Messerschmitt Me P.1101
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Messerschmitt P.1101 was the name attached to a single-seat, single-jet fighter developed in response to the July 1944 Emergency Fighter Competition, which sought the second generation of jet fighters for the Third Reich. A characteristic feature of the Me P.1101 prototype was that the sweep of the wings could be changed before flight, making it the ancestor of modern variable-geometry aircraft such as the F-14 Tomcat.
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[edit] History
[edit] Initial Development
Within nine days of the July 15, 1944 issuance of the design specifications for the Emergency Fighter, the Messerschmitt design bureau had formed a preliminary paper design for the P.1101. The aircraft which was developed initially had a short and wide fuselage, tricycle landing gear, and mid-mounted wings with an inner sweep of 40 degrees near the fuselage, and a shallower 26 degree angle outboard. The single He S 011 jet engine was to be mounted internally within the fuselage, being aspirated by two rounded intakes located on either side of the cockpit. The tail was of a V configuration, and mounted on a tapered boom which extended over and past the jet exhaust, while the cockpit was forward mounted, with the canopy integrated into the fuselage and forming part of the rounded nose of the aircraft.
By late August 1944, the still paper design had evolved into a sleeker incarnation, with the previously stout fuselage lengthened and narrowed, and a conical nose section was added in front of the cockpit. The double angled wing was also abandoned, with the outer wing of the Me-262 instead being "borrowed" for the design. The design was further developed, and after the windtunnel testing of a number of wing and fuselage profiles, the design was further modified and finalized, with the decision made to undertake the construction of a full-scale test aircraft. This finalized design and associated test data were submitted to the Construction Bureau on November 10, 1944 and the selection of production materials was begun on December 4, 1944.
[edit] Production Prototype
The worsening war situation led to the expedited, but risky approach of building a full-scale prototype in parallel with detail construction and continuing statistical calculation, while existing components such as the wings, landing gear, and flight components were utilized where feasible. It was also intended for the test flights to be conducted with both 35 and 45 degree wing sweep. Production of the V1 prototype was begun at Messerschmitt's Bavarian Oberammergau Complex with a projected first flight in June of 1945.
The Me P.1101 V1 prototype was of duralumin fuselage construction, retained the outer wing section of the Me-262 and as mentioned previously, the wing sweep could be adjusted on the ground from 30, 40, to 45 degrees, making it a forerunner of later variable-geometry designs. The tandem, fuselage mounted intakes of the preliminary designs were replaced by a single nose intake, and the canopy became a bubble design, which afforded better all-around vision than the initial integrated canopy offered. The production prototype also incorporated a more conventional T-tail design, which was constructed out of wood and remained mounted on the tapered tail boom. The tricycle undercarriage consisted of a steerable, rear retracting nose wheel and wing root mounted main gear, which was forward retracting. The prototype was fitted with a Jumo 004B jet engine, which could easily be replaced with the more powerful He S 011 in subsequent full production versions. In addition, the production model was to be equipped with a pressurized cockpit and armored canopy.
[edit] Post-war
By the time an American infantry unit discovered the Oberammergau complex on April 29, 1945 the V1 prototype was approximately 80% complete. The airframe was removed from the nearby tunnel in which it was hidden and all associated documents were seized. There was some lobbying by Messerschmitt Chief Designer Woldemar Voight and Robert J. Woods of Bell Aircraft to have the Me P.1101 V1 completed by June 1945, but this was precluded by the destruction of some critical documents and the refusal of the French to release the remaining majority of the design documents, which they had obtained prior to the arrival of American units to the area. The prototype was finally shipped to the Bell Aircraft Works in Buffalo, New York in 1948, and the already damaged aircraft suffered further damage when it fell off a freight car. This damage ruled out any possibility for repair, and the Me P.1101 design and components were used by Bell as the basis for the X-5, which was the first aircraft capable of varying its wing geometry while in flight and bore a strong resemblance to the Me P.1101. Tragically, the remnants of the P.1101 were scrapped in the early 1950's, although the legacy of this design can be seen in the variable geometry aircraft of today.
[edit] Specifications (Me P.1101 V1 Prototype)
[edit] General characteristics (Production)
- Crew:1
- Length: 8.98m (30 ft)
- Wingspan: 8.06 m (27 ft)
- Height: 3.5 m (12 ft)
- Wing area: 13.6 m² (146 ft²)
- Empty: 2594 kg (5718.78 lb)
- Loaded weight: 4064 kg (8959.57 lb)
- Maximum gross takeoff weight: 4500 kg (Approx. 9900 lb)
- Powerplant: Jumo 004B Jet, kN ( lbf) thrust
- Fuel capacity 1000 liters (264 gallons)
[edit] Performance (Production)
- Maximum speed: 980 km/h (612.5 mph)
- Cruise speed: 985 km/h @ 7000 m (616 mph)
- Range: 1500 km (932 miles)
- Service ceiling: 12000 m (39370 ft)
- Maximum rate of climb: 22.2 m/s (73 ft/min)
- Wing loading: 236 kg/m² (42.87 lb/ft²)
- Max wing load: 296.5 kg/m²( Ibs/ft²)
- Thrust/weight:
[edit] Armament
- None for prototype, 2 or 4 MK 108 30mm Cannon and four X-4 air-to-air missiles on production version.
[edit] References
[edit] Related content
Related development: Bell X-5
Comparable aircraft:
Designation sequence:
