Random Notes Regarding Focke-Wulf's Ta 183 Jet Fighter Concept

Above: attempted partial conceptual reconstruction of the instrument panel of the Focke-Wulf Ta 183. This incomplete and inevitably flawed draft is based on Günter Sengfelder's drawings of the the Jumo 004-powered variant at the planning stage of March 20, 1945, and the surviving photos of the full-size wooden mock-up of the Focke Wulf P VI Flitzer (see text below). (Drawing: German Aviation 1919-1945)

The Focke-Wulf Ta 183

Frequently dismissed as yet another speculative Luft '46 concept, the Focke-Wulf Ta 183 was, in actual fact, far more than just a paper project. In early 1945, the first prototypes of the Ta 183 were actually scheduled to be built, and the design of the aircraft had apparently progressed relatively far in its development. According to various sources, a full-scale, wooden mock-up, jigs, and perhaps even some subassemblies had been completed by war's end. And so had numerous technical and manufacturing drawings of what the finished prototypes were going to look like.

In spite of such reported gestation progress, the availability of solidly reliable prime-source material remains spotty to this day. In attempting to reconstruct some of the details of the Ta 183, one is left dependent on fragmentary information and circumstantial evidence, more so even than in the case of, for example, the Messerschmitt P1101 V1 (of which at least photos of the incomplete prototype exist). The depiction of the Ta 183 both in graphic illustrations and as scale models is thus often flawed. While this might be a moot point for many due to the fact that even the very first prototype evidently was never completed, careful examination of the sparse available material actually makes it possible to arrive at a fairly realistic idea of what the aircraft was actually going to look like.

Due to the protracted development schedule of the Heinkel HeS 011 jet engine, the initial examples of the Ta 183 were to be powered by the already mass-produced Junkers Jumo 004 jet engine. As depicted, these two early Ta 183 versions were to both share common features and be distinguished by a number of differences.

Junkers Jumo 004-powered Ta 183:

- What little is known of the cockpit of the Ta 183 seems to generally resemble the cockpit layout of the broadly Ta 183-contemporary Focke-Wulf P VI Flitzer jet fighter project, of which far more detailed information survives. Based on Günter Sengfelder's drawings of the Jumo 004-powered Ta 183 variant at the planning stage of March 20, 1945, and the existing detailed photos and drawings of the elaborate Flitzer mock-up, it is immediately obvious that the Flitzer cockpit area (including the instrument panel) seems to be similar to that of the Ta 183. If one looks at the development of other German aircraft of the period, it is perhaps reasonable to assume that a final mock-up configuration frequently reflected the actual initial layout of the subsequent prototype. Amongst other things, production orders were not least dependent on repeated inspections and improvements of the mock-up.

- The Ta 183's pilot's seat seems to be a typical Focke-Wulf design, not unlike the seat used in the Fw 190/Ta 152 series of aircraft. The seat itself seems to feature no head rest, although an Fw 190-style head rest seems to be indicated as part of the canopy.

- The canopy, too, seems to be a rather typical Focke-Wulf design. The bottom edge of the windscreen side panels on the Jumo 004-powered Ta 183 is a straight line.

- The inside of the air intake duct for the Jumo 004 jet engine seems to be initially encumbered by a lengthy bulge which extends almost halfway down the fuselage. This bulge serves to provide the space required for the retractable nose landing gear (the nose wheel remains vertical while retracted). The intake duct then curves down towards the engine.

- The rear section of the fuselage of the aircraft is slightly extended in order to accommodate the full length of the Jumo 004 engine.

- The space and proportions within the main wheel bays are dictated by the front section of the Jumo 004 jet engine, placed in immediate proximity within the fuselage. The forward end of the main gear wells is thus deeper than the rear end, requiring the main landing gear to be retracted forward and the retracted main wheels to rest right next to the intake duct.

- The main gear well covers are of an elongated, rectangular shape.

- The outline of the horizontal stabilizer is rounded at the tips, as is the top rear end of the rudder.

