Blohm & Voss 141

[Rolf Steiner]

were any of these odd-looking contraptions ever used for real? Surely a contender for the maddest-looking aeroplane of its time, altho I think I read somewhere they were fairly sound performance-wise, and presumably afforded excellent all-round vision?

[phylo_roadking]

R-S....I wouldn't like to say they weren't ever used - because of the 38 built -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blohm_%26_Voss_BV_141

...that last dozen BMW 801-equiped aircraft seem to have been operational...?

[Rolf Steiner]

I imagine anyone getting attacked by one of those would be too gobsmacked to remember to take evasive action. But then prospective crew members might have taken some convincing?

[phylo_roadking]

However, remember "operational" doesn't necessarily mean flying actual sorties...

[Rolf Steiner]

What other sort of operational might they have been? Training, courier flights? Had a quick look on google but didn't see anything approaching an operational history of these... I remember the airfix box depicts them bombing a factory, not that that's anything to go by!

[phylo_roadking]

No, I mean aircraft/units can be rated operationsal but never actually fly operational sorties..for example No 616 Sqn RAF, the first squadron to receive Meteors. it went operational with them on 12th July 1944...but didn't fly actual operational sorties until the 27th of July, a fortnight later

[Waleed Y. Majeed]

The real thing...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DE1aTpGez3M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDXtP_IOLKE


waleed

[hucks216]

For those interested there will be an article on the development of this aircraft in the next issue of AEROPLANE magazine on sale 1st May (in the UK).

[phylo_roadking]

I've now had a chance to read that article. As with a lot of "short" magazine material on LW aircraft, it's more of a development history than an operational one - but it DOES point up a couple of interesting items...

First...the original specification issued by the RLM was for a single-engined aircraft...even though it soon became obvious that the 141's main competitor in the "competition" would be the TWIN-engined FW 189!!! Richard Vogt actually considered a twin-boom, twin-enged design himself, as giving the best possible visibity in a "conventional" design - for obviously a gurt big engine in a single fuselage would serious constrain visibility in one important direction! But, constrained by the specification, he instead came up with a typical Vogt assymetrial design...

When it came to delivery to the Erprobungstelle, some changes were mandated; first was the completely-glazed "gondola" cabin, instead of the relatively convetnionial pilot-in-cockpit, observer-in-glazed-nose of the original (and I think much more attractive) V2 aircraft...and it was returned very promptly for tests to begin in September 1938. That aircraft arrived with a single 865hp BMW 132N, bu from january 1939 Vogt worked at fitting a 1540hp BMW 801 instead.

Finally - DESPITE it breaking the single-engine specification...the FW 189 won the competition!!! The RLM WANTED the 141...but the Luftwaffe wanted the twin-engine redundancy of the 189. Also...the revised fitment of the more-powerful BMW 801 NOWcounted against it, for by THAT time - late 1941, early 1942 - all supplies of the 801 were earmarked for the FW 190 In only a few months, by September 1942, 602 FW 189s had been delivered to front-line units...

Secondly...nevertheless 26 BV 141's WERE built...and THIS is where the article contributes to the original question...NONE of them are listed in the late 1944 Luftwafe Inventory So by then they were either sitting forlornly at the side of a runway somewhere or broken for their metal; very possibly being struck off charge in the first place to recover those valuable BMW 801s???

[Rolf Steiner]

I was going to check that magazine myself this weekend, but my nearest WH Smiths has disappeared... what IS happening to our high streets?? Will check in Borders later in the week... assuming that's still there.