Project Tom-Tom

Project Tom-Tom was originated by the United States Air Force’s Strategic Air Command as a way to provide its long range heavy bomber fleets with a fighter umbrella by towing them on semi-fixed wing links.

The concept of the MX-1018, the programs official call-sign, was devised from the FICO (Fighter Conveyor) system. A program initiated by the US Air Force in the 1950s to test the feasibility of utilizing a B-29 Superfortress bomber as a ‘mother ship’ from which a pair of Republic’s F-84 Thunderfalsh fighters would operate. FICO became fully operational in 1955, but only a handful of missions were ever flown.

In the Tom-Tom structure, the parasite fighter plane would shut down its engine to save fuel while it’s been towed. It will restart and detach from the moving airplane to intercept enemy aircrafts, rejoining the bomber once it has accomplished the mission.

For this configuration, two F-84Ds (versions 48-641 and 48-661) from the BASUT based at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio were especially modified to carry a lance-like structure on their port and starboard wingtips platforms. The re-configurated aircraft was given the EF-84D designation.

For the initial test phase of the concept, a modified EB-29A-60-BN, tail number 44-62093 was selected. The bomber was fitted with booms installed at the wing tips onto which the F-84D’s lance would be attached to just before being withdrawn into the mother ship’s wing to lock both planes together.

The first hook-on trials were carried out on July 21st 1950 in the skies above Long Island, New York. With Major Clarence Anderson flying the starboard and Major John Davis running the port plane, the initial connecting test proved a resounding success. In the beginning both F-84Ds experienced heavy turbulence in their pitch and yaw while in the process of hooking into the booms, but after that the ride proved to be more smothering than many anticipated. Re-engaging the Thunderflash’s engine was also relatively easy and after several months, the program was ready for it next phase.

The morning of September 15th 1952 marked another milestone in the project’s life when the Thunderfalsh made their first, long lasting link up with the bomber. That was followed by another 43 additional connections. After a brief, inactive period, testing resumed in full swing on March 1953.

A month later, tragedy hit the program. On April 24th during an engaging maneuver, Major Davis’s F-84D lost surface control, rolling upside down hitting the upper wing structure of the EB-29A. Both aircrafts plummeted into the Peconic Bay with the lost of Davis and the entire bomber crew.

The news of the accident hit the program hard, but it did not end it. After several months, the program was back on track. Now two new RF-84s, this time an F variant (tail number 51-1848 and 51-1849) would attempt to connect, but not with a now obsolete B-29, but with the new and massive B-36 Peacemaker. JRB-36F, serial number 49-2707, was fitted with a new link up platform that would cope with the small fighter’s swept wing arrangement. The system consisted on a hinged arm on the ‘mother ship’ that trapped the fighter in a jaw-type position on its wingtip structure. The first test connection was made on April 24th 1956. With Beryl A. Eickson at the controls, the improved Thunderfalsh performed several quick, connection-detachment operations.

Almost 50 hookups were made during a five month period. Then, on the afternoon of September 26th, tragedy almost hit the program again. While engaging the connecting mechanisms, Eickson’s plane began to rift out of control, very much like Davis’ did three years before. Fortunately for both aircrafts, he was able to detach in time and both airplanes were able to land at Carswell AFB in Texas.

Although only minor damages were reported, most of them on the RF-84F, the AF decided to cancel the entire program soon after the incident.

Concept Aircraft: Prototypes, X-Planes and Experimental Aircraft, Editor Jim Winchester, Thunder Bay Press 2005
Air Power: The men, machines, and ideas that revolutionized war, from Kitty Hawk to Gulf War II, Stephen Budiansky, Penguin Books 2004
Air Power in the Age of Total War, John Buckley, Indiana University Press 1999

An article by Raul Colon: rcolonfrias@yahoo.com

Germany’s Air Assault On England - 1914

“Nobody said it will be easy, but I think that this (bombing) campaign can shorten the ground war to a minimum. In fact, there’s a good enough chance that Britain’s public would rise and force its government to the negotiating table”, said a boastful Paul Behncke, Deputy Chief (Konteradmiral) of the German Imperial Navy Staff and one of the most ardent proponents for a saturated air attack on England’s capital, on a July 17th 1914 meeting of the German Army High Command. The Konteradmiral’s remarks were based on his, and other high placed officers inside the armed forces, profound belief in the power of the airship.

<p>Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin is considered by most to be the father of the dirigible. He was the first to take a powered machine to the air when Zeppelin I took off on July 2nd, 1900. Further development on lighter-than-air technology enabled the Count to built additional models, each more advanced than the preceding one. Although designed primarily as a commercial platform, it wasn’t long before the military began to realize the potential of the airship. In early 1909, the Army purchased two (Zeppelin I or Z.I and Z.II) units. Two additional samples were ordered in the fall. Not to be outdone, the Imperial Navy joined the fray and in 1912 ordered its first dirigible.</p>

<p>At the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, the Imperial German Army possessed 10 operational airships. Nine of them Zeppelins, three of them DELAG units militarized and one Schutte-Lanz. Johann Schutte and Karl Lanz entered the airship-building industry in 1909 and began selling its platforms to the armed forces, mainly the Navy, in 1911. Four of those Zeppelins were assigned to the Western Front while three others took station on Prussia’s eastern frontier. The Navy’s sole sample, L.3, was posted on western Germany (Duren).</p>

<p>The Army was slow at recognizing the true power projection of the Zeppelin. In the beginning of the war, Army’s airships were used more as a low-level platform supporting the infantry crossing into Holland and Belgium. Because of its relative low operational range, British and French troops deployed in the Belgium frontier were able to shoot them down with some ease. In the first five weeks of the conflict, the German army lost 3 dirigibles. Before August ended, one more airship was lost at the Battle of Tannenberg in the eastern front. That left just 4 (3 army, 1 navy) units, including one Schutte-Lanz, available for operations.</p>

<p>That number (4) began to increase steadily after August ended. The Navy was the first to augment its fleet two-fold. On September 1st, the service received the first of the M-class of dirigibles, the L.4. Next January, the L.10 joined the ranks. Not to be outdone on September 3rd, the army placed an order for the newer Zeppelin P-class ship. With a hull of 531 feet, a gas capacity of 1,126,00 cubic feet and the addition of a fourth engine which gave it a top operational speed of 62 mph, the P version was the most advanced airship in the world. Twenty two (22) Ps were purchased. The first to be delivered was the LZ.38, which officially became operational on April 3rd 1915. The rest of the units were incorporated to the service between May and July.</p> 

<p>With an increase in fleet size, fleet housing them became a top priority. Since early 1913, the navy and army began selecting locations where to build the huge sheds needed to service the airships. Places such as Nordholz and Cuxhaven, both located in northern Germany, were the first airship bases in Europe. Each of these locations was fitted to house four dirigibles. Other bases included Tondern, Hamburg, Duren and Wittmundhaven. Later on during the war, Namur (Belgium) and The Hague (Holland) were incorporated. The army bases were located at Düsseldorf and Spich (Germany). After August and following the invasion of the Lower Countries, the German army erected several strategically located facilities. Belgium became the center of operations for the army’s fleet. No less than five (Maubeuge, Eterbeek, Berchem Ste. Agathe, Gontrode and Evere) bases were developed with the sole purposes of attacking Britain.</p>

<p>With ships and bases ready to go, the process now shifted to the strategists inside Germany. With most of the airship commanders urging their superiors to unleash their platforms and bomb England, German Kaiser Wilhelm and his advisors, wanting to slip the Western Allies, decided to hold-off the decision until the following summer. Unfortunately for the Kaiser, events on the ground forced his hand.</p>

<p>Lead by the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, the British struck first hitting several of the newly constructed sheds. On October 8th, the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) bombed the army complex at Düsseldorf destroying Z.IX. On the 21st of November, the RNAS attacked the main Zeppelin factory at Friedrichshafen causing severe damage to the facility’s production line. A month later, on a clear Christmas Eve afternoon, the British attempted their most daring raid up to date. The target was the newly built Nordholz sheds. Although the attack failed to hit any structure, the German navy was very concerned that if these types of attacks continued, England would eventually be able to destroy their nascent airship fleet before it could mount an offensive operation. Similar concerns were ushered by army officials. The pressure on the Kaiser was too much to bear and on January 15th 1915 he finally gave the go-ahead to bomb much of England. London would be spared for at least a few more months as the Kaiser restricted attacks on the British capital.</p>

more coming soon….