- The aircraft on its landing gear displays a very pronounced tail-low/nose-high stance. Again, many recent depictions of the Ta 183 miss this prominent and defining element entirely. This is a feature the Ta 183 shares with many early jet aircraft designs, as evidenced, for example, by the similar stance of the completed Messerschmitt P1101 V1 prototype, the Junkers Ju 287jet bomber (and its subsequent EF 131 and EF 140 developments), the Horten Ho 229 jet flying wing, the Focke Wulf P VI Flitzer project, the Ta 183-derived post-war FMA IAe 33 "Pulqui II" jet fighter, the Kurt Tank-designed Hindustan Aeronautics HF-24 "Marut" jet fighter, or even the Vought F7U "Cutlass" and F-8 "Crusader" jet fighters, and the LTV A-7 "Corsair II" attack aircraft.

Heinkel HeS 011-powered Ta 183:

- The Heinkel HeS 011-powered Ta 183 seems to have been designed with a different seat than that of the Jumo 004-powered variant. The seat of the HeS 011 version features head armour and seems very similar to the seat intended for the Flitzer jet fighter (of which photos exist).

In recent years, the Ta 183 has at times been depicted with a Heinkel-type Katapultsitz [ejection seat], but this seems to be entirely fictitious. Excellent photos of the tests of Focke-Wulf's own ejection seat, fired from a Fw 190, Werknummer 0022, SB+IB, have been published. Besides showing the seat during the insertion into the Fw 190, and during the actual ejection, there are also very detailed pictures showing the seat by itself. Again, this Focke-Wulf ejection seat prototype closely resembles the one depicted in the drawings of the HeS 011 version of the Ta 183. The only apparent difference is that the head armour as planned for the Ta 183 is angled forward.

Intriguingly, however, the catapult seat tested for the Focke-Wulf Ta 154 looks different yet again.

- Apparently, there are no published drawings or photos of the instrument panel, and the general cockpit layout of this version of the Ta 183 must be deduced solely on the basis of the general see-through side view drawings of February and March 1945.

- Again, the canopy seems to be a typical Focke-Wulf design. The bottom edge of the windscreen side panels, however, is now curved.

- The nose landing gear bay is of a different shape and length than the bay of the Jumo 004 version. The same thus applies to the associated landing gear doors. The nose wheel now turns upon retraction and is placed at an angle within the bay. This allows the air intake duct for the HeS 011 jet engine to remain unencumbered by any bulges. Due to the different proportions of the HeS 011 engine, the intake duct in this version is straight, from the nose of the aircraft to the compressor face of the engine.

- The rear section of the fuselage of the aircraft is devoid of any extension, due to the different dimensions of the HeS 011 engine.

- The main gear well doors of the HeS 011-powered Ta 183 are not rectangular. Instead, they taper towards the rear, starting about one third down the length of the doors. The space within the main landing gear bay seems to be arranged in a similar manner as on the Jumo 004-powered version.

- The main gear legs feature a distinctive kink near their attachment points to the fuselage structure.

- Again, the aircraft displays a very pronounced tail-low/nose-high stance.

- The outline of the horizontal stabilizer is rounded at the front and pointed at the rear.

- The top of the rudder features a sharper downward-angle and a more pronounced point than that of the Jumo 004 version.

- The aircraft seems to feature a shallow weapons bay which permits weapons to be carried semi-recessed. This bay appears to have angled inside walls. According to published drawings, it was to be possible to carry either bombs, drop tanks, or cameras in this bay. Apparently, the Jumo 004 version of the Ta 183 doesn't feature such a weapons bay.

(Text amended and expanded from sections of correspondence originally provided to Alan Griffith of now-defunct US scale model manufacturer AmTech, in 2001 and 2002.)

Junkers Ju 287 - Germany's Forward Swept Wing Bomber

Stephen Ransom & Peter Korrell, with Peter D. Evans, Classic Publications/Ian Allan Publishing Ltd., Hersham, Surrey, England, 2008, ISBN 978-1-90322-392-5. Illustrated, hardcover, published in English.

