Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383 B-1/R3 "Rote Sieben", IV./JG77, Neuruppin 1946

[Dizzyfugu]

1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383 B-1/R3; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383 B-1/R3; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383 B-1/R3; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383 B-1/R3; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr



Some background:
Alexander Martin Lippisch (November 2, 1894 – February 11, 1976) was a German aeronautical engineer, a pioneer of aerodynamics who made important contributions to the understanding of flying wings, delta wings and the ground effect.

After working intially for the Zeppelin company, Reichsluftfahrtsministerium (RLM, Reich Aviation Ministry) transferred Lippisch and his team in 1939 to work at the Messerschmitt factory, in order to design a high-speed fighter aircraft around the rocket engines then under development by Hellmuth Walter. The team quickly adapted their most recent design, the DFS 194, to rocket power, the first example successfully flying in early 1940. This successfully demonstrated the technology for what would become the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, his most famous design.


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383 B-1/R3; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383 B-1/R3; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


In 1943, Lippisch transferred to Vienna's Aeronautical Research Institute (Luftfahrtforschungsanstalt Wien, LFW), to concentrate on the problems of high-speed flight.That same year, he was awarded a doctoral degree in engineering by the University of Heidelberg. However, his research work did not stop Lippisch from designing further, mostly jet-powered and tailless fighter aircraft, e. g. for Henschel.

In early 1944, the RLM became aware of Allied jet developments and the high altitude B-29 in the Pacific TO, which was expected to appear soon over Europe, too. In response, the RLM instituted the Emergency Fighter Program, which took effect on July 3, 1944, ending production of most bomber and multi-role aircraft in favour of fighters, especially jet fighters. Additionally, they accelerated the development of experimental designs that would guarantee a performance edge over the Allied opponents, and designs that would replace the first generation of the German jet fighters, namely the Messerschmitt Me 262 and Heinkel He 162.


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383 B-1/R3; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383 B-1/R3; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


One of these advanced designs was the Ta 183 fighter, built by Focke Wulf and developed by Kurt Tank. The Ta 183 had a short fuselage with the air intake passing under the cockpit and proceeding to the rear where the single engine was located. The wings were swept back at 40° and were mounted in the mid-fuselage position. The pilot sat in a pressurized cockpit with a bubble canopy, which provided excellent vision. The primary armament of the aircraft consisted of four 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 cannons arranged around the air intake.  The Ta 183 had a planned speed of about 1,000 km/h (620 mph) at 7,000 m (22,970 ft) and was powered by a 2nd generation jet engine, the Heinkel HeS 011 turbojet with 13 kN (2,700 lbf) of thrust. Several, steadily improved variants of the Ta 183 entered service from mid 1945 onwards, and the type was also the basis for more thorough derivatives - including a high altitude jet fighter proposed by Alexander Lippisch.


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383 B-1/R3; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383 B-1/R3; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The resulting aircraft mated the structural basis of the proven Ta 183 with advanced aerodynamics, namely a tailless design with a much increased wing and fin area, and the machine was also powered by the new BMW 018 jet engine which delivered at this early stage 25kN (5.200 lb) of thrust and was expected to achieve more than 36 kN (7.500 lb) soon, without bigger dimensions than the widely used HeS 011 at the time.

The new machine, designated Li 383 in order to honor the developer, sacrificed some of the Ta 183' agility and speed for sheer altitude and climb performance, and the new wings were mostly built from non-strategic material, what increased weight considerably - the Li 383 was 1.5 times as heavy as the nimble Ta 183 fighter, but the new wing was more than twice as large.


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383 B-1/R3; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383 B-1/R3; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Nevertheless, the modifications were effective and the RLM quickly accepted the radical re-design, since no better options were available on short notice. While the Ta 183 fighter was able to reach 14.000m (45,935 ft) in a zoom climb, the Li 383 could easily operate at 16.000m (52.500 ft) and even above that. However, Alexander Lippisch's original design, the Li 383A, had, despite positive wind tunnel tests, turned out to be unstable and prone to spinning. The reason was quickly found to be a lack of latitudal surfaces, and this was quickly fixed with a bigger tail fin and a characteristic gull wing that gave it the inofficial nickname for the serial Li 383B, "Sturmvogel".

When the Allied Forces eventually added the high-flying B-29 bombers to their air raids over Germany in late 1945, the Li 383 B-1 serial production variant was just ready for service. The new machines were quickly delivered to front line units, primarily fighter squadrons that defended vital centers like Berlin, Munich or the Ruhrgebiet.