An article by Raul Colon: <a href=”mailto:rcolonfrias@yahoo.com”>rcolonfrias@yahoo.com</a>

Argentinian Air Operations: Guided Missiles

Just days after the American and British forces broke through the German defenses at Normandy, foreshadowing the end of Nazi rule over the European Continent, much of that country’s top technical personnel began to filter out in hopes of escaping the ever closing circle. Most were captured by the Western Allies (United States and Great Britain); others were ‘recruited’ by the Soviet Red Army, which was rapidly pushing from the East. While another group managed to slip past the allied hands. Most of them made their way towards South American.

The Republic of Argentina was one of the most prosperous regions in Latin America. It had a big German population, a vast land region and Perodian government with a slight Nazi flavor. It also possessed one of the strongest militaries in the Western Hemisphere. With the arrival of several German engineers and technicians, the Argentines began formulating several advanced new military projects. Chief among them were the AM-1 and PT-1 missiles. The AM-1, an air-to-air system codenamed Tabano, had the distinction of being South America’s first indigenous developed missile. As was the PT-1 air-to-ground platform.

Spearheaded by a trio of legendary German engineers, Werner von Baumbach and Ernst and Emil Henrici, Argentina began the development of its own version of the famous Henschel Hs-293, the first operational guided air-to-ground missile in the world. Designed by Baumbach and the Henrici Bothers, and built by the Specialized Weapons Section (Seccion de Armas Especiales) of the Military Construction General Direction, a subdivision of the Gaucho Army. The Argentinean version of the 293, the PT-1, was basically a complete copy of the original.

The PT-1 or Guided Missile (Projectil Teledirijido), consisted on a 441 pound bomb warhead fitted inside a V1-type structure of 11 feet, 7 inch with a wing span of 9′10″. Total weight was 2,205 pounds. With an initial speed of 195 knots and capable of reaching speeds of 513 kts, the ‘Projectil’ had an effective 18.64 miles range. The optimum launch altitude was estimated at 22,000 feet. Operation of the system was also similar to its 293 cousin’s profile.

Operation Sovereign or Operacion Soberania, the design and development of Argentina’s first air-to-surface missile system commenced in the summer of 1952, with an specially modified Douglas C-47 Dakota. The strong built transport was fitted with a ventral boom that was placed through a series of high stress aerodynamic tests. At the same time, the newly produced PT missile was extensively examined at the Fabrica Militar de Aviones (FMA) advanced wind tunnel. Also at FMA, a surplus Gloster Meteor I-087 was altered to carry a ventral pod with the tail of the missile. But the most promising launching platform was the venerable Avro Lancaster B-036 heavy bomber.

The Lancaster provided the PT with a more stable deployment system. As configured by the German engineers, the B-036 consisted of a launching rack, installed below the huge bomb bay doors. On April 22nd 1953, the Lancaster replaced the Dakota as the PT’s main deploying platform. Captain Federico Muhlenber was assigned to the initial test phase. Eventually, he will be replaced later by Captain Di Pardo in that task. It was Di Pardo who will have the honor of deploying the last PT missile nearly five years later.

The 036 was assigned to the 1st Air Brigade (I Brigada Aerea). The testing phase began at earnest in October 1953. Flying out of Monzon, the home base of the VII Air Brigade, Muhlenber took the Lancaster through his phases. First it was taxing and runway operations, which ran smoothly. Then, on the 6th, the aircraft took to the air for its initial flight with the PT attached to its belly. The bomber performed flawlessly that autumn morning turning and banking without much effort.

Several more flights were made until the afternoon of the 20th when, flying above the Rio Plata, one of the left engines failed forcing the aircraft to plunge near Quilmes, a suburb of Buenos Aires. Von Baumbach, Ernst Henrici and a mechanic die in the accident. The aircraft and the missile were also lost. After the tragedy, the Argentines when back at work on another altered Lancaster, tail sign B-037. As the same time work was done on preparing the new plane, the design team slightly altered the configuration of the original Projectil. The improve platform was called PAT-1. The only variant from the original was a larger fuel tank which gave the missile a top operational range of up to 30km. The first recorded launch of the PAT system occurred in late November 1954 at the General Soler firing range. Flying at 15,000′, the 037 entered a dive, a few seconds later Latin America’s first air-to-surface missile was released.

Work on the system continued until September 17th 1955, when the government decided to introduce it as part of their efforts to stem the tide of the rebel forces in the country’s Revolucion Libertadora. The first target of the PAT-1 was to be the Pajas Blanco Airport at Cordoba. But before the Lancaster B-037 was able to take off, an incoming rebel Lincoln aircraft bombed the Monzon base destroying the sole aircraft capable of firing the PAT platform.

By 1956, the air force had modified another Lancaster, B-043 and testing resumed at El Palomar Air Force Base at the outskirts of the River Plate. The first launch took place in the morning of October 5th. A second test was performed on the 18th. Several other deployments took place between the 19th and 21st. On the 22nd, while on take off, the 043 suffered a small fire forcing the pilot to abort the test mission.

The end of the Revolution in 1958 also signaled the end of the PAT-1 program. With the formation of a new and democratic government under the auspices of dovish President Frondizi, many military projects were closed down, including the much promising Operacion Soverania. Now, fifty years since its maiden flight, only one sample of the first Latin America guided missile exits. Its sits at the Military School Museum in Buenos Aires.

An article by Raul Colon: rcolonfrias@yahoo.com

19 Variants of the ‘Man in the Missile’ Starfighter

‘Man on a Missile’, that’s how many Starfighter pilots refer to their experience flying one of the most intriguing aircraft ever developed: the Lockheed F-104. From its conception, the Starfighter was one of the most revolutionizing airplanes in the history of aviation.

Its streamlined, powerful engines and advanced electronic and weapons packages made the F-104 one of the most powerful platforms in the world. Ahead of its time by years, the Starfighter will field many NATO air forces for decades. And although the aircraft did not generate the in-house interest that the United States Air Force envisioned when they first presented the blueprint, the plane did manage to become a standard bear for overseas sales.

There were a total of 19 variants of the Starfighter. Most of them were flown by overseas customers such as Japan, Canada and Italy, which continued to operate the air superiority fighter into the 21st century.

Although several units had longer airframes (by fractions), all 19 versions were similar in their fuselage profile. The F-104 had a length of 55 feet, a wingspan of just 22 feet with a total wing area of 196 square feet, including a part that was enclosed in the fuselage. The wing structure had a very thin low aspect ratio (probably the thinnest wing ever employed) for high speed enhanced performance.