Cover image © by Classic Publications/Ian Allan Publishing Ltd., 2008.

As in the case of Classic Publications' book on the Horten Ho 229, those with a somewhat less visionary disposition will undoubtedly dismiss this book, too, as a waste of paper on a Luft '46 delusion. So be it. In reality, however, the significance of the emergence of the Ju 287 cannot be overstated, and the publication of a book such as this one is thus both important and overdue.

Due to its status as a late-war fringe design, the Ju 287 has so far been largely neglected as far as mainstream Luftwaffe publications are concerned. There has been a photo of the Ju 287 here and there during the past decades, mostly in books dealing with German jet design or German aviation projects of World War II (such as in Smith & Creek's Jet Planes Of The Third Reich or Griehl's Jet Planes Of The Third Reich - The Secret Projects, Volume Two, both by Monogram Aviation Publications, and in a variety others). Gathering solid data on the Ju 287 was difficult for the common reader, as was obtaining a comprehensive and reliable history of this aircraft type. The sole exception was of course Thomas H. Hitchcock's very first Close-Up booklet, Junkers 287 (Monogram Aviation Publications, USA, 1974), which dealt exclusively with this elusive aircraft but, by now, no longer matches the state of research. But market forces and the relative scarcity of available period material usually meant that the existence of the Ju 287 was utterly eclipsed by works on the various Bf 109s, Fw 190s, Me 262s, et al.

For anybody seriously interested in cutting edge aircraft design or technological advances during World War II, however, the Ju 287 is of course immeasurably more intriguing than most of the conventional aircraft of the Luftwaffe. Accordingly, it was with quite some anticipation that the first dedicated hardback monograph on the Ju 287, Horst Lommel's Junkers Ju 287 (Aviatic Verlag, Germany, 2003) was awaited. Purchased on the day of its publication, it left me strangely dissatisfied, if not outright disappointed. Lommel, apparently well on his way to become the German David Myhra, had wasted the exhilarating chance to literally write history with his book. Instead, he provided the reader with an unstructured concoction of information and images, often prompting the question of the extent of historical accuracy. Moreover, about half of the book was dedicated to other aircraft only superficially related to the main topic, as has become the unfortunate norm for his publications.

We are thus incredibly fortunate that, only a few years later, a trio of very distinguished protagonists from the Luftwaffe research community embarked on the unenviable task to finally set the record straight. Stephen Ransom is of course the author of the fantastic study on Brandis airfield, Zwischen Leipzig und der Mulde (Stedinger Verlag, Germany, 1996). This book is itself a treasure and, upon its publication, caused quite a stir among enthusiasts due to the inclusion of sensational, rare photos of the second prototype of the Ju 287.

Dr. Peter Korrell is also a familiar name to serious Luftwaffe researchers; he has been publishing restored reprints of rare vintage aviation documents for years (some of which are reviewed elsewhere in this blog). A number of Dr. Korrell's publications deal with the Ju 287 and related designs. Peter D. Evans, last but not least, is the eminent creator of the Luftwaffe Experten Message Board, the internet's foremost meeting point for those seriously interested in the former German Luftwaffe. Evans, too, had long been studying the Ju 287.

The Ju 287 photos that were once part of Ransom's book on Brandis airfield have now been included in what is and probably will remain the standard work on the type, Junkers Ju 287 - Germany's Forward Swept Wing Bomber. As can be expected when such a trio of authors teams with Classic Publications, the book is a beauty. It is thoroughly researched, complete, professionally designed, and sumptuously illustrated.

The book commences with a look at the development of forward sweep until 1935. It then delves into Junkers' interest for the concept, followed by the actual development of hardware in the form of the first two prototypes of the Ju 287. Further chapters deal with the flight trials and disposal of the prototypes, with the mysterious and still unidentified "Rechlin 66" aircraft whose shape suggests a close affiliation with the Ju 287, and with the further development of the Ju 287 in the Soviet Union. All chapters are crammed with photos and drawings, and every conceivable aspect of the aircraft is investigated. A postscript looks at swept wing designs after World War II. There are detailed endnotes to every chapter as well as a comprehensive appendix which contains biographies and further interesting insights into the research conducted for the book.

