Bolkhovitinov Fighter

[McGreig]

This is the first of, hopefully, two Piston Perfection entries. The original Bolkhovitinov "S" was a 1939 Soviet high-speed bomber prototype. It was powered by two engines arranged in tandem in the fuselage nose, driving contra-rotating propellors, and had a long fuselage, rear set cockpit, twin fins and a fighter-like short span wing.

The second prototype, the first powered by two engines, flew in March 1940. It had good handling, except for take-off and landing, which were difficult due to high wing loading. It was still undergoing tests when the Germans invaded in June 1941 and the programme was abandoned. The "S" has been described as "always on the verge of success but never getting there".

Before the project was cancelled, the design team had been instructed to develop a single seat interceptor version which is the inspiration for this build. If the fighter had been developed and the design team given the opportunity to iron out the drive and cooling problems of the rear engine the result could have been a formidable aircraft (although it might still not have been put into service, as the Eastern Front air war had no need for high altitude bomber interception and was mostly fought at low altitudes unsuited to a heavy, fast but relatively unmanoeuvrable fighter).

The basic kit is Unicraft's resin kit of the "S". Apart from having all of the normal Unicraft fit problems, it's also fairly inaccurate for the original bomber, not having the large glazed fuselage panels for the navigator/bomb aimer and looking a bit too streamlined round the nose. However, it's ideal for conversion into a single seat fighter. So far I've cleaned up the main airframe parts and super-glued these together. The next stage is to build up the rear fuselage,  fill, sand and rescribe the wings and then add a cockpit interior before joining the main parts together.

[gooberliberation]

I'm glad to see there's going to be a Russian entry. Are you keeping the twin tail?

Going for a bigger radiator(s) too?