1. F-104A: This is the first production version. Fitted with a General Electric (GE) J79-3A engine capable of generating 14,800 pounds of thrust, the A model could reach speeds upwards of Mach 2. Its operational range was an impressive 1,450 nautical miles with its full complements (2 removable wingtip tanks) of fuel tanks. Armed with the famous M61-A-1 Vulcan Cannon and two, first generation AIM-9B Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, the ‘A’ was a powerful offensive machine. At the heart of the model attacking capability was the sophisticated AN-ASG 14T-1 Fire and Control System. Early units were fitted with downward ejections seats, but in the second delivery batch, those were replaced by the C2 upward platform. The A version also had the distinction of being the first aircraft fitted with the Boundary Layer Control mechanism. One hundred and fifty three (153) F-104As were developed.

2. F-104B: This was a two seated version of the A model. It had the same power plant and overall dimensions. The two main differences were maximum takeoff weight and the Vulcan gun. In the B, top operational weight was slightly lower (23,535 to 24,528). Unlike the early 104s, the B did not incorporate a forward firing gun. It did have the pylons to carry the two Sidewinders and was fitted with the 14T-1 Fire and Control system. Lockheed produced 26 of this type.

3. F-104C: Seventy seven (77) of this all weather fighter-bomber were produced, all for the United States Air Force’s Tactical Air Command. The C model introduced the platform for the first time to a new in-flight refueling system that employed a probe fitted on the left side of the cockpit. Another innovation present in this version was the Blown Flaps (BF) mechanism added to improve the plane’s takeoff capability. A new and improved power plant (J79GE-7) capable of generating upwards of 15,000 pounds of thrust with afterburners was also introduced with this configuration. Total operational range was achieved at 1,640 nautical miles. This particular unit suffered from engine failures that caused the loss of 24 aircraft and nine pilots. Eventually, those problems were resolved and the version remained in service for nearly 35 years.

4. F-104D: Only 24 ‘D’s were ever produced. This version was basically an enhanced ‘C’ unit with some refinements. It had the same engine and navigational system of its predecessor. It’s main different was the absence of the M-61 Gatling Gun.

5. F-104DJ: This unit was an special version developed for the Japanese Air Self Defense Force. It was fitted with the J79GE-11A engine capable of generating 15,800lbs of thrust and no Gatling Gun, this was essentially an upgraded D model. Only 20 units were developed.

6. F-104F: This 30-plane strong batch was developed for the West German Air Force. Its frame was a replica of the DJ’s one. The standard packaged of this version was the same of the Super Starfighter (F-104G).

7. F-104G Super Starfighter: The most produced (1,127 total units) member of the class, the G went on to be the standard bear of the platform. No less than 8 companies (Canadair in Canada, Fiat in Italy, Fokker in the Netherlands, Lockheed in the US, MBB and Messerschmitt in West Germany, Mitsubishi in Japan and SABCA/Fairy in Belgium) participated in the 13 (June 1960 to October 1973) year production run. The Super as many pilots referred to it, was a modified C version with a reinforced frame, larger tail area with a fully powered rudder system. It also had engagement maneuvering flaps with a new avionic package that included the famous Autonetics F15-A North American Search and Raging System (NASRR). The model was powered by a revised J79GE-11A engine capable of generating 15,600 pounds of thrust. Maximum speed was Mach 2.2 with an operational range of 1,628 nm. Another improvement over previous versions was the incorporation of a more advanced navigational system: the Litton LN3. Introduced in the platform for the first time in its history was an internal bombing computer linked to the NASRS and the LN3.

8. RF-104GL: This was the tactical reconnaissance version of the ‘G’ model. It had the same fuselage characteristics of the previous unit, but instead of having its offensive package installed on the nose cone (Vulcan Cannon); this plane carried the highly sensitive KS-67a camera. It was also fitted with a flat sided fixed ventral pods for enhanced stability. One hundred and eighty nine (189) ‘GL’s were built by Fiat, Fokker and Lockheed between 1964 and 1968.

9. TF-104G: Is a common mistake to associate this version with a training platform due to its ‘T’ designation. But in fact, this was a highly regarded two seater tactical attack aircraft similar in its performing envelop to the F-104G. Like the G, it also carried the advanced NASRR and LN3 systems.

10. CF-104: This was a Canadian built version of the ‘G’ model. Internal characteristics and performing profile matched that of the Super Starfighter. They had the same NASRR system. Instead of the Vulcan Cannon, the CF carried the less expensive M61 Gatling Gun. It was powered by a J79OEL-7 engine (15,800lbs of thrust). Two (200) hundreds units were built. All by Canadair.

11. CF-104D: Basically a two seat version of the CF without the M61 gun. Only 38 were developed. Most of them were used as primary trainers.

12. JF-104: This was three unit batch specially modified for NASA and the US Air Force Strategic Air Command. Aside from the inclusion of the NASRR and LN3 systems in a ‘G’ version fuselage, no additional data exists on this platform.

13. F-104J: Another version built exclusively for the Japanese ASDF. A total of 209 units, 206 of them by Mitsubishi, were produced. This particular model is a replica of the ‘G’ model.

14. F-104N: Is another common misconception to believe all attached planes with the N designation have to become a nuclear delivery platform. Such is the case with this version. The 104N was a dedicated research aircraft utilized by NASA to test the limits of air frame endurance at high drag profiles. Because of the nature of the airplane, no weapon system was installed. Only three unites were ever built.

15. NF-104A: As with the 104N, this was test bed plane. But instead of being fielded by NASA, the NF-104A was a US Air Force advanced research units. The one difference between those two test aircrafts was that the A carried a 6,000 pound thrust rocket in the tail end structure. It also had extended wing tips as well as a new reaction jet control mechanism. As before, only three units were built.

16. QF-104A: The Lockheed Company, in conjunction with Sperry Phoenix, modified 24 F-104As as target drones. These target platforms were use between the summer of 1968 to the spring of 1973.

17. XF-104: This is the first platform built. Designed and develop by Lockheed’s famous Skunk Works division, two of this first generation versions were produced. The unit was powered by a non-afterburning Wright XJ-65 engine capable of producing 10,200 pounds of thrust. This power plant gave the XF a top operational speed of Mach 1.78 and a range of 800 nm. Its armament consisted on a M-61 Gatling Gun a K-19 Fire and Control System and the AN-APG34 Radar.

18. YF-104A: Seventeen (17) units were developed. This was basically an XF airframe, although a bit larger (54.77 feet compare to 49.17), with a more powerful engine (J79-GE-3A with 14,800 lbs of thrust). The plane also featured a newly designed supersonic conical inlets first seen in the XF version.

19. F-104S: The ‘S’ model has the distinction of being the last produced version of the Starfighter. These units, totaling 247, were built by Fiat and were intended soley for both, the Italian and Turkish air forces. It was an advanced, multi purpose aircraft capable of acting as an interceptor and/or tactical bombing platform. The interceptor mode carried an R-21G NASARR system and the AIM7 Sparrow II and AIM9 Sidewinder I missile. Its frame dimensions equal that of other F-104s. It had a J79-GE-19 engine (11,800lbs thrust) capable of generating speed upwards to Mach 2.2. Operational range was 1,589 nm. The production run for these units lasted from December 1968 until March 1979. A modernized ‘S’ version was built in October 1979. Only three samples were produced. All featuring an updated weapons package, a Look Down-Shoot Down Radar and the introduction of the Aspide 1A air-to-air missile.