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383 B-1/R3; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383 B-1/R3; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


However, even though the Li 383 B-1's performance was sufficient, the type suffered from an inherent weakness against the well-armed Allied bombers: the range of the MK 108 cannon. While this weapon was relatively light and compact, and the four guns delivered an impressive weight of fire, a close attack against massive bomber formations was highly hazardous for the pilots. As a consequence, since bigger guns could not be mounted in the compact Ta 183 airframe, several weapon sets for filed modifications (so-called Rüstsätze) were offered that added a variety of weapons with a longer range and a bigger punch to the Li 383 B-1's arsenal, including unguided and guided air-to-air missiles.

Anyway, the Li 383's overall impact was not significant. Production numbers remained low, and all in all, only a total of 80-100 machines were completed and made operational when the hostilities ended.


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383 B-1/R3; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383 B-1/R3; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383 B-1/R3; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr



General characteristics:
    Crew: one
    Length: 7.78 m (25 ft 5 1/2 in)
    Wingspan: 12.67 m (41 ft 6 in)
    Height: 3.86 m (12 ft 8 in)
    Wing area: 46.8 m² (502.1 ft²)
    Empty weight: 4,600 kg (10,141 lb)
    Loaded weight: 6,912 kg (15,238 lb)
    Max. takeoff weight: 8,100 kg (17,857 lb)   

Powerplant:
    1× BMW 018A turbojet, 25kN (5.200 lb)

Performance:
    Maximum speed: 977 km/h (estimated) (607 mph) at 12,000 meters (39,000 ft)
    Service ceiling: 16,000 m (estimated) (52,000 ft)
    Rate of climb: 22 m/s (estimated) (4,330 ft/min)
    Wing loading: 147.7 kg/m² (20.2 lb/ft²)
    Thrust/weight: 0.34

Armament:
    4× 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 cannons around the air intake with 75 RPG
    2x underwing hardpoints for two 300l drop tanks or 2x 250 kg (550 lb) bombs;
    alternatively, various weapon sets (Rüstsätze) were available, including racks for 8× (R1) or 12× (R3)
    R 65 "Föhn" or for 24x R4M unguided missiles (R2), or for 2× Ruhrstahl X-4 Wire Guided AAMs (R4)



The kit and its assembly:
This fictional Luft '46 aircraft was inspired by the question what a further developed Ta 183 could have looked like, and it was also influenced by the many tailless Lippisch designs that never left the drawing board.

From the hardware perspective, the design is more or less the salvage of the most useable parts of the PM Model Horten IX/Go 229 kit – namely the outer wing sections. The PM Model Ta 183 is only marginally "better", and I had one of these in the stash (Revell re-boxing), too. So, why not combine two dreadful kits into something ...new?

Well, that was the plan, and building was rather straightforward. In the cockpit, I added simple side consoles, a dashboard, some oxygen flasks, a different seat and a pilot figure (seatbelts simulated with tape strips) – the kit would be finished with closed canopy.

An exhaust pipe was integrated and the air intake filled with a better compressor fan (from an Airfix D.H. Venom, IIRC, fits perfectly). The inner walls of the landing gear wells (well, they are not existent) were cut away and replaced with leftover jet engine parts, so that there was some structure and depth. The landing gear was taken OOB, though, I just used slightly bigger wheels, since the "new" aircraft would have considerably more mass than the Ta 183.


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383B-1/R2; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383B-1/R2; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383B-1/R2; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The highly swept, long Ta 183 tail was cut off and replaced by a surplus Me 262 fin and tail section (Matchbox). Despite the different shape and size, and the resulting side view profile reminds strangely of the Saab 29?
The original Ta 183 wings were not mounted and their attachment points on the fuselage cut/sanded away. Instead, I used the outer wing sections from the Go 229, with clipped wing tips for a different shape.


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383B-1/R2; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383B-1/R2; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383B-1/R2; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


When I held the wings to the fuselage, the whole thing looked ...boring. Something was missing, hard to pinpoint. After consulting some Luft '46 literature I adapted a trick for better stability: a gull wing shape. This was achieved through simple cuts to the wings' upper halves. Then the wings were bent down, the gap filled with a styrene strip, and finally PSRed away. Looks very dynamic, and also much better!


