Focke-Wulf Ta 153 B-1 and Ta 153 D-1

[Okwaho]

Fellow Whiffers, got a question here that hopefully you can help on. I originally posted this on the Luftwaffe Experten Message Board, but I guess there aren't any Experten there who can or will give me an answer. (No real surprise there, really.)

Thomas H. Hitchcock's Focke-Wulf Ta 152 book includes a section on the Ta 153, featuring plan and profile schematics of the Ta 153 A-1 boasting the Jumo 213. The Ta 153 C-1 was slated for use of the DB 603G, and both models boasted a nose-mounted 30mm and six 20mm (fuselage, inboard, outboard) cannons. As shown in the illustration below, the Ta 153 closely resembles its Ta 152 successor minus the fuselage extension.



So now comes my dilemma, as I will be building all four versions, and the book says nothing about this: would/should the proposed high-altitude Ta 153 B-1 and Ta 153 D-1 versions simply delete the outboard 20mm guns, or just copy the Ta 152 H-1's three-weapon layout?

Looking forward to your opinions.

[sagallacci]

I'd WAG the high altitude versions would go with the reduced weapon carry as a simple weight saving.

[GTX]

I'd WAG the high altitude versions would go with the reduced weapon carry as a simple weight saving.

I'd tend to agree.

What still puzzles me though is what really was the Ta153?  The drawing you have shown is one suggestion, though there is also this configuration floating around:




What's more, I have seen the drawing you have posted as being supposedly another testbed (this time for the exhaust flame suppression system).

I don't have the answers though and the references seem to contradict each other (I do have the otherwise excellent Thomas H. Hitchcock book as well).  Anyone help here?  Matrixone, I'm looking in your direction...

Regards,

Greg

[Jschmus]

Found a little more info over on Secret Projects:

http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=9086.0

[Okwaho]

GTX, numerous sources (and yes, I have all the books ) say that the image you've supplied was the Ta 153 prototype, but its actual designation was Fw 190 V32, and not Ta 153 V32/U1 as listed. The Fw 190 V32, based on the old Fw 190A-0 frame, was used to trial the DB 603S engine with a long wing, having dropped the turbo-supercharger seen in its original layout, and was more closely related to the forthcoming Fw 190 D-series, itself based on the Fw 190 Ra-8 design study.

The Ta 153 was formulated around the Fw 190 Ra-4 study, which in light of its entirely new construction received the provisional designation Ta 153 Ra-1. Equipped with a new standard wing and the Jumo 213 A or Jumo 213 C engine, this became the Ta 153 A-1. The parallel high-altitude Ta 153 Ra-2 project featuring the long wingspan and DB 603 G powerplant would have given way to the proposed Ta 153 D-1. Because the Ta 153 would have required a multiplicity of entirely new construction forms, jigs and tooling, plus additional materials and man hours, Tank realized that it was best for all involved to concentrate on proven designs to minimize retooling. Hence he exchanged the Ta 153's entirely new fuselage for one derived from the Fw 190 A series paired with the rear fuselage extension section, in effect creating the new "hybrid" Ta 152 design. One noticeable feature held over from the Ta 153 was the cockpit having been moved further back; look closely at the wing's trailing edge at the root in relation of position to the windshield frame.

The exhaust flame suppression cowl system originally planned for the Ta 153 was also to be fitted to the Ta 152 A-1, but experiments on the Fw 190 V20 and V21 found this feature to be bulky and drag-inducing, and thus would have be dispensed with on the Ta 152 A-2. Had the Ta 153 series been produced, I'm pretty sure the same would have been done, leading to the non-exhaust suppressed Ta 153 A-2.

[royabulgaf]

Nice to see some NDN whiffers

Forest County Potawatomie non-enrolled :+(

[Okwaho]

Bozho, royabulgaf, ni je na?  

Or like my people say: She:kon, royabulgaf, skennen:kowa ken?  

[royabulgaf]

Sorry, all I picked up was Bozho-  BTW, thanks for the 153 drawings.  I have a few 152s from the olden days, and these look like easy conversions.   How about an He-100 with a Jumo and annular radiator? 

[Okwaho]

Well, at least you got the first part okay. The second part is just asking how you are. May I presume you're not a speaker, or is it a different dialect from yours? We have a similar problem, but it mostly involves the spelling.

As for the He 100, Jumo and annular radiator idea, shouldn't be difficult. Have three kits of it, and getting the required parts is pretty simple, since I have 34 kits of the Ta 152 C-0 and Ta 152 H-0/H-1 in my stash, plus a few scrapped Fw 190 D-9s.

[royabulgaf]

Unfortunately, I am not a speaker.  We use bozho for "hello" which IIRC was adopted from the French "bonjour" 

This is getting way OT.  If you want, I can be reached at Kim Margosein on Facebook.