References
Jane’s Aircraft Recognition Guide, Gunter Endres and Mike Gething, HarperCollins, 2002
Skunk Works, Benn R. Rich and Leo Janos, Back Bay Books, 1994

An article by Raul Colon: rcolonfrias@yahoo.com

A Brief Look at the United States Defensive Missile Systems from 1945 to 2004 - Part 1

During the years that followed the end of World War II, the Western Democracies, lead by the United States, and the Soviet-lead Eastern Bloc were locked in a political, economical, ideological and sometimes military battle known as the Cold War. In the military arena, both main superpowers, were developing more advanced offensive weapon systems like the long-range bomber and the new intercontinental ballistic missile system as a mean to safeguard each country against the possibility of a preemptive strike by the other superpower.

A counterweight was needed to be found in order to defend the United States against this possibility. With the development of the nuclear bomb and later the thermonuclear bomb, the battlefield was changed for ever. All existing defensive systems were rendered obsolete the moment the bomb was delivered to Nagasaki. The awesome power of this new weapon altered the Pentagon’s defense strategy.

In the past, the United States mainland defenses were focused at an conventional invasion attempt. Now, with the realization that a massive nuclear attack could cripple most of the country in hours, the United States military planners began to construct a new defense posture. The new posture was centered around the means of stopping the enemy ability to produce a surprise nuclear strike. This means stopping the bombers and the offensive ballistic missiles. By the mid 1950s, after an extended period of research and the development, the U.S. was able to field a first generation antiaircraft missile system that was capable of delivering conventional or nuclear warheads at incoming bomber formations. At the same time, both the United States and the Soviet Union were moving ahead with the development of a series of offensive missile platforms that could deliver a bigger nuclear payload against ground targets located thousand of miles away. The need to defend the home land was more imperative now that at any time in the history of the United States. The development and fielding of workable defensive missile system was giving top priority by the U.S. government.

These missile systems were the ultimate in weapon development of the era. Massive amounts resources were invested in the research and development of these missile systems. This book will provide the reader with an overview of the fixed, land-based defensive missile systems developed by the United States during the years of the Cold War. The NIKE, BOMARC and Safe Guard programs will be discussed as well as the deterrence missile systems, the Atlas, Titan, Minuteman and Peacekeeper will also be discussed. The book end with a brief look at the future of the United States antiballistic missile defenses in the 21st century.

An article by Raul Colon: rcolonfrias@yahoo.com

Air Attack on the German Oil Industry

The swift focus of the Allied bomber campaign against the German’s oil industry had immediate and far-reaching effects, compared with the 175,000 tons of aviation fuel it produced in April 1944. In June of that same year, German oil production fell to just over 55,000 tons, less than a third of the previous years output. Unless something was done, and done very soon, the Luftwaffe could find itself with insufficient aviation fuel to continue to sustain air operations. As an initial move to change the situation, large numbers of anti-aircraft batteries were transferred from other areas inside Germany, to protect the oil industry refineries. The 14th Flak division was assigned responsibility for the defense of the industry district at Leipzig, which included the most vaunted oil production plants at Leuna-Merseburg, Bohlen, Troglitz, Espenhain and Mucheln. All would receive the bulk of the anti aircraft pieces, a move made in order to strengthen the Division. By the beginning of May, the Division had in its possession 374 heavy caliber guns, 342 of the 8.8cm caliber, 24 of 10.5cm and 8 of 12.8cm caliber. Immediately after the combined allied offensive against the oil industry commenced, the energetic General Adolf Gerlach was appointed to the command of the Division. He received a visit from Riechsminiter Albert Speer, who made it clear that unless the sector refineries were kept working, the war was as good as lost. When Gerlach assumed command of the Division, there had been 104 heavy guns protecting the large Leuna-Merserburg production complex, he demanded, and received, sufficient weapons to bring about a six fold strengthening of the flack defenses ringing that particular target.

Having secured as much of the larger guns he needed, Gerlach set about to increase its tactical effectiveness. During the attack at the plant, US heavy bombers dropped huge quantities of “chaff” and radiated a cacophony of noise jamming that effectively neutralized the German Wuzburg flack control radar system. As a result of this tactic, during day bombing, the gunners were forced to abandon the use of radar-laid fire and resorted to optical predicted fire. If the clouds and enemy countermeasures prevented accurate predicted fire, the gunners would put up a box barrage. All guns fire at the same point in the sky just short of where it was calculated that the bombers would release the bombs, by disrupting the bombing run in this way, the accuracy of the attack could be greatly reduced. This method was highly extravagant in the use of ammunitions, however, and it was permitted to be used only in the direct defense of high priority targets such as oil refineries. US bomber crews rated the oil refineries and chemical plants around Leipzig as the most heavily defended areas against air attack. In addition to these active defense measures, passive measures were also introduced to lessen the effects of the constant bombing. Concrete reinforced blast walls were built around items of vulnerable machinery, and a warren of deep shelters under the plants enable its workers to remain near at hand during the bombing attacks and emerge afterwards to extinguish the fires before they took hold. Although by this time the German Army was short of skilled manpower, they shifted seven thousand engineers for employment in rapid repair brigades at the refineries and a large number of slave workers, primarily Russian prisoners of war, were drafted in to assist with this work. Finally, to ensure that morale at these facilities did not flag under the intense Allied bombardment, the work force came under “special supervision” from Heinrich Himmler’s feared Security Service.

As a further measure to safeguard German’s precious oil production, Edmund Geilenberg was appointed head of a far reaching program to build a network of new refineries that would be far less vulnerable to air bombardment. For the indispensable production of aviation fuel, he and his staff laid plans for the construction of seven underground hydro generation plants. Lower grade motor fuel was to be produced in 41 much smaller facilities situated above ground but widely dispersed in woods and quarries, each carefully camouflaged and individually too small to make an attractive target to the bombers. Geilenberg made full use of the authority given to him to tale labor and materials from other industries, and his labor force was built up rapidly to more than a third of a million workers. He was planning to have several of the motor fuel producing plants ready to enter service by the autumn of 1944, but despite great efforts by Geilenberg and his staff, the first underground plant was not due to produce aviation fuel until well into the spring of 1945. In fact, no aviation fuel came from this source as the war ended on April 1945. During this period, German rocket fighters went into action several times in defense of refineries in the Leipzig area. On the 16th of August, the US Eighth Air Force, known as the Mighty Eight, put up a thousand bombers to attack a spread of targets in central Germany, including the oil refineries at Bohlen. Five Me 163s were scrambled, and two were promptly shot down without inflicting any damage to the raiding force.

The Messerschmitt 163 achieved its first aerial victory just one week after the event, on August 24th. Eight of the smaller fighters took off from fields on Brandis to engage a bomber force of some 185 B-17s running into attack the refinery at Marseburg. Feldwebel Siegfried Schubert carried out a successful interception of the force and shot down two Flying Fortresses, other pilots from the same unit shot down two more units. Two Me 163s were damaged, one by return fire from a B-17 gunner and the other by a landing accident. It had been a successful day for this new jet fighter and seemed to be important for its future as a bomber-destroyer airplane. But in the end, when the Me163s scored four bombers destroyed that day, were to be the high mark point of its operational career. On September 24, Squadron 400 reported that it had nineteen Messerschmitt Me 163s in operation, of which just eleven were serviceable. By that time over a hundred of these jet fighters had been delivered to the Luftwaffe, and it is clear that the factor limiting operational employment was not aircraft but trained pilots. Now it was clear that the hope for salvation for the German Fighter Force was not going to come from this quarter. During September, Squadron 400 operated on five different occasions, the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and the 28th. The largest of these operations was the last one, when nine of the diminutive planes were committed.