Junkers Ju 287 - Germany's Forward Swept Wing Bomber is a stunning and very satisfying book. Even if one were to disregard the exhaustive text, the book's photo content alone is well worth the purchase price. It is astonishing how many pictures exist of an aircraft that has so far been regarded as completely obscure. Moreover, some of the photos reveal amazing detail (e.g. on pages 82 and 83). Only a few very minor questions remain. The authors speculate, for example, whether the two photos on page 64 show the mock-up or the actual front section of the Ju 287 V1. In my humble opinion, the aircraft section in question is not a mock up (except for the dummy engines) but definitely part of the actual prototype.

One can still hope that additional photos of the EF 131 (originally designated Ju 287 V3) will emerge from Russia one day, as it happened a few years ago in the case of the equally shrouded Junkers EF 126.

Schnell-Bomber/Schnell-Aufklärer EF 131

Dr. Hermann Schmidt-Stiebitz, originally produced by Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke, Dessau, Germany, 1946, for submission to the Soviet armed forces, self-published facsimile edition by Dr. Peter Korrell, Wolfenbuettel, Germany. Illustrated, softcover, published in German.

This 55 page illustrated brochure was produced in 1946 by former Junkers designer Dr. Hermann Schmidt-Stiebitz. Dr. Schmidt-Stiebitz had been involved with the design of the Ju 252, Ju 352, Ju 488, and Ju 635, and he had also been in charge of the weekly status reports submitted by Junkers to the German air ministry (RLM). He was one of many Junkers engineers who, after the war in 1946 to 1953, worked for the Soviet aviation industry.

Just why Dr. Schmidt-Stiebitz produced this brochure a year after the German defeat remains something of an enigma. It was possibly intended as an overview of the technical capabilities of the then revolutionary EF 131 design for the Soviet occupiers. Moreover, it appears that the brochure was never printed as intended. Until now, that is.

It is due to Dr. Peter Korrell's labor of love that this rare treasure trove of information on one of the most intriguing German late-war aircraft projects is now available to enthusiasts and researchers. Over the years, Dr. Korrell has gained a distinguished reputation by painstakingly restoring and reassembling German aviation handbooks and documents from the 1940s and 1950s. Dr. Korrell's facsimile editions are printed to the original specifications, i.e., format, materials, and layout are closely patterned after the original. If anything, they are better than the originals, as Dr. Korrell meticulously researches and repairs faded drawings and missing information. The resulting publications are unique expert glimpses into exceptional German aviation history. They are essential reading material for any serious student of the topic.

The EF 131 brochure is significant because of the close relation between the EF 131 and the Ju 287 forward-swept-wing jet bomber, two prototypes of which were built and flown before the end of the war. The Ju 287 concept was revolutionary enough to be pursued by the Soviets after the war, and a further prototype, labeled EF 131 (after the Junkers in-house EF designation, for Entwicklungs-Flugzeug, i.e., development aircraft), was completed and flown at Ramenskoye near Moscow. In contrast to the Ju 287 V1 prototype, the EF 131 featured six Junkers Jumo 004 jet engines, mounted in triple-engine nacelles under the wings.

The subtitle of the EF 131 brochure reads EF 131: Entwurf, Erprobung und Einsatz [EF 131: Design, Testing, and Operations]. Accordingly, the brochure covers a broad range of topics and is very detailed. Covered are, for example, operations on the ground, take-off, landing, engines, landing gear, icing, emergency egress, engine fires, turbine blade failure, armament operations, and more. Nearly every page is illustrated by means of black & white drawings or graphs and tables. The information contained therein reveals a highly advanced state of affairs within the Ju 287/EF 131 project, much more so than could be assumed, given the production of only three Ju 287/EF 131 prototypes under late-war/post-war conditions.

The text is in German, and the brochure contains a German-language leaflet by Dr. Korrell, detailing the history behind both the original publication and the restoration process.