daimler-Benz DB 603 German aircraft engine

The Daimler-Benz DB 603 was a German aircraft engine used during World War II. It was a liquid-cooled 12-cylinder inverted V12 enlargement of the DB 601, which was in itself a development of the DB 600. Production of the DB 603 commenced in May 1942, and with a 44.5 liter displacement figure, was the largest displacement inverted V12 aviation engine to be produced and used in front line aircraft of the Third Reich during World War II.

Blohm & Voss P 194 Type of aircraft

The Blohm & Voss P 194 was a German design for a mixed-power Stuka or ground-attack aircraft and tactical bomber, during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blohm & Voss P 212</span> Type of aircraft

The Blohm & Voss P 212 was a proposed jet fighter designed by Blohm & Voss for the Emergency Fighter Program Luftwaffe design competition during the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blohm & Voss P 211</span> Type of aircraft

The Blohm & Voss P 211 was a design proposal submitted by Blohm & Voss to the Volksjäger jet fighter competition of the Luftwaffe Emergency Fighter Program towards the end of the Second World War.

Blohm & Voss P 170 Type of aircraft

The Blohm & Voss P 170 was a three-engined unarmed fast bomber and ground-attack aircraft project proposed by the aircraft manufacturer Blohm & Voss to the Luftwaffe during the Second World War.

Blohm & Voss P 188 Type of aircraft

The Blohm & Voss Bv P 188 was a long-range, heavy jet bomber design project by the Blohm & Voss aircraft manufacturing division during the last years of the Third Reich. It featured a novel W-wing planform with variable incidence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outboard tail</span>

An outboard tail is a type of aircraft tail or empennage which is split in two, with each half mounted on a short boom just behind and outboard of each wing tip. It comprises outboard horizontal stabilizers (OHS) and may or may not include additional boom-mounted vertical stabilizers (fins). OHS designs are sometimes described as a form of tailless aircraft.

The Blohm & Voss P215 was an advanced jet night fighter project by Blohm & Voss during the Second World War. With a crew of three and twin jet engines, it featured a tailless swept-wing layout and heavy armament. An order for three prototypes was received just weeks before the war ended.

The Blohm & Voss P 163 was a design project for an unconventional bomber during World War II. Constructed mainly from steel, its crew were accommodated in large wingtip nacelles, giving it a triple-fuselage appearance. Its propeller drive system was also unusual, with the central fuselage containing twin engines coupled to a front-mounted contra-prop.

The Blohm & Voss P 203 was a design project for a heavy fighter during World War II. Capable of filling the roles of night fighter, light bomber and ground-attack, it had mixed propulsion, having both piston engine driven propellers and jet engines.

The Blohm & Voss P 209 was one of a series of single-engined jet fighter design studies. Under development in the latter half of 1944, when the single-engined jet fighter requirement was issued the P 209 was radically revised to meet the deadline but was not taken further by the RLM.

The Blohm & Voss P 192 was a design study for a dive bomber/ground attack aircraft intended to replace the Junkers Ju 87.

The Škoda-Kauba Flugzeugbau was a Czechoslovakian aircraft manufacturer, formed during World War II as a joint venture between Otto Kauba and the Škoda Works. Kauba produced a number of innovative designs and the company built several prototypes, with the SK 257 fighter-trainer entering limited production before being cancelled. The company ceased to exist at the end of the war.

The Dornier Do 417 was a twin-engine multirole bomber. Developed in 1942, it emerged from the Luftwaffe's request for a medium bomber, a contest for which Dornier, Junkers, Heinkel, and Blohm & Voss competed. In the end, the Junkers Ju 188 was chosen as the aircraft, and the Do 417 never entered production.

References

Notes

  1. Pohlmann (1982)
  2. Zdenek Titz and Jaroslav Zazvonil; "Kauba's Dwarfs", Flying Review International, Nov 1965, pp.169-172.
  3. Karl R. Pawlas (Ed.), Luftfahrt International Nr. 15. Publizistisches Archiv Abteilung Luftfahrt, Nürnberg 1976
  4. Heinz J. Nowarra. Die deutsche Luftrüstung 1933–1945. Bernard & Graefe Verlag. ISBN   3-763-75464-4

Bibliography

Further reading