The relative short range of the Me 163 meant that accurate ground control was essential if the fighters were to be used effectively. Such controled operations was not always forthcoming, however, and only a small proportion of the fighters reached firing positions. During September 1944, the Me 163 program suffered a disaster from which it would never recover fully. In bombings attacks on the towns of Leverkusen and Ludwigshaven that month, two of the main sources of hydrazine and hydrate suffered serious damage and production was greatly reduced by it. For the remainder of the war, shortages of this chemical fuel would dog the 163. A major competitor for this limited chemical fuel was the Fi 103 flying bomb, which used it to power the catapult system that fires them into the air. The Fi 103 enjoyed a higher priority for supplies than the Me 163 programs. At the same time, the piston engine fighter units continued to mount defensive attacks against bomber formations, and from time to time they were able to pick their way past the American fighter screens and deliver their special brand of saturation attacks on an unexpected bomber. On September 27th, Squadron 4 delivered a sharp attack on the 445th Bomber group and in three furious minutes, it shot down 28 Liberator bombers out of a total of 37 dispatched. It would be the heaviest loss ever suffered by the US Bomber Group on a single mission. On the following day, the Squadron No. 3 assailed the 41st Combat Wing and shot down eighteen Flying Fortresses before the arrival of strong forces of escorts, preventing the slaughter to continue. Just over a week later, October 6th, a Squadron drawn from the 4th and 300th fought a similarly brisk battle with the 4th combat Bomber Wing and shot down fourteen B-17s.

Despite that such actions brought disaster upon the individual bomber units involved, their effect on the US bombing offensive as a whole was not. During the three days mentioned before, heavy bombers of the US Eight Army Air Forces flew a grand total of 3,275 successful sorties for a loss of some 81 units, less than 2.5 percent of the total. And that, it must be stressed, was on three days when the German defenders were relatively successful. Each passing day, when the weather permitted, the US Eighth and Thirteen Air Forces would send more than a thousand heavy bombers to attack targets across Germany and the occupied territories and on most days, losses were less than 1 percent of the total force involved. The German night fighter force had not recovered from the neutralization of its early warning radar system when it suffered a further calamity. The loss of French territory to the Allies had torn a gapping hole on Germany’s early tracking radar chain, which the Royal Air Force now exploited by routing bombers from that direction during attack on the south and western parts of Germany. Even as signals personnel struggled to reposition radar dishes to plug this breach there came a further blow; the fuel famine started to take effect and forced a curtailment of night fighter activities.

Then, to add to the worsening situation, No 100 Group of the RAF began to make its present felt during the night air battles. The Group operated five squadrons of heavy bombers modified into special jamming aircrafts, B-17 Fortresses, B-24 Liberators, Halifaxes and Stirlings. These aircraft were able to carry a large quantity of “windows” of all types, as well as noise-jamming equipment to counter the German’s Wurzburg fire control system and the Freya, Mammut, Wassermann and Jagdschloss radars that made up the German early warning chains. In addition, some of the aircraft carried “Jostle”, a high power jammer to blot out the night fighter’s radio communication channels. No 100 comprised of six squadrons of Mosquito night fighters carrying special systems to enable them to operate against their Luftwaffe counterparts deep inside the Third Reich. Homing on to radar emissions was a game that two could play, and in addition to AI radar some of the Mosquitos carried “Serrate”, which enabled them to home in on emissions from the German night fighter’s SN-2 radars. Other Mosquitos carried “Perfectos”, which transmitted interrogating pulses to trigger the identification friend or foe (IFF) sets of German aircraft in the area. When Germans IFF sets replied, their signals betrayed the range and bearing of the aircraft and identified it to the Mosquito crews as hostile. Several German aircrafts were shot down following “Perfectos” contacts, and many others were lost when German crews, having heard of the system, flew with IFF switched off and were shot down by their own flak.

But despite the presence of the Mosquito in the night battles, the German night fighter force suffered a far lower rate of attrition than its day fighter counterparts. But No. 100 group’s operation imposed considerable pressure on the German defenses, which in combination with the other factors, allowed the RAF night bombers to operate at will over the German sky with minimal losses. Throughout this period, the German oil industry was hit hard and repeatly. An example of the fate of the German oil industry, in the hands of the Allied bombing offensive happened in the spring of 1944, when one of the largest producers of synthetic oil, the Amoniakwerk Merseburg plant at Leuna, who produced about one sixth of the total German production. The huge plant sprawled over an area of 757 acres, and in addition to liquid fuels it produced ammonia, methanol and various types of industrial alcohol from coke and brown coal. The first large scale attack that happened at the plant was from 224 Flying Fortresses of the Eighth Air Force, which took place on May 12th, even before the Allied main offensive against the German oil industry began. That initial attack brought a halt to fuel production. During the next six months, the plant was attacked twelve more times. Time after time the plant was hit hard and production halted, as if one of the prize-fighters had been knocked to the ground. But each time it picked itself up and production resumed. At first the recovery was quickly and almost complete, but as the accumulation of punishment began to tell, the recovery became progressively slower and less complete.

Compared with 175,000 tons of aviation fuel produced in April, in August there were only 16,000 tons and in September a mere 7,000 tons. Throughout that summer, the Luftwaffe kept going on its fat, the reserves of over half a million tons of aviation fuel it had accumulated previously. With consumption running far in excess of production, by the beginning of September more than half this reserve had been consumed; from a high point of about 580,000 tons at the beginning of May, stocks were only about 180,000 tons at the end of September. Now the harsh reality of the shortfall of fuel production could not be avoided. Operation by the Luftwaffes medium and heavy bombers were sharply curtailed, the use of aerial reconnaissance was limited, air operations in support of the Army were permitted only in decisive situations, and the number of night fighter sorties was cut back. Only day fighter operations in defense of the Fatherland were allowed to continue at their previous level. Meanwhile, in Germany the production of combat aircrafts, and in particular fighter types, had risen to unprecedented levels. The Luftwaffe was about to stage a remarkable recovery in fighting strength.

An article by Raul Colon: rcolonfrias@yahoo.com

Revolution in the Air: Gallaudet’s D-5, DM-5 and D-7 Models

In the winter of 1917, the Gallaudet Engineering Company finally completed their much anticipated land monoplane that used their patented Gallaudet-Drive Mechanism, a revolutionary engine driving a remote, mid-fuselage mounted propeller. The newly produced aircraft, call signed D-5, were to be the Company’s first true landplane platform after years of experimenting with the famous D-2 biplane.

In early January 1918, the company was submerged in developing the D-4 project, a tactical fighter for which they would receive a construction contract the following month from the United States Navy. But despite the immense work being done on the 4 model, Gallaudet engineers still found time to explore new ideas such as the 5 type. This new design was to use the reliable Liberty engine, first tested years before on American Expeditionary Force’s Farmans. Gallaudet designers use the D-5 project as a test bed for new technology. Chief among them was a cantilever wing structure with a thick airfoil, which have the distinction of being the first such wing design fitted into an American-develop air platform.

On the morning of January 7th, the company officially submitted a proposal to W.F. Durand; chairman of the influential NACA, for transmittal to the Aircraft Board for the building of what Edson Gallaudet called a “200-mph fighting monoplane”. The 5’s general arrangement is dated January 6th, so this proximity to the proposal and the lack of another competing design at this period, makes it almost certain that the D-5 was the 200-mph plane. Attached to the letter Durand received on the 7th were several detailed blueprints and specification sheets, with one of them being the D-5.