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383B-1/R2; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Another late addition was the underwing armament. I was about to start painting when I again found that something was missing... The new wings made the aircraft pretty large, so I considered some underwing ordnance. Anyway, I did not want to disrupt the relatively clean lines with ugly bombs or drop tanks, so I installed a pair of racks with six launch tubes for R 65 "Föhn" unguided AAMs into the lower wing surfaces, in a semi-recessed position and with a deflector plate for the rocket exhausts.


Painting and markings:
As a high altitude interceptor and late war design, this one was to receive a simple and relatively light livery, even though I stuck with classic RLM tones. The Li 383 was basically painted all-over RLM 76 (Humbrol 247), onto which RLM 75 (from Modelmaster) was added, in the form of highly thinned enamel paint for a cloudy and improvised effect, applied with a big and soft brush. On top of the wings, a typical two-tone scheme was created, while on the fuselage's upper sides only some thin mottles were added.


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383B-1/R2; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


In order to lighten the scheme up and add a unique twist, I added further mottles to the flanks and the fin, but this time with RLM 77. This is a very light grey – originally reserved for tactical markings, but also "abused" in the field for camouflage mods, e. g. on high-flying He 177 bombers. I used Humbrol 195 (RAL 7035), again applied with a brush and highly thinned for a rather cloudy finish.

The air intake section and the intake duct were painted in aluminum, while the engine exhaust section as well as the missile racks and the areas around the gun ports were painted with Revell 99 (Iron Metallic) and Steel Metallizer.

The cockpit interior became dark grey (RLM 66) while the landing gear, the wells and the visible engine parts inside became RLM 02.

The kit was lightly weathered with a thin black ink wash and some dry-brushing.


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383B-1/R2; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The markings were puzzled together; due to the light basic tones of the model, the upper crosses became black, with only a very small cross on the flanks due to the lack of space, and for the wings' undersides I used "old school" full color markings in black and white. The red color for the tactical code was basically chosen because it would be a nice contrast to the bluish-grey overall livery.

Finally the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and some gun soot stains added with grinded graphite, as well as some traces of flaked paint on the wings' leading edges and around the cockpit.


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383 B-1/R3; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383 B-1/R3; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383 B-1/R3; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf-Lippisch Li 383 B-1/R3; "Rote Sieben (Red 7+-)" of the IV./JG77; Neuruppin, early 1946 (Luft '46/Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr




Well, the attempt to bash two mediocre (at best) kits into something else and hopefully better worked out well – the Li 383 does not look totally out of place, even though it turned out to become a bigger aircraft than expected. However, the aircraft has this certain, futuristic Luft '46 look – probably thanks to the gull wings, which really change the overall impression from a simple kitbash to a coherent design which-could-have-been. The livery also fits well and looks better than expected.

Overall, a positive surprise.

[PR19_Kit]

Wonderful job Thomas, it is indeed a 'Silk purse out of a sow's ear'. 

Perhaps Lars Brising, SAAB's chief designer, was able to examine an Li 383 at some stage and that influenced his thoughts for the Tunnan?  They certainly do bear some resemblance to each other.

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you, glad you like it, despite it doubtful heritage... 

And, yes, esp. those WiP pics with the fuselage profile seriously remind of a (kind of) juvenile Tunnan! It's less obvious with the wings in place, though. On the positive side: the Li 383 has considerably bigger and wider wings! 

[PR19_Kit]

On the positive side: the Li 383 has considerably bigger and wider wings! 

And there's NOTHING wrong with that. 

[ysi_maniac]

I love your work as usual.
But, why not swastika?

[nighthunter]

I love your work as usual.
But, why not swastika?

Because they're outlawed in Germany, where Thomas is from.

[zenrat]

Good job Dizz.

[Dizzyfugu]

I love your work as usual.
But, why not swastika?

Because they're outlawed in Germany, where Thomas is from.

Not only that, it is also my personal view that certain symbols from the past are not even worth mentioning, and that a lot of people around the world cannot fathom what dumbness and glorification these receive even these days.

Anyway, glad you like this putty bomber. 

[63cpe]

Great work Thomas! Love your "Putty Bomber" 

David

[NARSES2]

I really like that 

[TomZ]

Great pictures as always!

TomZ

[dumaniac]

great concept - love the model

[DogfighterZen]

Great work as always!

[chrisonord]

Very nice Thomas
Chris

[comrade harps]

A Tunnun with bat wings! Excellent and brillo camo