The designed D-5 was a mid-winged monoplane powered by a Liberty engine mounted on the nose. It had a 39′ wing span. The fuselage was 30′4″ in length and possessed a height of 7′-9″. The vaunted Liberty drove a mid-frame two blade propeller. The pilot was seated in an open cockpit between the engine and the propeller. The reconnaissance officer or observer as was call at the times, sat behind the propeller. Two fuel tanks were fitted at the front and the rear of the pilot’s seat. Tail surfaces were identically to the D-4, except for the absent of stub fins. The tail skid was an extension of the small rudder post. A cantilevered, thick and tapered wing gave the plane a distinct look.

Another departure from the D-4 was the use of rectangular spars in the fuselage’s cross section. The ailerons had an inverse taper with a wide base at the tips. A tall, fixed landing gear was fastened between the two wing spars near the wing root, which is estimated to be at 12 percent, thicker than usual for the era. The relative small air frame made it a necessity for the Liberty engine’s upper and down sections to be expose to the air stream.

During the early part of the March 1918, Gallaudet surprised the nascent aviation industry with another monoplane design, DM-5. the ‘M’ designation suggest a modified version of another platform, although no official documentation has been found to prove it. At the heart of the new version lay basically an improved D-5. The airframe was extended to 3′6″ wide and by 4′ high in order to fully enclose the Liberty engine. Still, the motor was big enough, in comparison with the mid frame, that the bottom oil sump was not covered. The wing was now a constant chord with a thin airfoil and no longer cantilevered, with a streamlined bracing line on top and bottom to the front and rear spars.

The ‘M’ concept called for two rectangular outlines on the wing’s surfaces near the root, which served as airfoil radiators similar to the ones used on the D-4. The biggest departure from the D-5 model was the incorporation of a retractable landing gear. A single leg per wheel retracted forward into the nose section beside the engine. The front of the airframe was composed on tubular longerons connected with cast bronze fittings braced by thin wires. The engine bearers appeared to have been built-up, sheet metal channel type as used on the D-4. There were three wing spars. All widest at the brazing wires attachment points and tapered from there towards both the tips and fuselage. The spars were rectangular in section and constructed out of metal sheet. The top and bottom parts of the aircraft were channel-shaped of .0625″ of thickness and the webs were .025″. All held together by an eight to a quarter diameter rivets.

Another of Gallaudet’s lesser known designs is the D-7 Mail Carrier. The drawing, which probably was made accordingly to a mid-1918 request by the United States government, was the project less coveted by Edson Gallaudet at that time frame. Unfortunately, little is know about the concept beyond its indented purposes of transporting mail through the air. But the few sketches that had survived pain a picture of a truly remarkable aeroplane. The design looks like a slightly larger, fixed landing gear version of the ‘M’ version. There are no indications of pilot seating or cockpit arrangement. No engine area is visible on the incomplete blue print. Span was to be around fifty feet. Fuselage length was 30′3″ with a total wing area of 337.5 square feet. The wing had two spars which were only indicated by a single dotted line on the paper. The rest of the data is missing or inconclusive.

It’s a testament to his innovating vision that almost a century later, all three models, D-5, DM-5 and D-7, are once again gaining the interest of aviation aficionados the world over.

The Aeroplane as a Long Range Gun, Journal of the Royal Artillery, R.G. Cherry, June 1919
Alpha, Bravo, Delta: Guide to the U.S. Air Force, Walter J. Boyne, editor, Penguin Books 2003
The Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft, Robert Jackson, Parragon Publishing, 2002
The Early Aviation History, American Years, Edward Von der Porten, Crowell Company, 1969

An article by Raul Colon: rcolonfrias@yahoo.com

The Dreadnaught No. 1

Aviation was in its infancy when the Great War began in August 1914. Still, many historians point towards the ‘War to End All Wars’ as the single, most important event in the transformation of the aircraft from a novelty to a much sough out commodity. No one will look at aviation the same way after 1914. That’s because the antagonist on this cataclysmic period utilized the airplane as a pure tool of war, rather than for communication or reconnaissance duties as it was customary during the first years of the twentieth century.

By the outbreak of hostilities, all combatants had an air force of some sort. The Germans had the biggest force with about 250 aircraft on inventory. The French, although outnumbered 3 to 2 in airplanes by the Germans, had a much greater understanding of aviation tactics. A base that would serve them well as its country became the main battlefront throughout the four year struggle. Farther behind the Germans and French were the British. The Royal Flying Corps, created in 1912; two years after France had done the same, could only field 60 airframes by July 1914. For the first two years of the war, Great Britain depended heavily on French engines and airframes. However, with its much larger industrial base, the island nation quickly caught and surpassed, both the Germans and French in aircraft output. On the other side of Europe, Russia was in possession of more planes than the British and French combined. They also had a better command structure than the French. But the confusing variety of types made maintenance of their aircraft difficult. Meanwhile, the chief culprit of instigating the war, Austria-Hungary, had only a tiny force by comparison.

In the later part of the nineteen century, in the vast territory controlled by the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungry, many aviation pioneers started developing and testing indigenous flying platforms. In the Czechoslovakia part of the empire, some aircraft inventors like Jan Kaspar began gaining a reputation for excellence in designs and development. Many aspiring pioneers became fixated with Kaspar’s achievements. One of those people who felt in love with Kaspar’s blue prints was Jan Stastik. The life of this remarkable, yet, less know aviation trailblazer is one of the most mysterious ones. The holes and hiatuses in his curriculum vitae are one of history’s greatest travesties.

The bits and pieces of what is known are tantalizing. What is certainly accepted is that his public life started in the spring of 1911, when he applied as a student pilot in Kaspar’s flying school at Pardubitze. After this period, little information is available, but it is safe to assume that Stastik was fulltime alum at the Technical University in Prague. By 1912, he introduced to the public his first aircraft model mockup in front of a jam packed crowd at the Prague Car Exhibition. He called the biplane on display at the exhibition that day Bomber Project Number One or Dreadnought No.1. According to the October 30th, 1914 issue of Flight, a prestigious British aviation magazine, Stastik’s biplane bomber mockup has several similarities in design with that of Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky’s famous Ilya Moroumetz heavy bomber, prompting many to conclude this was a copycat. Little do they know that the entrepreneur has secretly commenced work on his dream plane almost two years before the great Russian inventor.

In 1913, the Stastik began full work on his concept. The hard part of transforming a design mockup to a full size aircraft was a daunting task. One that required time and money. Time he had but money was in short supply. It was at that time that he turned to fellow countrymen Horak and Vonka to sponsor the project. The banking duo, famous for establishing several financing regulations in Imperial Austria, gave Stastik the important amount of 130,000 koruny (crowns). With money in tow, a year later, Stastik was able to present its semi-completed aircraft to an impressed gathering at the Prague Car Exhibition. In May, with the initial funds dwindling, he managed to finish the installation of the wing fittings and power plant. The final pieces needed before the aircraft could take to the air. By early June, and with his beloved bomber completed, Stastik began to plan for the initial flight test phase. At the time of his completion, Dreadnought No.1 was the Danube Monarchy’s first operational-capable bomber.

The Dreadnought was a remarkable flying machine for its time. It was a three strutted biplane design, built from wood coverings and fiber. It was powered by two Gnome rotary engines capable of generating up to 100 horse power per unit. The power plants were placed at the front and rear sections of the fuselage. Each of them drove a two-bladed airscrew, rotating in opposite directions. Originally, the front faced Gnome engine got a cover hood. But it was soon removed due to problems associated with the cooling of the motor. The rear engine was never housed. The upper wing structure of the airplane was fitted with two sets of ailerons for additional control and had a span of 18 meters. The lower wing area was shorter by a couple of meters.

The tailplane was assembled in two frames meeting at the ruder post that carried one rudder and one elevator which was built in a T-configuration. Below the tailplane sat a tailskid. The main undercarriage was completed with another carriage that was mounted under the cockpit and used two metal wheels without rubber tires. These metal wheels had S-shaped spokes that served as additional suspension for the airplane. On the air frame, fitted in a compact cabin, sat the two man crew. Behind the pilot and co-pilot, was an intriguing apparatus for mounting the bomb load. The mechanism looked like a revolver drum. A remarkable close looking system was used by the United State’s B-1A Lancer bomber for the deployment of cruise missiles in the early 1980s. The handling of the system was performed by lever controls and a special indicator that noticed the number of bombs attached to the barrel.

Next to the bomb-barrel were the fuel tanks. The empty weight of this twin-engine plane was 750kg. It soared to 1,200kg when fully fitted. Stastik planned to enhance that capacity two-fold, to around 2,000kg. Top operational speed for the bomber was estimated at 150 to 160 kmh, with a maximum flight endurance time of nearly six hours. By the middle of the summer of 1914, the massive Dreadnought began its flight test phase at Pardubitze. A year and a half later, the biplane finally joined the K.U.K. Fligerarsenal, the technical test center for the fledgling Luftschifferabteilung, the forerunner of the K.U.K Luftfahrtruppen (Austro-Hungarian air force), at Fischamend, downriver from the imperial capital of Vienna. From there, the aircraft will never emerge.

During the initial test flight, the aircraft began to gather speed for the takeoff before the front carriage broke, propelling the plane to a somersault crash. As the pilot emerged from the crash site, he managed to see what remained of the bomber catching fire. The end came quickly as ground crews were ill prepared to extinguish the fire. After the debris was removed, Stastik was contacted to do a follow-up project. But this never made it out of the discussion table. In an unfortunate side bar, the end of Dreadnought No.1 also signaled the end of Stastik’s aviation career, as he and his remarkable plane, faded away in the fog of history.

No longer an Island: Britain and the Wright Brothers, 1902-109, Stanford Press University, 1984
The R.F.C. in the War, Flight Magazine No.6, 1914
Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War I, Random House, 2001
Bombers and X-planes, from 1901 to 1915, Carson Palmer, Rodger Press Books 1971

An article by Raul Colon: rcolonfrias@yahoo.com

HIII

The Incredible B-70 Valkyrie Bomber

The B-70 Valkyrie supersonic heavy bomber was one of the most elegant planes that ever took to the skies. It was not only a remarkable looking aircraft but also the most advanced flying platform of its time. Its elegant design and airborne avionic systems were decades ahead of its peers. Just the sight of a Valkyrie flying sent chills down the collective spines of military leaders in both America and the Soviet Union. But, as with most revolutionary weapons platforms, the B-70 was also an aircraft without a true dedicated mission profile. In an ironic twist of fate, the B-70, once conceived and designed with the intention of penetrating the most complex of the Soviet’s air defensive systems, as well as their most advance fighters. In the end it was terminated by advances in those same systems, specifically the Soviet’s surface to air missile (SAM) systems. The new Soviet SAMs made the Valkyrie’s great advantage and sheer speed, somewhat irrelevant.

Conceived to replace the United States Air Force’s fleet of Boeing’s B-52 heavy bombers, the XB-70 program commenced at earnest in the spring of 1955. The Air Force, fresh out of the complex and highly technical B-58 program, wanted the new bomber to be incorporated with the latest of the so called “next generation” technology package available. It was towards this end, that the Air Force was willing to give total weapons system design responsibility to the winner of the contract. During the design phase, two companies emerged as the leading contenders for the contract to build the most advanced aircraft in the world: Boeing and North America. After a relative short test design stage, North America was awarded a developmental contract. Work commenced on the project late in 1958 and in 1964, the first of two ordered prototypes performed its maiden flight.

The XB-70 was indeed an elegant flying machine. One that concealed its true nature: the nuclear showering of targets deep inside the Soviet Union. This amazing aircraft had a fuselage length of 196 feet with a height of 31 feet. Its estimated maximum gross operational weight was of 521,000 pounds. The bomber was manned by a crew of four: a pilot, copilot bombardier and a defensive weapon systems operator. The aircraft was fitted with a thin delta wing structure that spanned 105 feet. Six massive General Electric YJ-93 engines, capable of producing 30,000 pounds of thrust each with afterburners. They were located in a side-by-side configuration on a large pod underneath the airframe. Two rectangular inlet ducts provided the engines with a two dimensional airflow profile. The aircraft’s fuel tanks where housed on the delta wing structure. The high drag ratio of the B-70 while flying at Mach 3, required a total fuel load comparable to that of a B-52. This in turn limited the operational range of the bomber to around 5,000 nautical miles. The wing structure was swept at an angle of 65.5 degrees, and the wing tips were folded down hydraulically 25 to 65 degrees to improve the aircraft’s stability while performing at speeds of Mach 3. While flying at this speed envelop, the XB-70 was designed to “ride” in its own shock wave. A large canard fore-plane (28 feet, 10 inches) installed near the front of the fuselage was utilized for stability moderation. Two large vertical tail units, each of them possessing hydraulic-moving sections, were fitted on the aft of the airframe. The Valkyrie was made completely out of titanium and brazed stainless steel materials. These composite materials were incorporated to enable the aircraft to withstand the heat during the sustained high Mach portions of the bomber’s flight. The aircraft’s fuselage was painted with a nuclear blast reflecting white-looking paint cover which did not stand up well to the Mach 3 kinetic heating. The aircraft did not have any defensive armament system and could only carry its ordinance inside due to its speed profile. The B-70’s had a massive payload capacity. Up to 50,600 pounds of free falling nuclear bombs could have been stored inside the aircraft’s underbelly.

As the first series of trials began, the aircraft started to demonstrate that it could accomplish almost all of the Air Force’s mission requirements, including the most important one: the achievement and sustaining of flying operations at three times the speed of sound. While the Valkyrie was enduring its test trial stages, one aspect that eventually would lead to the cancellation of the entire program surfaced. At high altitude, an aircraft operating at Mach 3 speeds could not maneuver well enough to evade even the Soviet’s second generation SAM missiles of the early 1960s. Also, the aircraft’s straight and level trajectory profile, which Mach 3 speed requires, would have provided the Soviets with nearly pin-point information on the B-70’s projected directional path, enabling their fighters to intercept the bomber’s path instead of the aircraft itself. There was also another unexpected situation that rose out of the bomber’s speed profile: the Valkyrie radar cross section signature was huge. This was due to the technology, airframe material and avionics package, implemented on the aircraft in order to make sustainable Mach 3 operational speeds feasible. The trials also revealed the aircraft’s poor low level operational capability. The B-70 was not adaptable to low level penetration because its thin delta wing structure did not provided the bomber with the necessary in-flight modifications for sustain low level operations. As the trials continued, it was becoming apparent to engineers at North America that the XB-70 did not possess the necessary characteristics to perform as a stable bombing platform. Thus, the aircraft’s profile was changed from a deep penetration heavy bomber, to a reconnaissance and strike platform. This change in profile actually occurred while the aircraft was still in its developing stages in late 1959.

Wing Span 105′-2″
Fuselage Length 189′-0″
Height 29′-11″
Total Wing Area 6,295sq ft
Maximum Speed 2,000mph at 73,000′
Service Ceiling 73,982′
Weight 550,000lb fully loaded
Operational Range 8,283 nautical miles un-refueled
Armament 50,600lb bomb load capacity

In mid 1961, the Kennedy Administration officially removed the program from its active operational status to a purely research project. The high cost of the aircraft program, between 500 to 700 millions at the time, and its perceived vulnerability to the latest Soviet SAM batteries, were cited as the cause of the shifting in the program status. Eventually, two units were built by North America. The first plane took to the air in 1964. The second prototype followed the next year. Initial testing showed the brilliance of the aircraft’s aerodynamic design. During its test flight test, the B-70 consistently demonstrated its ability to achieve and sustain speeds above the 1,988mph threshold. But the trials also demonstrated the plane’s vulnerability. At the same time, the US Air Force began to shift its nuclear deterrence resources from manned bombers and nuclear capable strike aircrafts to the relative easy to develop and maintain Inter Continental Ballistic Missile force which had began to eat more and more of the Air Force’s budgetary pie.

The end of the Valkyrie program came quikly. On the morning of June 8th, 1966, the first prototype was flying an experimental mission with a formation of NASA operated F-104 Starfighters, piloted by the experienced Joe Walker, who strayed too close to the Valkyrie’s vortex generated by its down turned wingtips. The F-104 was thrown across the massive bomber’s wing structure, smashing one of its tailfins as it exploded. The XB-70 was able to flight for a few short seconds before it spirally out of control until it crashed deep inside California’s Mojave Desert. Only one man survived the accident. Following the incident, what was left of the political support for the program promptly evaporated. The program was officially canceled in the spring of 1969. An undistinguished ending for such an elegant and advanced flying platform, but an end that was scripted the minute the aircraft’s plan was on North American’s drawing board.

The World Encyclopedia of Bombers, Francis Crosby, Herms House 2004
Behind Valkyrie: The Amazing Story of the XB-70, Martin Cooper, Penguin Books, 1978
Concept Aircraft: Prototypes, X-planes and Experimental Aircraft, Edit Jim Winchester, Thunder Bay Press, 2005

An article by Raul Colon: rcolonfrias@yahoo.com

The Incredible M-4: The Birth of the Bison

After spending almost a decade ‘outside’ the bomber design business, Vladimir Myasishchev officially returned with a bang in the mid 1940’s. By early 1950, one of the most prolific Soviet aircraft designers of all time, in collaboration with GN Nazarov from Experimenta Design Bureau (OKB) # 22 and the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI), commenced a full, state-funded study into the feasibility of developing a strategic long range bomber or SDB (Strategichesky Dahl’ny Bombardirovschchik). The concept, originally devised by Myasishchev in the summer of 1948, embraced the parameters he and his engineering team had set up as part of TsAGI’s overall specifications.

In February 1951, Myasishchev made his first serious proposal for an advanced SBD. The preliminary study showed an aircraft powered by six VK5 engines that would give the concept speeds in the vicinity of 470 miles per hours. Total payload was estimated at 6,614 pounds with an operational range of 7,460 nautical miles. TsAGI specifications called for total carrying load of 44,092lbs and an absurd range of just short of the 7,500nm mark. To be able to achieve these mindboggling characteristics, Myasishchev needed to radicalize the design. A high tense, swept flying surface will hold a shoulder mounted wing structure. Four massive Mikulin AMRD-3 engines will be housed on the center wing sections. At the time of its conception, Project M, as the program would be referred to by Soviet authorities, was the largest ever undertaken by an aircraft Bureau. The Soviet Union Ministry officially authorized the project on March 24th 1951.

Armed with a new ‘referral’, Myasishchev was able to re-establish his beloved OKB at the famous Factory 23, on the outskirts of Moscow, and recruit the best and the brightness from the Moscow Aviation Institute. By the summer, work on the project, now known as VM-25, was at full swing. Hundreds of engineers and managers were hard at work in developing what they and the government believes was the most advanced program of its kind. Heading the program was Leonid Selyakov who was pushed to complete the first blue print in a three month period so the Soviet Union could chip away the United State lead in the real bomber race.

Selyakov’s first design featured an aircraft with straight wings; wing root power plants and sweep back V-tail structure. In his next concept, the wings were swept. In his third design, the VM-25 was fitted with a conventional swept fin and tail. The engines still were housed on wing roots. It was not until the fourth blue print that the enormous engines were placed on under wings pods, one per side with two units in each nacelle. The fifth design was similar to the last. Eight powerful Kuznetsov TV-2F turboprops driving an eight-bladed, counter rotating propeller mechanism which was placed back-to-back in the nacelles. The forward engine on each structure acted out as a tractor while the aft served as pusher.

The aircraft Selyakov envisioned were to be a 165′8″ behemoth. It would have a total wing area of 3,269 feet. Maximum takeoff weight would have been 385,800 pounds. But the fifth wasn’t the final version. Not by a long shoot. Two more attempts were realized before Selyakov and the rest of Myasishchev settle on a final layout. The new and now final design was a compromise between version two, four and fifth. A swept wing tail unit model powered by four AM-3 engines would give the USSR, accordingly to the OKB engineering team, the best and most advanced bomber in the world. The decision to go with the highly productive but poor takeoff action performance engines was made because the AL-5 power plant did not meet the OKB’s standards.

By August 1st 1952, the prototype blue print was finalized and on May 15th the aircraft itself entered the final assembly phase. By mid November, the first VM-25 was cleared for manufacture flight testing. Then, in December, the much anticipated rollout was made. Hundreds of OKB personnel and SovMin officials crowded Factory 23 to see the homeland’s newest technical marvel. On the clear morning of January 20th 1953, VM-25 took to the air for its maiden flight. The initial test phase went smoothly. It also confirmed the aircraft’s operational profile which was set at a 6,650 nautical mile range with a top payload of 11,023lbs.

Several small modifications were made to the concept in order to expand both parameters. Although the planes performance met the entire specifications request, it still falls short of the new Andrei Tupolev’s design, the incomparable Tu-95. The M-4, as the Myasishchev heavy bomber was named, could fly faster than its turboprop driven competitor. The problem was that the Tu95 had a longer operational range, nearly 3,000 mile more, than the M-4. To close this gap, Selyakov thought the idea of installing four NK-12 turboprops contra-rotating engines to power the massive bomber. But this concept was contrary to Myasishchev’s insistence for elegance in the model. As it was, the concept never made it out of the pre-design stages.

Nevertheless, the shortfall in profile needed to be addressed. Two ideas came to the forefront. The first was to change several aspects of the M-4’s aerodynamic structure to fit new power plants with a lower consumption rate. The other was to introduce an In Flight Refueling System (IFR). The first Soviet foray into the complex field of IFR took place on December 18th 1953 when the SovMin approved the development of the experimental Tu-16 tanker. Even without an adequate answer to the range question, the SovMin gave the M-4 full Operational Service Status with a short decree signed in on April 17th 1954.

In May 1954, the M-4 participated in the important USSR’s Mayday Parade. It was there that the West got their first look at the new strategic bomber. Call signed ‘Bison’ the new, streamline concept sent chills through the West defense apparatus which immediately considered the Bison the first true threat to Continental United States. In all, only 35 M-4s were built, including two units designated to be test bed aircrafts. From the summer of 1958, production M-4s were converted into refueling tankers. A role they performed admirable for more than a decade.

Soviet X-planes, Yefim Gordon and Bill Gunston, Midland Publishing 2000
Early Soviet Jet Bombers, Yefim Gordon, Midland Publishing 2004
Myasishchev M-4 and 3M-The First Soviet Strategic Jet Bomber, Yefim Gordon, Midland Publishing 2003

An article by Raul Colon: rcolonfrias@yahoo.com

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